What do WOD, AMRAP, box and more actually mean? This glossary explains every CrossFit term in plain English before it trips you up in class.
"What the hell is a WOD, and why does everyone here talk in abbreviations?" Honest answer: because CrossFit has its own language – and you learn it fastest before your first class, not during it. The movements themselves are simple: squat, lift, press, pull, jump. Only their names sound like code at first. This glossary translates every term from our CrossFit guides into plain English, with everyday comparisons, no dictionary tone – so no word trips you up at your next WOD.
A WOD (Workout of the Day) is the day's training – usually two or three exercises against the clock. Every box programs its own WOD; it's basically the daily class schedule. The Box (Box) is simply what a CrossFit gym is called – not a marketing gimmick, it stuck because the earliest studios were often plain warehouses. Your On-Ramp phase (Einsteigerkurs) is the beginner course where you learn the basic movements without time pressure before joining regular classes.
Two abbreviations show up constantly: AMRAP stands for "As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible" – completing as many rounds or reps as you can manage within a fixed time. EMOM means "Every Minute On the Minute" – you start a small chunk of work at the top of every minute and rest with whatever time is left, like an alarm clock that keeps sending you back to work on schedule. A Metcon (Metabolic Conditioning) deliberately hammers your cardiovascular system under load – usually the intense part of a WOD.
A Benchmark WOD (Benchmark-WOD) stays exactly the same every time so you can directly compare your progress – like a fitness test you repeat every few weeks. Your PR (Personal Record, dein persönlicher Bestwert) is your personal best – the number you're actually trying to beat, not your neighbor's. A Heat (Startgruppe) is simply a competition start group – several athletes racing at the same time in the same "heat."
The steel structure holding pull-up bars and rings is the Rig, and the Rack is the stand where you load or set up your barbell. The box provides both – you don't need to buy either. Weightlifting Shoes (Weightlifting-Schuhe) have a raised, firm heel that helps you sit more upright and deeper in a squat – think of it as a wedge permanently built into the shoe. Chalk is the white magnesium powder that keeps your grip dry, and Grips (Grips) are small leather palm guards that protect your hands during high pull-up volume. The Weightlifting Belt (Gewichthebergürtel) supports your core on genuinely heavy sets – a tool for later, not a starter kit.
The Air Squat (Luft-Kniebeuge) is a simple bodyweight squat – the mother of nearly every CrossFit movement. In a Front Squat, the barbell rests on your shoulders instead of your back, keeping you more upright. The Deadlift (Kreuzheben) means lifting a barbell off the floor by extending your hips, not rounding your back. In an Overhead Press, you press the barbell from your shoulders straight overhead.
The Kettlebell Swing swings a kettlebell forward using hip extension – the power comes from your hips, not your arms. In a Wall Ball, you throw a soft medicine ball from a squat at a target on the wall. A Box Jump is jumping with both feet onto a box. The Thruster combines a front squat and an overhead press into one flowing movement – you stand up and press the bar overhead in the same motion.
Snatch and Clean come from Olympic weightlifting: in the snatch you pull the bar from the floor to overhead in one motion, in the clean only to your shoulders – both are technically demanding and worth taking your time to learn. Toes-to-Bar means hanging from the bar and pulling your toes up to touch it – pure core strength. A Double-Under (Doppel-Sprung) is a jump-rope skip where the rope passes under your feet twice before you land. The Ring-Row is a rowing move on gymnastics rings – a gentler stepping stone toward a pull-up, where you lean back and pull your chest to the rings.
A pull-up has three faces: Strict is the pure, controlled version with no swing – the most honest strength test. Kipping uses a wave-like motion through the hips and shoulders to squeeze out more reps in less time. Butterfly is an even faster, circular variation you mostly see in competition. All three are legitimate – just useful at different times.
Bracing (Bracing) means tightening your core hard before a heavy rep, as if you're about to take a punch to the stomach – it protects your spine. Dorsiflexion (Dorsalflexion) is your ankle's ability to bend upward; when it's limited, your heels lift off the floor during a squat. Scaling (Skalieren) means adjusting an exercise to your level – a lighter weight, a band instead of a full pull-up, fewer rounds. That's not a step back, it's the actual trick behind CrossFit.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) is your felt effort on a scale, usually 1 to 10 – your personal speedometer when you don't have a heart-rate monitor. A Deload is a deliberately lighter training week that gives your body time to recover, and a Taper is a planned reduction in training load before a competition or test, so you show up fresh. Rhabdomyolysis (Rhabdomyolyse) is a rare but serious muscle breakdown caused by massive overexertion – the reason "build up slowly" isn't a cliché but genuine safety advice.
Don't pin this list to your wall as flashcards – learn the terms live during your first On-Ramp instead. Your coach will say "AMRAP" and "Front Squat" in every single class anyway, and words you hear in context stick far better than memorized definitions. Use this glossary as a lookup for the exact moment a word trips you up – not as homework beforehand.
A WOD ("Workout of the Day") is the day's training – usually a combination of two or three exercises done against the clock or within a set time. Every box programs its own WOD, often changing daily. It's the central training unit around which the entire CrossFit routine revolves.
AMRAP stands for "As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible" – completing as many rounds or reps as you can within a fixed time, say 10 or 20 minutes. You work through a set sequence of exercises at your own pace and count how far you got by the end. That makes progress directly measurable.
Strict is the controlled pull-up with no swing – the most honest strength test for your back and arms. Kipping uses a wave-like motion through the hips and shoulders to complete more reps in less time. Both have their place: strict builds raw strength, kipping is a competition tool for later.
Scaling means adjusting an exercise to your current level – for example, a resistance band instead of a full pull-up, a lighter barbell, or fewer rounds. It's not a sign of weakness, it's the actual trick behind CrossFit: the training stimulus stays high while your technique stays clean.
The On-Ramp is the beginner course offered by almost every serious box, where you learn foundational movements like the squat, deadlift, and press without time pressure before joining regular classes. A structured technique introduction clearly lowers injury rates among beginners. Don't skip it, no matter how fit you feel.
Crossfit: Getting Started Overview