How to CrossFit your office

BELIEVE it or not, turning your office into a CrossFit gym might be the secret to unlocking greater productivity. Really.

Why you should CrossFit your office

IF YOU haven’t heard of CrossFit ... No, of course you’ve heard of CrossFit.

The hugely popular, often controversial fad has revolutionised the way people exercise.

Combining elements of callisthenics, high-intensity interval training, weightlifting and gymnastics, CrossFit brings groups of strangers together to sweat, swear and throw things around.

Much like your typical office.

At its heart, CrossFit is about efficiency — performing the most work in the shortest amount of time.

Here’s how you can apply those principles to your office to increase productivity.

1. GO HARD OR GO HOME

Work smarter, and harder.

CrossFit workouts are generally short — under 20 minutes — and brutally hard. Exercisers get a lot of actual work done in that time.

The same can apply in the office. Research has shown that the most productive employees take regular breaks throughout the day.

Specifically, they take 17-minute breaks for every 52 minutes of work, according to a study by social networking company Draugiem Group. It means working harder AND smarter.

2. WORK TOWARDS A GOAL

Know where you’re going.

Employers everywhere are increasingly coming to the realisation that the best workers aren’t necessarily the ones who sit at their desk from nine to five.

Much like CrossFit workouts are generally goal-oriented — completing a certain number of sets and reps in the shortest amount of time — good workers should be, too.

Give your employees defined goals, and give them the freedom and flexibility to achieve those goals in their own way. Just keep an eye on their form.

3. GO CAVEMAN STYLE

Avoid grains for gains.

Any self-respecting CrossFitter will tell you they avoid grains like the plague, and aspire to return to the simpler times of the 43rd century BCE.

Cavemen didn’t have chairs. They walked around and stood up a lot. They didn’t eat grains either, which is why they were so productive in the office.

Apple CEO has even said “sitting is the new cancer”. Studies have shown that not only are standing desks are better for your health, they can make you smarter. Similarly, at least one neurologist claims grains are actually destroying our brains.

4. KEEP IT FUNCTIONAL

Eliminate unnecessary distractions.

CrossFit promotes the idea of ‘functional fitness’. That is, fitness which can carry over into real-world activities, like carrying dead bodies or hurling rocks at cars.

There’s nothing less functional than endless meetings which drag on and on, sapping your time, energy and motivation. Australians have named long meetings as the number one thing ruining their work day.

So keep meetings to a minimum, and only when absolutely necessary. For bonus points, try this trick: schedule every meeting for half an hour. No more, no less.

5. MAKE IT A COMPETITION

Give them a reason to try.

Anyone who has Facebook and has friends who do CrossFit will be familiar with the yearly spectacle that is the CrossFit Games, a worldwide competition in which everyone can take part.

Public leaderboards promote intense competition among exercisers, with everyone attempting to post the best possible score for the weekly workouts.

Many offices can benefit from ‘gamifiying’ performance targets, and the public nature of it ensures employees are driven to put their best foot forward.