| June 1974 | John Jesse publishes The Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia which popularizes the concept of metabolic condition. Some have accused Greg Glassman of appropriating the concept of the "metcon" from Jesse without giving proper credit. | Source |
| June 13, 2001 | Greg Glassman declares that periodization as planned variations in intensity is witchcraft. | Source |
| October 1, 2002 | Greg Glassman releases the first Crossfit Journal article, entitled "What is Fitness?" Among other things, it stresses the idea that the training all people (soldiers, athletes, and housewives included) should differ by intensity, not by type. | Source |
| January 1, 2003 | Tyler Haas conducts an interview with Greg Glassman. In it, Glassman infamously declares that Crossfit will allow an athlete to go from deadlifting 200 pounds to between 500 and 750 pounds in only two years, while only pulling max singles several times per year. Glassman has been asked on numerous occasions to retract his statement, but refuses. To date, no one has demonstrated that the claim is true. Also, indicates that it "inuits well" that being able to deadlift 250 for high reps at a high heart rate means that you might be able to pull 500 lbs at a resting heart rate. | Source |
| January 19, 2003 | Greg Glassman offers broad criticism of respected coach and sport scientist Mel Siff. Claims that he knows that Mel Siff's health conditions are caused by his diet. Glassman says he knows what Siff eats because of his recommendation for athletes in one of his books. Siff vigoriously disputes this. | Source |
| February 23, 2003 | Greg Glassman states, "the supremacy of Russian methods, sports science, and athletic supremacy has all the legitimacy of the high carb/low fat diet." | Source |
| June 1, 2003 | Glassman publishes an article in the Crossfit Journal entitled "Metabolic Conditioning." It was later noted to contain many ergregious errors, including the quote "anaerobic training can match endurance training for aerobic benefit." | Source |
| April 25, 2003 | First WOD with comments posted online at crossfit.com. | Source |
| October 6, 2005 | Greg Glassman lambasts respected gymnastics coach Chris Sommers and his athletes. Says that no kid will ever match the power output of any elite Crossfitters, and if one does, he will buy him a new car and pay for him to go to college. | Source |
| December 22, 2005 | Stephanie Cooper of NY Times writes an article entitled "Getting Fit, Even if it Kills You". First mainstream publication to document rhabdomyolosis via Crossfit. Also quotes Glassman as saying, "If you find the notion of falling off the rings and breaking your neck so foreign to you, then we don't want you in our ranks." | Source |
| December 31, 2005 | Glassman ends 2005 by declaring, on the Crossfit website, that the kipping pullup is critical to arboreal locomotion. Indicates he will laugh as non-Crossfitters avoid the kipping pullup. | Source |
| January 5, 2006 | An epic showdown between Greg Glassman and Josh Hillis occurs on the Crossfit website. Glassman publicly attacks the character of Josh Hillis and several others for being weak. Hillis tries to apologize but Glassman declares that he is attacking Hillis' character. Also infamously declares that the Crossfit therapy for injuries is "STFU." Glassman refers to powerlifter Jack Reape as "morbidly obese" and mocks Steve Shafley for his Fran time. | Source |
| January 09, 2006 | Bill Fox creates a post on the IronGarm X forums entitled "The Couch Thread." The post began with questioning Glassman's position that the Olympic lifts will develop speed strength better than the kettlebell lifts. Ironically, Glassman's assertion is now generally accepted to be true. However, the Couch thread evolved into the #1 location for those frustrated and angry with Crossfit and Greg Glassman to voice their views. Noted for its combination of vulgar attacks on Crossfit, along with more thoughtful critiques of the program. Also a source of Crossfit gossip and rumors, and a place to post pictures of Crossfitters. | Source |
| January 20, 2006 | Glassman asassinates the character of Dan John. Dan John is accused of showing a "sad display of virtues." An author on T-Nation wrote a disparaging article about Crossfit, and Dan John did not attack the author to show his support for Crossfit. Dozens of well-written comments in support of Dan John's character are erased from the Crossfit website. | Source |
| March 23, 2007 | Mark Twight (record-setting alpinist and trainer of 300 actors including Gerard Butler) is lambasted by Greg Glassman on the Crossfit website, accused of stealing Crossfit's intellectual property. Twight's documents on the website clearly show that he gives credit to Crossfit, specifically Greg and Lauren, for ideas. Glassman claims that "Mark Twight's attacks on CrossFit risk the lives of soldiers and police." Additionally, Glassman states "they're [sic] best male performance is not a match for our best females in Santa Cruz alone." To date, no female from Santa Cruz has broken any of Twight's records. | Source |
| September 12, 2007 | Buddy Lee joins Crossfit to offer $500 certifications on how to jump rope. Lee's relationship with Crossfit quietly ends in mystery within a year or two. | Source |
| April 19, 2008 | Brian MacKenzie declares on the Crossfit Endurance website that he will attempt to finish in the top 10 at the Badwater 135 Mile Ultramarathon and the Crossfit Games in the same year. | Source |
| July 14, 2008 | Brian MacKenzie DNF's from the Crossfit Games. | Source |
| August 8, 2008 | Makimba Mimms, a victim of rhabdomyolosis after performing a short Crossfit workout, is ridiculed on the Crossfit website for his lack of fitness. | Source |
| September 11, 2008 | Reknown football combine coach Mike Boyle explains how Crossfit exercises such as high-rep Olympic lifts are ill-advised and may lead to injuries. | Source |
| November 4, 2008 | Chris Shugart posts "The Truth About Crossfit" on T-Nation. Perhaps the most balanced and accurate third-party article to come out on Crossfit yet. | Source |
| November 8, 2008 | Greg Glassman ridicules a NSCA and ACSM-certified trainer for being less educated than Crossfit's best, and for making minor grammatical mistakes, despite the fact that Glassman's posts are often filled with the same. | Source |
| November 11, 2008 | Greg Glassman claims that Crossfit is the world leader in prevention of rhabdomyolosis. | Source |
| November 14, 2008 | Tony Budding says that doing Crossfit WODs will make you competent in almost any real-world activity, but says that sword-fighting and tightrope walking are not seen in the real-world, so they can be discounted. Ironically, does not provide instances of where one would see a double-under or a wallball in real life. | Source |
| November 23, 2008 | Man makes forum post on Crossfit forums asking if any other gay men do Crossfit. Thread is locked. A week and a half later, any discussion of sexuality is officially banned on the Crossfit forums and all instances of the word "gay" becomes censored. | Source #1
Source #2 |
| December 11, 2008 | Greg Glassman ridicules Brandon Oto and claims he doesn't understand fitness, physics, or mathematics. Refuses to recant his statement that Crossfit will give you a 750 lb deadlift within 2 years, even though there is no proof. Refuses to recant the idea that Crossfit will be a better program for bodybuilding than actual bodybuilding (drug-free). Also declares exercise science a myth and says that no achievement in human performance has come even in part from exercise science. | Source #1 |
| January 6, 2009 | Glassman gives a presentation at the Naval War College. Khakis look like they were rolled up in a ball before he put them on. | Source |
| February 3, 2009 | Another Glassassination. Greg Glassman learns of an email between Air Force higher-ups suggesting that the military is moving away from Crossfit. Calls the authors of those emails cretins and morons, and offers a $1000 bribe for the full identity of the authors. | Source |
| February 18, 2009 | Massive security breach of the Crossfit Forums occur. George Mounce is granted administrator access and views the moderator forums. Mounce posts screenshots on the Couch thread. Screenshots show moderators privately making fun of individual members, referring to one as "pudgy." Moderators discuss censorship and make "Gym Jones" a banned word on the Crossfit forums. Mounce is promptly banned from the Crossfit Forums and the title below his name forever reads 'Banned for integrity and ethical violations'. Any discussion of this incident on the Crossfit forums is banned. | Source |
| February 21, 2009 | With the help of some mathematical wizardry, Glassman defines a three-dimensional solid that represents the continuum between sickness, wellness, and fitness. Viewers are flabbergasted. | Source |
| April 14, 2009 | "The 100 Mile Movie" project premieres. Project aimed to document Brian MacKenzie and Carl Borg complete 100 mile races using the CFE protocol. Project ends in failure as neither MacKenzie nor Borg completed any 100 mile races from that point on. | Source |
| April 22, 2009 | Glassman gives a speech to the 3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan. He is shown wearing wrinkled cargo pants, a wrinkled t-shirt, and hiking boots. | Source |
| April 25, 2009 | Greg Glassman publicly challenges Michael Caviston (Director of Training for the Naval Special Warfare Center) to participate in a charity demonstration. Glassman suggests that the demonstration involves both Glassman and Caviston performing a deadlift while shirtless. In the same message, Glassman also makes statements that some interpret to be homophobic. No shirtless deadlift demonstration ever occurs. | Source |
| June 19, 2009 | Brian Mackenzie of Crossfit Endurance declares that he refuses to "destroy his body" by completing a qualifying race to be eligible to run Western States 100. Asks permission from race directors to skip qualifer. Denied, of course. | Source |
| June 20, 2009 | Respected trainer and one of the first elite Crossfitters, James "OPT" Fitzgerald, acquires "physiological symptoms of death" after completing Crossfit workout during the 2009 Crossfit Games. Describes releasing dark urine, extreme cramping and soreness, and being curled up in the fetal position -- symptoms of adrenal fatigue and rhabdomyolosis. | Source |
| July 10, 2009 | Crossfit Games banner unveiled. Reads, "the strength and value of CrossFit lies entirely within our domination of other athletes. This is a truth derived through competition, not debate." | Source |
| July 12, 2009 | Mikko Salo wins 2009 Crossfit Games. Subsequent interviews reveal that Salo's exercise regimen varies considerably from what it posted on crossfit.com and does not follow a paleo diet. | Source |
| August 8, 2009 | Crossfit Journal pays Russell Burger to attend Gym Jones seminar offered by Mark Twight and report on his findings. Twight was not made aware that Burger was paid to write for the CFJ during the seminar. | Source |
| September 12, 2009 | Glassman declares that the problem with the fitness world is that "there is too much in the way of unsubstantiated claims and too little in the way of evidence". Glassman still refuses to provide evidence for his most controversial claims. | Source |
| September 20, 2009 | WildGorillaMan posts the first ever "Androgen Friday" on the Couch thread. It is a collection of photos of women, many of them very muscular, doing Crossfit exercise. Andro Friday becomes a regular occurence on the couch thread. | Source |
| October 2, 2009 | John Sheaffer aka "Johnny Pain" formerly of Crossfit Grayskull resigns his affiliation and explains his frustration with Crossfit HQ. | Source |
| November 1, 2009 | Carl Borg, co-founder of Crossfit Endurance, DNFs at the Javelina Jundred 100 Mile. Subsequent reports on the Crossfit Endurance website (now erased) claim that it was not because of the training. | Source |
| November 16, 2009 | Crossfit Risk Retention Group (aka "The RRG") is incorporated. Affiliates are highly encouraged to pay thousands of dollars to Crossfit HQ so that they may be insured against lawsuits. | Source |
| November 20, 2009 | Day one of the Crossfit Black Box Seminar begins. Well known Crossfit names such as Dave Castro, James OPT Fitzgerald, Robb Wolf, and Greg Everett are in attendance. Summit ends in fiasco as Robb Wolf and Greg Everett erupt in argument with Dave Castro. Greg Glassman refers to Greg Everett as a "novice weightlifter." Wolf and Everett end their affiliate status and dissociate from Crossfit on bad terms. Links to Robb Wolf's website and Greg Everett's website are banned on the Crossfit forum. Any discussion of the seminar are banned too. Couch thread sees sharp uptick in activity. | Source |
| November 28, 2009 | Brian MacKenzie DNFs at the Quad Dipsea. | Source |
| December 2, 2009 | Prolific forum author Barry Cooper writes an eloquent piece in support of the medicine ball clean. Piece is ill-placed, considering that Greg Everett was ousted from Crossfit only days before for disagreeing with the use of the medicine ball clean for teaching how to clean a barbell. | Source |
| December 13, 2009 | Noted strength coach Mark Rippetoe hosts final certification with Crossfit. Ends relationship with Crossfit. Crossfit forums ban posting any links to "startingstrength.com." | Source |
| December 18, 2009 | All Internet traffic from irongarmx.net to crossfit.com is redirected to various pornographic websites, such as gay S&M sites. Confirmed by many users. Redirect is removed after several weeks. | Source |
| December 24, 2009 | Michael Caviston, Director of Training for the Naval Special Warfare Center, releases one of the most poignant criticisms of Crossfit methodology in relation to BUD/S preparation. Caviston acknowledges that Crossfit may be a component of BUD/S preparation but in general is inadequate and not advised. | Source |
| January 28, 2010 | The first of a series of videos entitled "At the Chalkboard" is released in the Crossfit Journal. These videos show a visibly intoxicated Greg Glassman pontificating on a number of barely intelligible subjects with Tony Budding. Glassman slurs his words and at one point needs to grab onto a shelf behind him for stability. One line infamously declares that "it [Crossfit] should be more like birthday party [sic] and less like physics class." | Source |
| April 25, 2010 | The Crossfit Journal releases an article by Dr. Jeffrey A. Glassman (Greg's father) entitled "The Cause of the Earth's Climate Change Is the Sun." Readers are baffled. | Source |
| May 1, 2010 | Greg Glassman claims he has "Fran" and "Diane" WOD times for every starter on the Colts. Does not provide evidence. | Source |
| May 12, 2010 | An article appears on gay.com about the author's experience at Crossfit Hollywood. Author says, The "athletes partaking in this endeavor were people you don’t think actually exist in real life." The word "gay" still banned on Crossfit forums. | Source |
| June 1, 2010 | Crossfit Games tickets go on sale. The price to watch people exercise is $75 plus taxes and fees. | Source |
| June 2, 2010 | Dave Castro explains why it's best to lift snatches with bad form in a Crossfit workout, and how to alter your form. | Source |
| June 5, 2010 | WildGorillaMan releases his website, separating himself from the Andro Friday posts in the Couch thread. Site is instant hit. | Source |
| June 16, 2010 | Glassman declares that the cleanliness of the bathroom in a Crossfit gym determines how good it is. | Source |
| July 5, 2010 | CFE founder Brian MacKenzie's solo 41-mile run through Badwater ends in failure. Reports from his Twitter page say that his shoes melted. Interestingly enough, hundreds of athletes have managed to complete the full 135-mile journey across Badwater and managed to deal with melting shoe problems. | Source |
| October 18, 2010 | Video demonstration of workout released on Crossfit website. Crossfit Director of Training Dave Castro is shown demonstrating a 24-second heavily-hitched rounded-back failed deadlift. He is congratulated for his effort. | Source |
| November 5, 2010 | Couch Thread hits a million views. | Source |
| November 22, 2010 | Glassman declares "We got the science." He declares Crossfit will release a study, and "this will dwarf anything ever conceived of in Framingham or Harvard Nurses." | Source |
| November 24, 2010 | Andrew Wilson posts a thread entitled Just reread "CrossFit Journal on Metabolic Conditioning..." on the Performance Menu forums, owned by ousted Crossfit weightlifting coach Greg Everett. Thread rises to cult status within months and becomes known as "IGX Lite." Wilson and others offer more poignant and well-argued criticisms of Crossfit programming and methodology. | Source |
| December 11, 2010 | Dave Castro states that top level decathletes like Bryan Clay "don't have that mindset to push like CrossFitters do." Other Crossfitters in the room agree. | Source |
| December 27, 2010 | Glassman makes the claim that "CrossFit is the application of the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics to human movement, something else that is kind of unique for us." Viewers are baffled, especially considering his statement on January 28 that Crossfit should be "more like birthday party [sic] and less like physics class." | Source |
| January 6, 2011 | Head of Crossfit General Counsel Dale Saran publicly attacks the naysayers who claim that Crossfit "sold out" by accepting a Reebok sponsorship. | Source |
| January 12, 2011 | Picture posted on the front page of Crossfit.com showing the naked butts of people while exercising. Many are displeased with the picture. | Source |
| March 16, 2011 | First Crossfit Games Open workouts are released. First two workouts involve high-reps of double-unders, power snatches, box jumps, and deadlifts. Alarmingly high number of achilles ruptures are reported on the Crossfit Games website and elsewhere. Andrew Wilson aggregates notable instances on the PMenu forum. | Source |
| March 21, 2011 | Crossfit Games website tells competitors that if something goes wrong when submitting their videos, that it's their fault for waiting too long. Countless people are unable to post their scores because website fails. Many complain. | Source |
| March 23, 2011 | Crossfit Games website tells competitors that if they do not use exactly the weight prescribed in the workout, then it will not count. Weight for the men's workout was 75 lb or 35kg (77.16 lb). No one really understands what's going on here. | Source |
| June 1, 2011 | Competitor magazine releases an article on Brian MacKenzie. Claims MacKenzie has completed the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon, yet no records of Brian MacKenzie exist anywhere on the Badwater website. | Source #1 Source #2 |
| June 6, 2011 | Couch Thread hits 1000 pages. | Source |
| July 5, 2011 | Tony Budding opens a Twitter account. Begins to tweet profound philosophical concepts and statements, such as "Great leadership requires keen observation (receptivity) and obdurate drive. It's a rare combination" | Source |
| July 11, 2011 | Brian MacKenzie and Anthony Roberts publish an article in the Crossfit Journal suggesting that peaking for an athletic event is a waste of time. Bio for Anthony Roberts simply states which Crossfit certifications he possesses, and his picture is cropped to hide text on his jacket. Bio on Roberts' website indicates he is an authority on anabolic steroids and his jacket reads "steroids.com." | Source |
| July 14, 2011 | Andrew Wilson discovers what is believed to be the 200th case of exertional rhabdomyolosis induced by a Crossfit workout. | Source |
| July 16, 2011 | Crossfit Reebok store opens, selling board shorts for $60, and zip jackets for $150. Military cap claims to "ooze elite attitude" and another shirt displays a phallic symbol with a suggestive quote. | Source |
| July 22, 2011 | Former elite Crossfitter Gillian Mounsey releases a very honest article on her dissatisfaction with Crossfit. Describes an epiphany that Crossfit was making her good at exercise, not athletics. | Source |