You’ve probably heard of CrossFit, or seen one of the company’s gyms. The workout regimen is now coached in over 11,000 outposts around the world — a 22-fold growth over the span of nine years.

So, what makes it so popular? It’s popular because it works. Whether you’re an Olympic athlete or a couch potato, you can learn to do CrossFit at the level that suits your ability, age, need, and desire. The practice is based on incorporating natural moves that you use in the course of your “regular” life — and refining them so that you can move throughout your day with more strength, agility, and speed. You may not be lifting a barbell with 100 pounds of weight on it during an ordinary Wednesday, perhaps, but you’re probably lifting a heavy bag of groceries…your kid…a suitcase. The workouts refine and strengthen your core muscles so that ordinary activities become easier and more effortless, and you are less likely to become injured performing them.

CrossFit can be described as a high intensity interval workout, but it’s more than that. It’s a community where people are all focused on becoming better and stronger and healthier — whatever that means for each one of them. It’s a team of coaches and “CrossFitters” who work with each other and encourage each other in a collegial, supportive, environment.

At The Orthopedic Institute of New Jersey, we believe that CrossFit could be a useful tool for our patients as they look to get stronger and learn to work more with —not against — their bodies. As with all other workouts, check with your doctor first!