CrossFit’s definition of fitness is work capacity across broad time and modal domains.
“What the heck does that mean?” asks Seminar Staff Head Trainer Jenn Hunter-Marshall during a lecture presented at a Level 1 Certificate Course at CrossFit South Philly in 2021.
“Can you run? Can you punch? Can you jump? How far; how fast?” she continues. “And we can graphically represent that.”
On the X axis, we have time; on the Y axis, power. Activities are plotted on the graph according to the power and time an athlete requires to complete them. Connect the averages of all those plot points and you get a curve.
The area under the curve? Work capacity — and the goal is to increase it.
“That’s why it’s important to work on your weaknesses, right? Because that’s gonna raise up our total area under the curve.”