Operational Model

The year 2001 saw founder launch crossfit.com, the website with the aim of spreading the word concerning his program, thus igniting its availability in a number of cities across the United States and beyond. Currently the running of this program operates on both community and open source models, which have been significant in providing a crucial platform for the worldwide growth of this program (Glassman, 2007). A Significant majority of the program’s intellectual property owe their roots to the website. The program’s founder also went several steps further to engage in the formation of affiliate websites as part of his marketing plan, which he devised to effect increases in the level of popularity for the program. As opposed to the typical operational model of most internet marketing plans, Glassman’s marketing campaign provides room for diversity through the differentiation of websites to incorporate uniqueness and rejection of conventional franchise models (Glassman, 2007). This model also requires very little in terms start-up resources.

In Canada, the program receives widespread acclaim as one of the most popular and fastest growing health and fitness programs on a worldwide level. The uniqueness of this method also draws inspiration from its participation requirements, which do not require gym membership or attendance for participation eligibility (Glassman, 2007). One of the most notably negative factors about this program is its significantly higher dropout levels, which currently stand at eighty percent. Despite the presence of this alarming factor, Glassman still feels that the components he offers within this program are far better in comparison to the components that typical health and fitness clubs usually offer. He attributes the advantages of this program in terms of higher application rates and its unique preparation of individuals for a range of physical fitness challenges as vital aspects that place it at significant advantage over conventional fitness programs (Glassman, 2007).

Significant majorities of the workouts that this concept incorporates bear feminine names and receive widespread consideration as the standard workouts, having integrated the design and structure for testing and retesting the performance of participants, for the measurement of progress levels to their fitness (Johnson, 2005). The earlier list of feminine workouts is inclusive of names such as Elizabeth, Angie, Fran, Diane, Chelsea and Barbara. These names are representative of Glassman’s earlier forms of exercises referred to as the Crossfit breathers. On e of the main objectives for these workouts, receiving these names was to facilitate easy remembrance, as opposed to the burden of re-explaining every component each time an exercise received mention (Johnson, 2005). The year 2007 saw Crossfit its first competition called Crossfit games, which comprised of seventy athletes. The grand prize for the winner of this competition totaled five hundred dollars and by the year 2012, this competition had grown to incorporate around seventy thousand athletes, with the grand prize totaling to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Crossfit has grown to exponential levels since its inception and has significantly influenced the fitness world to the level of movie starts and professional athletes constantly highlighting their love for it on television and social media (Johnson, 2005). This growth has subsequently extended to the making of a television show in the United States, called The Biggest Loser (Johnson, 2005).