I havn't been doing much cross-fit, but my workouts I guess are fairly influenced by it when I am at the 'globo-gym'
here is the last time I checked in I think...
http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/exercisebodybuilding/today%27s-workout/msg58293/#msg58293but virtually everything before dec was cf stuff to look at.
The basic stricture is more like high-school P.E. than sports, but for whatever reason unlike that, everyone seems to be pretty cool (that goes to my gym anyway). In a way it is also similar to a yoga class or martial arts but you do your own thing as part of a group . it
is competitive because all the workouts are either timed or based on accumulating a number of rounds/sets etc...but you are absolutely doing your own thing at your own pace so its never like actually racing (unless you are both in the home stretch of a workout that includes running) or ping pong or something. Some of the workouts are partnered or otherwise cannot be done alone with weights alone in a garage. The competition/variety element is usually seen as a plus for many people who find working out boring or hard to stick to, but even for me who doens't have this problem I get way better results/hustle harder with a group and for the other unique methodologies. The only downside in a way is that they have a consistant schedule on when they do certain lifts, so like if you are busy thursdays, you'll never do deadlifts or whatever...weird.
typical class is some kind of cardio warmup (running, rowing, jumping rope) followed by some series of dynamic stretching (spiderman, samson, skipping - heh, bear crawl etc...) these are intense enough to want to go home afterward. sometimes they might throw in air squats, pull-ups, sit-ups etc... in the warmup itself
Usually this is followed by some other deeper stretch or mobility, practicing Olympic lifts with PVC, or shoulder mobility with a lacrosse ball for instance. or some other skill (learning how to do muscle ups, rope climb techniques etc..)
then usually there is some kind of powerlifting and they seem to mix it up on different days between sets of 1RM to 5s, 10s etc...for deadlift, squat, front squat, press, push-press, clean, clean+jerk, snatch, overhead squat etc..There is (at my gym) a special class also to specializing in improving form on these.
after that (or on occasion instead of the lifts) there is the actual
workout (heh heh) which runs anywhere from 3:00-45 mins of pure nonstop exercise (a few WO's actually do have forced breaks (3 min rest) in between rounds).
here is another intense workout
http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/exercisebodybuilding/today%27s-workout/msg48823/#msg48823then you do some kind of specific stretches per the workout.
that is pretty much it I think, hope that is helpful
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For whatever reason as I said the people there all seem pretty cool, are into health and not in the health-obsessed way you'll find at potlucks. Most people seem to eat well and enjoy a good beer or whatever. I've only met up with a few people outside of class, but I thoroughly enjoy shooting the shit with people there, and did indeed help make me feel alot more connected due to some of the isolation this lifestyle can carry with it, so I highly suggest trying it out with that as a bonus to whatever fitness goals someone has.
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just subjectively, the push press feels far better to me when doing a number of reps in a row, with the regular overhead press feeling like I might strain my neck or something popping back and forth, the slight dip just feels more natural in terms of how I would lift when I moved furniture and stuff. That said they do both at CF, so I'm sure they each have their advantages for building muscle differently.
