The short justification for a CrossFit approach is this: Shorter, more intense workouts produce far greater benefits.

Whether you’re looking for cardio/vascular fitness, weight loss, or muscle mass — or even just some cool endorphin highs — you get much better results with CrossFit workouts than with traditional cardio workouts, weight-lifting, or endurance training.

This isn’t a matter of speculation or exercise religion; it has been demonstrated repeatedly with empirical research.

So if I want better results, I should be doing 4-minute workouts that emphasize whole-body CrossFit exercises, rather than doing 45-minute workouts where I warm up on a bicycle, then do freeweights to isolate different muscles, stopping every 2 minutes for water and stretching, etc.

Over the past week, I’ve been warming up to the basic CrossFit regimen — learning to do proper air squats, practicing my pushups, shoulder presses, etc. Getting some basic strength in place so I don’t throw my back out the first time I do a CrossFit workout.

I downloaded the Tabata clock for my computer and experienced the blissful agony of some preliminary Tabata method workouts.

Today was my first full-blown CrossFit workout. I’m following the one-week plan for beginners that Kirez has provided on his new Valhalla CrossFit web site.

Kathy will be doing her first workout later today, following this same regimen.

A key element of the CrossFit approach is constantly pushing yourself to improve your performance. To do this, you must measure your performance. And show it to the world — e.g., through various CrossFit forums.

I’m going to try posting my workout results here on my blog.

I won’t make each of them a separate post, since there would be too many, but I’ll plan on making a new post each week, and updating that post with my daily results.

UPDATE: By the way, Kirez has picked exercises that are easy to do at home, which I’m loving. So… four-minute workouts at home versus an hour’s trip to the gym? No contest!

WEEK 1 – APRIL 13

Monday Apr 14. 12-9-6 (reps; 12 reps first round, 9 reps second round…). Dumbbell thrusters, leg lifts, push-ups. For Time. Total time: 4:29.

Used 12-pound weights for my dumbell thrusts, and would move up to 20-pounders if I had them. The next larger I have is 25-pounders but those things are just big.

The dumbell thrusts and leg lifts (doing the partner version with Kathy’s help) were fine. But my pectorals are weak from lack of chest exercises in recent years, and I had to pause several times during my pushups. I know how to fix that, though…. In high school I used to do 50 pushups each morning when I rolled out of bed.

We plan to have another virtual conference in December. In the interim, to help keep the momentum going, we’re starting a Wine 2.0 Google Group. Feel free to join in if the topic interests you!