If you are looking into CrossFit, doing research about it, and seeing/reading tons of things on the internet, chances are you are getting confused by words like “WOD”, “Muscle Up”, “Fran”, “AMRAP”, and another crazy lingo!

This is a quick and easy CrossFit Lingo guide on some of the more common terms and acronyms you may hear around the gym.

  • Box: Your CrossFit gym (or Affiliate). It is a slang term that our community uses when referring to the gym, ie. “I’m heading down to the box.”
  • Modifying, Scaling, Scalability, Scale: The ability to modify a workout to meet the ability of the athlete. All of our workouts are scalable. Workouts can be scaled up in order to make them harder, or scaled down in order to make them easier. The trick to doing CrossFit is modifying to YOUR ability and experience. Your coach will guide you in the right direction.
  • ATG: Ass to Grass or Ass to Ankles. This term is used when your coach wants a full-depth squat. Get low!
  • Rep: A single repetition of an exercise, ie. “perform 5 reps”.
  • For Time: Race against each other and the clock.
  • Score: This term denotes the total number of reps completed during a given workout.
  • Set: A total number of reps for the exercise, ie. “perform 5 sets of 10 pull-ups”.
  • AMRAP: As Many Reps as Possible (Might also be As Many Rounds and Reps and Possible)
  • BW: Body Weight
  • Metcon: Metabolic Conditioning Workout. Our version of “cardio.”
  • PR: Personal Record
  • KB: Kettlebell
  • Rx: A workout performed without any modifications or prescribed
  • RM: Rep Max, i.e. your 3RM is the maximum weight that you can lift for three reps
  • ROM: Range of Motion
  • WOD: Workout of The Day
  • EMOM: Every Minute on The Minute perform a task
  • Pistol: Single leg squats
  • Box Jump: Athletes jump up onto a box of a given height from a two-footed stance.
  • Hero WOD: Named after military servicemen, police, or firefighters who have died in the line of duty, these difficult workouts are intermittently programmed in CrossFit to provide an extra challenge and reminder of their sacrifice.
  • Metcon: Short for “metabolic conditioning,” metcons are designed to train stamina, endurance, and conditioning. Unlike WODs— which can also include purely strength or skill-based workouts— metcons generally include some sort of timed component performed at high intensity.
  • Fran: Perhaps CrossFit’s most famous workout, Fran is a 21-15-9 rep scheme of thrusters (95 pounds for men, 65 for women) and pull-ups.
  • Murph: One of CrossFit’s toughest WODs, this workout consists of a one-mile run followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 air squats followed by another one-mile run.
  • GHD: (Glute Ham Developer) A gym equipment that is used for a variety of movements including glute-ham raises, GHD sit-ups, and back extensions.