48 CrossFit terms defined, including WOD, AMRAP, EMOM, Rx and metcon, each explained in a single line of plain English.
Half of the CrossFit terminology on a whiteboard is acronyms and the other half is a first name. Below are the words related to CrossFit that a coach will use before you have finished warming up, along with the words associated with the gym itself and the WOD slang that turns a workout into a story. Skip to the CrossFit glossary if you only need the one-line meaning of a term you saw on the board.
Must-Know CrossFit Terms, Phrases and Slang:
- AMRAP
- Box
- Burpee
- Chipper
- Deadlift
- EMOM
- Fran
- Handstand push-up
- Kipping
- Ladder
- Metcon
- PR
- Rx (prescribed)
- Snatch
- Squat
- Thruster
- WOD
- Clean
- Double under
- Hero WOD
- Jerk
- Muscle-up
- Overhead squat
- Pull-up
- Rhabdo
- Scaled
- Split jerk
- Tabata
- Toes-to-bar
- Wall ball
CrossFit Glossary: Every Term A to Z
| Term | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Affiliate | A gym licensed to use the CrossFit name. Programming and coaching are set locally, not by headquarters. |
| Air squat | A squat with no weight at all, done to bodyweight standards. The base every loaded squat is built from. |
| AMRAP | As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible in a set time. The clock is fixed and the score is the work done. |
| Assault bike | A fan bike where resistance rises with effort, used for short and brutal conditioning intervals. |
| Benchmark WOD | A named workout repeated over months and years so athletes can measure progress against their own old score. |
| Box | A CrossFit gym. Bare, warehouse-like and built around rigs and open floor rather than machines. |
| Box jump | Jumping from the floor onto a raised platform and standing to full extension on top. |
| Burpee | Drop to the floor, chest down, stand back up and jump. Simple, unloaded and universally disliked. |
| Butterfly pull-up | A cycled kipping pull-up where the body traces a continuous loop, used to raise the rep rate. |
| Buy-in | A piece of work that has to be finished before the main workout starts. |
| Cash-out | Extra work tacked on after the main workout is done. |
| Chest-to-bar | A pull-up taken high enough for the chest to touch the bar, not just the chin to clear it. |
| Chipper | A long list of different movements done once each, high reps, chipped away from top to bottom. |
| Clean | Lifting the barbell from the floor to the shoulders in one movement. |
| Deadlift | Lifting a loaded barbell from the floor to the hips and setting it back down. The main posterior chain lift. |
| Double under | One jump, two passes of the rope. Timing and wrist speed matter more than jumping higher. |
| EMOM | Every Minute On the Minute. A set number of reps at the top of each minute, the rest of the minute is rest. |
| For time | A workout scored by how long the prescribed work takes. |
| Fran | The best known benchmark: thrusters and pull-ups, descending reps, over in minutes and remembered for days. |
| GHD | The glute-ham developer, a bench used for hip and back extensions and for sit-ups through a full range. |
| Handstand push-up | A vertical press from a handstand against a wall, driven by shoulders, triceps and midline. |
| Hero WOD | A long, heavy workout named for a fallen service member or first responder. |
| Jerk | Driving the barbell from the shoulders to locked arms overhead. |
| Kettlebell swing | Swinging a bell from between the legs to eye level or overhead, powered by the hips. |
| Kipping | Using a rhythmic swing of the hips to add momentum to pull-ups, muscle-ups or handstand push-ups. |
| Ladder | A structure where reps or weight rise or fall with each set. |
| Metcon | Metabolic conditioning. A high-intensity mix of strength and aerobic work. |
| Muscle-up | A pull-up that continues into a dip, ending with the body above the bar or rings. |
| No rep | A rep that did not meet the movement standard and does not count. Called by a judge or a coach. |
| Overhead squat | A full squat with the barbell held overhead in a wide grip. The hardest test of position in the sport. |
| PR | Personal Record. Your best score or heaviest lift so far. |
| Pukie the Clown | The old cartoon mascot for working past the point of nausea. A warning dressed as a joke. |
| Pull-up | Hanging from a bar and pulling until the chin clears it. |
| Rhabdo | Rhabdomyolysis. Muscle fibers break down under extreme overexertion and flood the bloodstream. A medical emergency, not a badge. |
| Rx (prescribed) | The workout done exactly as written, no change to weight, reps or movements. |
| Scaled | The workout adjusted to the athlete: lighter, shorter or a simpler movement, same intent. |
| Snatch | Lifting the barbell from the floor to overhead in one continuous movement. |
| Split Jerk | A jerk received in a lunge, one foot forward and one back, which allows the heaviest overhead loads. |
| Squat | Hips down, hips up, under load or not. The most repeated movement in the gym. |
| Tabata | Eight rounds of twenty seconds of work and ten of rest, four minutes total. |
| The Girls | The set of benchmark workouts given women's first names, Fran among them. |
| The Open | The annual online competition where affiliates worldwide do the same workouts over several weeks. |
| Thruster | A front squat that runs straight into an overhead press without a pause. |
| Time cap | The limit on a workout. Reach it and the score is the work completed, not a finish time. |
| Toes-to-bar | Hanging from the bar and bringing the toes up to touch it. |
| Uncle Rhabdo | The other cartoon mascot, standing for rhabdomyolysis. Also a warning, also grim. |
| Wall ball | Squat with a medicine ball, throw it to a target on the wall, catch it and squat again. |
| WOD | Workout of the Day. The session written on the board for everybody who walks in. |
#1 AMRAP
Stands for “As Many Rounds (or Reps) As Possible,” a type of workout where athletes aim to complete as many rounds of a series of movements within a set time frame, pushing endurance and capacity.
#2 Box
Refers to a CrossFit gym, where the community comes together to train. The term reflects the often minimalist, warehouse-like setup of these gyms, focusing on function over aesthetics.
#3 Burpee
A full-body exercise that involves a squat, kick back into a plank, a push-up, returning to squat, and then a jump. It’s renowned for its intensity and ability to increase both strength and cardiovascular fitness.
#4 Chipper
A workout structured with a series of different exercises to be done sequentially, usually with high reps, designed to chip away at until completion. It tests persistence, endurance, and mental toughness.
#5 Deadlift
A weightlifting movement where one lifts a loaded barbell off the ground to the level of the hips, then sets it back down. It is foundational for building overall strength, particularly in the posterior chain.
#6 EMOM
An acronym for “Every Minute On the Minute,” a workout structure where participants perform a specific number of reps of an exercise at the start of every minute, then rest until the next minute starts.
#7 Fran
One of the most famous “benchmark” workouts in CrossFit, Fran is a fast-paced, high-intensity workout that consists of a couplet of barbell thrusters and pull-ups. Fran is renowned for its simplicity and the intense demand it places on cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
#8 Handstand push-up
This advanced bodyweight movement involves performing a vertical push-up while in a handstand position against a wall. It requires significant upper body strength, particularly in the shoulders, triceps, and core, to press the body upward while maintaining balance and control.
#9 Kipping
A technique used in CrossFit to gain momentum and efficiency in movements such as pull-ups and handstand push-ups. It combines a swing-like motion with a pull or push to maximize the number of reps performed.
#10 Ladder
In CrossFit, a ladder refers to a workout structure where an athlete increases or decreases the reps or weight with each set. It’s often used to build strength and endurance progressively.
#11 Metcon
Short for “metabolic conditioning,” Metcon is a high-intensity workout that combines strength training and aerobic exercises, designed to improve fitness and burn calories quickly.
#12 PR
Stands for “Personal Record.” In CrossFit, a PR is achieving your best performance in a specific workout or lift. It’s a sign of progress and a milestone celebrated within the community.
#13 Rx (prescribed)
In CrossFit, “Rx” denotes that an athlete performs a workout as prescribed by the standards, with no modifications in movements, weights, or reps. It’s a benchmark for comparing performances among athletes.
#14 Snatch
A weightlifting movement found in CrossFit where the barbell is lifted from the ground to overhead in one smooth motion. It requires a combination of power, speed, coordination, and balance.
#15 Squat
A fundamental exercise in CrossFit and general fitness, the squat involves bending the knees and lowering the hips as if sitting in an imaginary chair, then standing back up.
#16 Thruster
An intense compound exercise combining a front squat with an overhead press in one continuous movement. Popular in CrossFit for its full-body engagement and cardiovascular challenge.
#17 WOD
Acronym for “Workout of the Day.” This is the set of exercises that CrossFit coaches prepare daily, focusing on varied functional movements performed at high intensity.
#18 Clean
A weightlifting movement where the barbell is pulled from the ground to the shoulders in one fluid motion. It tests power, speed, and coordination, making it a staple in CrossFit routines.
#19 Double under
A double under is a type of jump rope exercise where the rope passes under the feet twice for each jump. It requires good timing, speed, and endurance, and is often included in CrossFit workouts to increase cardiovascular intensity.
#20 Hero WOD
A challenging WOD named after fallen heroes, such as military, law enforcement, or first responders. Hero WODs are a tribute and are typically more grueling and longer than regular workouts.
#21 Jerk
A weightlifting movement that primarily works out the shoulders and overhead strength, where the barbell is propelled from the chest to above the head in one swift motion.
#22 Muscle-up
A demanding pull-up variation that transitions from a hanging pull-up to a dip, moving from below to above the pull-up bar or rings. It requires substantial upper body strength and technique.
#23 Overhead squat
An exercise where the participant performs a squat while holding a weight (typically a barbell) overhead with a wide grip. It tests and improves flexibility, balance, and strength throughout the body.
#24 Pull-up
A strength exercise where an athlete hangs from a bar and pulls their body up until their chin is above the bar. It’s a fundamental movement to develop upper body strength and is commonly used in CrossFit workouts.
#25 Rhabdo
Short for rhabdomyolysis, a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that can occur when overexertion leads to the breakdown of muscle fibers and the release of their contents into the bloodstream.
#26 Scaled
Modifying a workout to match an individual’s fitness level, scaling often involves changing the intensity, weight, or complexity of movements to make them achievable yet still challenging.
#27 Split Jerk
A weightlifting movement where the athlete rapidly lifts a barbell overhead into a split stance, with one foot forward and one back, to fully extend the arms. It’s a technique used to lift maximum weights overhead.
#28 Tabata
A high-intensity interval training protocol featuring 20 seconds of maximum effort followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 4 minutes. This form of workout aims to increase aerobic and anaerobic endurance.
#29 Toes-to-bar
An exercise that involves hanging from a pull-up bar and bringing the toes up to touch the bar, requiring significant abdominal strength and coordination. It’s a staple movement in many CrossFit workouts.
#30 Wall ball
A compound exercise that involves squatting with, then throwing, a weighted ball (typically a medicine ball) to a target high on a wall, catching it on the rebound, and immediately moving into the next squat. This exercise integrates the use of lower body, core, and upper body strength, and is excellent for building power and conditioning.
FAQ
What does WOD stand for in CrossFit?
Workout of the Day. It is the session the coaches have programmed for that day, written on the board and done by every class, scaled to each athlete.
What is a CrossFit gym called?
A box. The name comes from the plain, warehouse-style spaces the first affiliates used, built around a pull-up rig and open floor instead of rows of machines.
What is it called when a workout is done exactly as written?
Rx, short for as prescribed. No change to the weights, reps or movements. Anything adjusted to the athlete is called scaled instead.
What do you call a repetition that does not count in CrossFit?
A no rep. The judge calls it when the movement misses the standard, for example a squat above depth or a pull-up where the chin never clears the bar.
Three groups cover most of it: workout formats (WOD, AMRAP, EMOM, metcon, chipper, Tabata), movements (thruster, snatch, clean, muscle-up, double under, wall ball) and gym language (box, Rx, scaled, PR, no rep). The CrossFit glossary above has all of them.
What are some CrossFit terms for beginners?
“AMRAP,” “Box,” and “WOD” are some CrossFit terms beginners should start with. These abbreviations are essential for understanding workout structure, the gym environment, and daily workout routines in CrossFit.
What are some funny CrossFit terms?
“Pukie the Clown” and “Uncle Rhabdo” are some funny CrossFit terms. They humorously warn against pushing too hard, with Pukie referencing nausea and Rhabdo signaling overexertion and potential rhabdomyolysis.
What is a famous CrossFit phrase?
“Forging Elite Fitness” is a famous CrossFit phrase, encapsulating the program’s aim to build superior physical fitness through intense, varied functional movements and a strong community spirit.
