FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 2, 2015) -- According to CrossFit.com, the original blog and main source for everything CrossFit, CrossFit begins with a belief in fitness.

"We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency - not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable," the blog says.

Coach Greg Glassman developed the CrossFit fitness regimen over several decades.

According to the blog, CrossFit optimizes fitness by using constantly varied functional movements performed at relatively high intensity.

1st Lt. Ben Bunn, 316th Cavalry Brigade executive officer and coach at CrossFit Inception in Columbus, said the constantly changing programming and high intensity helped him become physically fit in a very short amount of time.

"I was going though the Special Forces qualification course at the time, and a lot of people there were very fitness oriented," Bunn said. "It was a very big part of the job. If you were able to bear the physical crucibles you were put through on a daily basis, it made everything much easier by proxy."

In 2008, Bunn went to his first CrossFit Level One certification, which teaches the fundamental movements of CrossFit.

"After I went to that certification, I was 100 percent bought in. CrossFit is the only way that I exercise," Bunn said.

Bunn said there are three types of movement in CrossFit: gymnastic, weight lifting and mono-structural.

The gymnastic movements are typically the simplest movements in the training. They include push-ups, pull-ups, air squats and sit-ups.

"Gymnastic movements mean you're just moving your body through space," Bunn said.

Weight lifting, or Olympic movements, includes moving an object through space.

"The most common are back squat, bench press and the dead lift," Bunn said.

Mono-structural movements can include running, bicycling, rowing, swimming or walking.

"Generally speaking, they are short and intense," Bunn said.

CrossFit is not just about exercise; it's also about community, Bunn said. At CrossFit Inception, and other CrossFit gyms, athletes are not alone.

"You will absolutely interact with the coach. You will absolutely interact with the people who are in the class with you," Bunn said. "I think that's very unique and it's what I love about CrossFit, because there is more community there.

Bunn said he thinks CrossFit training is a great workout regime for Soldiers.

"Nobody knows what you might or might not encounter in combat. (CrossFit) prepares you. It helps build mental toughness," he said. "It is always high intensity and it leaves you with a good state of general physical preparedness, more so than I think any other exercise regime or program can or will do."

Bunn said anybody can train using CrossFit workouts.

"Crossfit.com is there for open consumption by the general public. Anybody can log in to it, and if you have a couple hundred dollars worth of equipment in your garage, you can do it on your own if you wanted to," Bunn said.

Among the things Bunn said are needed to build a personal CrossFit gym are a barbell, bumper plates, a pull-up bar, a set of rings and kettle bells.

"Really for a thousand dollars you could have everything you needed. That seems like a lot, until you divide it by 12 and it's cheaper than just about any gym membership you can find," he said.

CrossFit equipment is also available for use at the Audie Murphy Performance Center.