Working out that way is synonymous with Crossfit for most people the same way desktop computing is synonymous with Windows and OSX for most people. They didn't invent it, but they deserve a lot of credit for making it convenient for people to just sign up for a class and do it. Most of the people griping about Crossfit getting too much credit weren't doing anything to make it accessible and convenient for people until Crossfit came along and proved there was a market for it. If I wanted to train that way before Crossfit, I would have had to: find a suitable place to work out, buy or construct some of the equipment, schedule sessions with a personal trainer to make sure I was doing the exercises correctly, recruit friends to work out with me, and so on. And there certainly would have been compromises. Most gyms aren't set up to allow you to do a set of cleans, drop your weights, and then run 400 meters without dodging cars or pedestrians. (Hell, most don't let you drop weights, period. As far as I am aware, there are only two commercial gyms in my city that have bumper plates, not including the four (at least) Crossfit locations, and one of them is a specialized Oly training facility that costs more than Crossfit.) With Crossfit, I just show up, pay attention, work hard, and have fun. It's a great service.