Nine things you probably didn't know about CrossFit

CROSSFIT workouts are named after women because they "wreak havoc", and the man who founded the exercise regime "is no longer living the life himself".

SO YOU hardly gave CrossFit a thought before dismissing it as a workout for fanatics looking to torture themselves?

Turns out, there's more to the hot-button trend than burpees and (unofficial cartoon mascot) Pukie the Clown. For the unfamiliar, here are a few of the more surprising facts about everyone's favourite workout to hate.

1. This is the man who founded CrossFit

His name is Greg Glassman. He's a former gymnast and personal trainer who has described himself as a "rabid libertarian".

CrossFit's Greg Glassman.

2. And he no longer practises

"Glassman is no longer living the life himself," Inc. magazine reported in 2013, "but he inspires fierce loyalty in some of the world's fittest people."

3. The very first CrossFit workouts were for the sheriff's department in Santa Cruz

The department got wind of Glassman's exercise mentality and called him up to train officers. Today, he told ReasonTV, there are more than 6000 affiliate gyms (called "boxes" in CrossFit lingo).

4. There's still a strong law enforcement/military connection

Police academies, tactical operations teams and military special operations teams all use CrossFit as their "principal strength and conditioning program", according to CrossFit.com, the site Glassman started in 2001 to share his workouts of the day (WODs) with a wider audience.

Calm Devine at CrossFit 4178 in Wynnum. Picture: Richard Walker

5. The workouts are named after women because they "wreak havoc"

Glassman's alleged explanation for this naming scheme is quoted on many devoted websites:

"I thought that anything that left you flat on your back, looking up at the sky, asking, 'What just happened to me?' deserved a female's name. Workouts are just like storms, they wreak havoc on towns."

Take Fran, for example: That workout is 21 reps of 95-pound barbell thrusters, followed by 21 pull-ups, then 15 thrusters, 15 pull-ups, nine thrusters and nine pull-ups, all as fast as you can.

6. Other workouts are named to commemorate fallen soldiers

The Hero Workouts, on the other hand, are all named after naval officers, army sergeants, SEALs and other soldiers killed in combat, like Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy.

Murphy was 29 when he was killed in Afghanistan in 2005, according to CrossFit.com. One of his favourite CrossFit workouts was renamed "Murph" in his honour. The workout consists of a one-mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats and topped off with a final mile run.

CrossFit workouts are named after women because they "wreak havoc."

7. Not just anyone can open his or her own box

That garage gym on the corner calling itself a CrossFit box likely offers more than meets the eye: Affiliation requires an application process (with an essay) and a yearly fee, plus instructors complete training courses.

8. CrossFit has a philanthropic side

Beside chances to give back hosted by individual boxes like the annual Memorial Day Murph and Barbells For Boobs, CrossFit's official "fundraising arm" CrossFit for Hope funnels 100 per cent of donations to fighting childhood cancer, providing education in Kenya and other charitable ventures.

9. The majority of CrossFitters are women

Out of the 10 million self-described CrossFitters, about 60 per cent are female, according to the American Council on Exercise. In Australia the statistics are similar, with just as many women competing in the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games as men.

Master World CrossFit champion Amanda Allen (left) and Stephanie Ortiz. Picture: Mike Burton

More: What CrossFit doesn't want you to know

This story originally appeared on the Huffington Post