CrossFit training incorporates old philosophies of traditional strength and conditioning into new and alternative workout programs

CrossFit training is just one of the numerous rising alternative fitness programs that has been on the radar of many celebrities, fitness enthusiasts and those looking to improve their physical health.

CrossFit training incorporates many components of traditional strength and conditioning while also combining these original ideals with new forms of exercise such as aerobics and resistance training in order to produce powerful, effective and varied workouts.

CrossFit training incorporates more than traditional weight lifting in order to produce consistently changing and intense workouts

CrossFit was designed to offer workouts that "incorporate weight lifting, aerobics and gymnastics to benefit you in every part of your game" according to Askmen.com.  CrossFit is strategically designed to mix up workouts to prevent boredom as well as to challenge those in training to work as hard as they can every day.

           

CrossFit differs from traditional strength and conditioning because the main focus of these sessions is not entirely on weight lifting. In traditional strength and conditioning, the overall goal is to become as strong as possible by continuously lifting and maxing out during workouts. Although CrossFit training does include forms of powerlifting in its workouts, there is more of an emphasis on improving the strength and fitness of the entire body as a whole.

 CrossFit incorporates more than weight lifting in its workouts. The main components of CrossFit include: strength, stamina, flexibility, speed, power, accuracy, agility, balance, coordination and cardio endurance. According to one testimonial CrossFitters are exposed to workouts designed to not only physically strengthen participants, but also to prepare them for anything that life has in store.

CrossFit training offers a lifestyle that benefits the emotional, physical and mental health of CrossFit participants 

Active Norcal explains that with CrossFit training comes a lifestyle that is beneficial to the athlete in every aspect of life. CrossFit is designed to allow people to train with the same group everyday. With this idea in mind, CrossFit designers predicted that because you are with the same people every training session, you are continuously building and improving upon relationships with the other people in the classes and instructors.

CrossFitters have reported that while participating in CrossFit workouts, there is an overwhelming sense of community and togetherness. These sensations may be due to the relationships formed between instructors and classmates as well as the bonds classmates form with each other throughout sessions. CrossFitters have also described that the sessions they do in groups are similar to being on a team. Testimonials from Payson Roundup explain that all people in the class, no matter the experience of each individual, all feel the same sense of pain and accomplishment after every workout. 

           

The idea of community is not only present due to the idea of being “together” in a session. CrossFit owners have purposely designed their gyms without mirrors. CrossFit owners believe with the absence of mirrors, individuals will not experience the same frightening thoughts they do when attending local and public gyms such Planet Fitness.


Narciso Valencia, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the University of Maryland expresses his thoughts on the benefits and downfalls of CrossFit. As a strength coach, Valencia has been exposed to several different types of workouts and fitness programs. Valencia encourages people to get active and involved in some sort of fitness regime in order to boost physical health of all people. 

CrossFit training does not control every aspect of your life; moderation is key within this style of training. CrossFit founders believe that extreme dieting is unhealthy and harmful to athletes. It is inevitable that everyone has a "cheat day" or a day that they do not consume "healthy" foods for every meal. 


With this in mind, CrossFitters know that when they eat a little too much or things they know are going to hinder their work, their workout the following day is going to be that much harder in order to make up for the cheat day. Moderation of all types of foods is essential in order to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Collegiate and professional coaches do not promote CrossFit training because it strays away from traditional strength and conditioning beliefs and methods 

Strength and conditioning coaches around the nation are warning their athletes of the potential dangers CrossFit may expose them to. Traditional strength and conditioning workouts focus on building strength while maintaining proper form throughout the duration of the workout. CrossFit workouts have a different approach.

Almost all CrossFit workouts have time restraints in order to motivate individuals to get as many reps in as they can throughout the duration of the time limit. Stack argues that this philosophy of training is exactly why collegiate and professional athletes should stay away from CrossFit.

           

Valencia's expertise are focused on strengthening and improving the physical health and fitness levels of collegiate athletes; therefore is hesitant to promote CrossFit classes to all people. Valencia does believe that CrossFit is a good way to get involved and get active in the world of fitness. Valencia does promote certain components of CrossFit to be incorporated into the training regimes of collegiate athletes; however, the basic ideologies behind traditional strength and conditioning must also be followed in order to produce well trained, in-shape athletes.

CrossFit goers are trained to get as many repetitions of the superset in as possible within the given time limit. This way of training is extremely dangerous to collegiate and professional athletes because it causes them to focus all of their attention and efforts into maxing out their reps. Because the main focus is getting as many reps in as possible, athletes do not focus on maintaining correct form. This coincides with increasing the risk of potential injuries among athletes. As form declines during workouts, the rate potential injury skyrockets exponentially.

                                                                               

Another fear coaches have of CrossFit is the rare but sometimes fatal kidney condition rhabdomyolysis. This condition has become somewhat of a legend among CrossFiters; however it poses very realistic and serious threats. This condition nicknamed rhabdo is caused by over exercising and participating in high intensity level workouts, such as CrossFit. This condition is harmful to the body because due to working out to the extreme in excess, the muscles are so broken down that muscle fibers start to enter into the blood stream.

CrossFit have changed the way women are seen in the world of fitness by forcing society to normalize muscular women

For generations women were outcasts to the world of fitness. Part of this alienation however, can be partially blamed on the women of previous generations. According to the box, the women of CrossFit are changing the way women are seen in the fitness world drastically, and quickly.

Women of prior generations were expected to only participate in cardio regimes as well as workouts designed to trim fat as well as gain lean muscle mass. Never before have women been taken seriously in the world of fitness.

This data chart  represents the male and female representation in CrossFit gyms. The difference  of male and female representation is so small, the difference is not considered significant. 

CrossFit is a way for women to feel at home in the weight room. Men have typically been the dominant force in the weight rooms of gyms; however CrossFit allows women to master the more intimidating equipment in the weight room such as barbells and racks.

The CrossFit Games supply workout enthusiasts with motivation to obtain public praise and acknowledgment for their personal strides in the gym 

The CrossFit Games are a way for CrossFitters to prove to themselves, classmates and the nation just how fit they are. The Games are unlike any other fitness test known to date; with multiple marathon runners and professional athletes expressing how difficult these Games truly are. The Games consist of three stages: The Open, Regionals, and the actual CrossFit Games. The first two stages of this mega competition are held within the CrossFit gyms themselves.

Qualifying and competing in the Games is the ultimate goal of CrossFitters. Even though the high majority of CrossFitters do not qualify for the Games, when CrossFitters see their fellow classmates and workout partners participating and succeeding in the Games, the whole gym experiences a sense of pride and representation of themselves through the success of their fellow CrossFitters. 

The CrossFit culture is spreading nationally and is influencing people of all ages, fitness levels and race to get involved in the fitness world. This alternative style of training is unlike anything workout professionals and exercise scientists have come across to date. Due to CrossFit's unique components of combing traditional strength and conditioning practices with new found exercises such as aerobics, gymnastics and cardio, the type of exercise and benefits CrossFit offers is unattainable with any other form of exercise and training. 

Social media and a hostile view of news generate distrust for mass media

Social media usage is at an all time high, while trust in media coverage is at an all time low

Many studies have been done to analyze the media and if the coverage that they generate is fair and unbiased. One article published online by Gallup, found that Americans’ trust in mass media has
generally been edging downward from higher levels in the late 1900s, and the early 2000s.

Gallup also explained that  “mainstream” news has been left aside as Americans “seek out their own personal veins of getting information”. Because of the mass usage of social media outlets as a source of information, individuals can pick and choose what online news casting sites or social media accounts to frequent that coincide with their personal beliefs.

Two major social media outlets today are Twitter and Facebook, both of which have accounts that favor a number of different biases. People can pick and choose what they see on their timelines for both of these outlets. For example, someone that follows Fox 5’s Twitter account is most likely not going to follow MSNBC’s account. There are so many accounts that support specific beliefs, and people have the ability to surround themselves with views that support their own.

Due to the mass media coverage increasing in today’s society, the role that media has on public opinion has too greatly increased. Millions across America today rely on social media forums such as Twitter and Facebook to get their daily information of international and national news.

According to an article, “about six-in-ten online Millennials (61%) report getting political news on Facebook in a given week”. This statistic shows that more than half of the millennial generation, which is made up of individuals who were born between the early 1980s and the 2000s, rely on social media posts as their daily source of news coverage.

A poll found that trust in the media was lowest among Americans aged 18 to 49. Because this cohort makes up the majority of social media users, the biases that the media is being accused of are recycling themselves throughout different social media sites by like mined users or subscribers.  

With a variety of portals to receive information comes a variety of opinions in which these portals support. Americans may gravitate toward outlets that support their own beliefs without being cognizant that they are doing so.  American audiences may also be guilty of falsely accusing media outlets of being prejudiced when they are generating information that is in contrast to their own beliefs.

The majority of Americans perceive biases in news outlets

The hostile media perception was analyzed in a study that focused on whether individuals believed news coverage of largely controversial events was seemingly biased. Their results stated that individuals did believe news coverage of controversial events was unfairly depicted and hostile to their personal beliefs and views.

This study further analyzed why many Americans took this stand. One reason explained by researches was that many Americans believe that the truth is either black or white.  Researchers also suggested that once audiences feel as though a news outlet has questioned their beliefs, they will forever internalize that site as being hostile toward their beliefs.

In a recent study it was determined that Americans feel that news organizations are generally biased in their reporting. These numbers have steadily increased from 45% to 56% in fifteen years. This steady increase can be attributed to the idea that once an individual has the belief that the media is biased; it is extremely hard to have a neutral opinion on newly printed or generated news coverage. 

The hostile media perception can also be seen in the world of politics. In a study, researchers found that even when two separate groups read the exact same article, they experience a sense of the hostile media perception.

This study also offered suggestions behind why the hostile media perception takes place so often. One major suggestion was that even if individuals are blind to the current news content, they will therefore use their predisposed beliefs as a means to judge the degree of bias in current news.

The hostile media perception has been examined and critiqued by numerous researchers in multiple studies. Due to this phenomenon and the growing dependence on social media forums to obtain daily news coverage, many individuals are creating their own bubbles filled with information that only agrees with their personal opinions. Both of these factors directly correlate to the increasing number of Americans who believe that news coverage today is biased.

All things yummy related as told by NodeXL

NodeXL Graph Gallery details all things yummy with an intricate infographic. This graphic starts with the simple and more obvious objects connected to yummy things, for example cookies and the ingredients that go into making them. As the graphic progresses, the more in-depth objects related to yummy things are detailed. One example of a more in-depth object would be Christmas.

Most people do not think Christmas is necessarily "yummy" but after reading a detailed list describing all things that Christmas comes with, for example cookies and other desserts, it is not so bizarre to relate yum to Christmas. This infographic allows individuals to visualize all things that may or may not come to mind when seeing or thinking of cookies.

The purpose of this infographic is to provide its audience with a detailed visualization of all possible objects, people or places that could potentially be described as or linked to yummy. Like all infographics, the first subtopics are broad, allowing the following subtopics to increasingly become narrower as it proceeds. At first glance, this graphic is extremely hectic and unappealing to the eye. As the topics narrow, it is easier to comprehend the elements of this graphic.

The majority of people primarily relate food items to the word yummy; however, after reading the contents of this infographic, I now know that inedible objects have the potential to be linked to the idea of being yummy. Although it takes some creativity to allow the mind to explore some of these items, such as "recipe" or "vegan", this graphic provides its audience with an extremely detailed and broad list of all objects and memorable days that are linked to the idea of being yummy.

http://www.westernjournalism.com/everyone-needs-to-see-the-video-on-police-that-tv-star-mike-rowe-just-shared/ … Explanatory tweet to follow. TASK 2

I decided to post this tweet because I thought it would be beneficial for the youth and adolescent of our society to be reminded that the men and women that sacrifice their lives everyday for us deserve position recognition and feedback. After reading this entry, I felt obligated to share it with my peers in order to positively enhance the reputations of the policemen and women of today's society.