When John Hindy moved from Michigan to Tuscaloosa two years ago, he developed a passion for CrossFit and began searching for more people who shared the same interest.

In January 2012, he, along with William Rountree and Erik Glynn, founded the Alabama CrossFit Club, a rapidly growing nonprofit.

“Most of the response I got was, ‘It’s too expensive, too far off campus, and I could get hurt,’” Hindy said. “We were able to break barriers and actually cut the usual price in half, making it affordable for students.”

In the first two months, the club grew to over 40 members and has since continued to expand.

“We started the club to share it with other like-minded people and other students,” Rountree, the Alabama CrossFit president and trainer said. “CrossFit is a crazy, fun, fitness regime.”

CrossFit was developed by former gymnast Greg Glassman who opened the first affiliate gym in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 1995.

The program is geared toward broad and overall fitness and designed to enhance a wide variety of physical characteristics simultaneously such as cardiovascular endurance, power, flexibility, speed, agility and balance.

“My favorite thing about CrossFit is having a trainer practically by your side and having others to help encourage you,” Lynsey Richardson, a junior majoring in cosmetology, said. “I like having a set thing to do every day. I always hated going to the gym and figuring out what to do and how long to do it, but at CrossFit, the trainer lays out everything for you.”

In 2001, Glassman launched Crossfit.com, a site that offers information, explanations of workouts, and a free “WOD,” or workout of the day, that people can do at home.

Those passionate about the program can become certified to use the CrossFit name and set up gyms and programs.

Alabama CrossFit is located at Headhunters CrossFit and MMA gym, which is the first of its kind in Tuscaloosa. Rountree said CrossFit is very communal and not like walking into your average gym.

“Having others with you encourages you because often the workouts are hard and having someone telling you that you’re fighting through to be healthy is all I need to finish a workout no matter how hard it is,” Richardson said.

The intense nature of CrossFit exercises has created controversy among many nutrition and fitness experts due to its potential dangers, including a severe and rare medical condition called rhabdomyolosis, commonly referred to “rhabdo” in the CrossFit community.

“You’ll usually see it happen to a big bulky guy with a lot of muscle mass trying to go too hard too fast,” Hindy said. “It happens when you overwork your body. CrossFit focuses on the whole body instead of just one muscle group.”

Rhabdo occurs from vigorous exercise that damages the skeletal muscles and causes them to rapidly break down. This can result in ruptured muscle cells entering the blood stream causing damage to the kidneys, even kidney failure, and is potentially life-threatening.

“We’ve seen it a couple times,” Hindy said. “It happens in CrossFit, but its nothing we worry about on a daily basis. It’s really based on the coaches. Students trust us and we know what we’re doing.”

While the workouts may be strenuous and pose health risks, they are scalable to each individuals needs, and there are coaches present to help and ensure performance safety.

“We modify your workout, scale the weights and movements,” Rountree said.

Aside from health risks, a common concern about CrossFit, especially with women, is it will cause a person to bulk up and become too muscular.

“The bulky women you think of have been power lifting for years and taking steroids,” Rountree said.

Richardson said she was intimidated by weight lifting when she first began CrossFit.

“It looked like stuff that football players lifted,” she said.“I was used to a different workout routine but was open to trying anything that made me want to workout again.”

When starting CrossFit, beginners are required to take an elements class, offered to teach them about the new lifts, safety, equipment and technical terms.

“I freaked out at first because they have their own language,” Richardson said. “It took me a while to adjust and learn all the new workout terms and names for things.”

Hindy said while CrossFit won’t appeal to everyone, all are able to do it.

According to Crossfit.com, the program is designed for any committed individual, ranging from children to the elderly, regardless of experience.

“We want people to come in and trying it and share it,” Rountree said. “It keeps our dream alive.”