Does anyone here do crossfit? I am an avid swimmer/runner and looking to expand my overall fitness and build strength. I have a lot of friends who do crossfit and make it sound like it’s the best thing in the world, however I’m wondering if I would be better off getting a PT and developing my own strength training routine. I do like the aspect of variation of workouts and prefer the idea of say, climbing ropes and flipping tires over just lifting weights for example. Any thoughts?
Sure! If you LOOOOOVE the idea of powerlifting and weight training, but HATE the bothersome and tedious requirement of having to use proper form so that your spine is not completely out of whack by the age of 40, then you will ABSOLUTELY LOVE Crossfit!
Nothing is better than getting lectured to at work by doughboy pencil-pushers who suddenly took up Crossfit and, while they still clock in at 30+ BMIs (they are still “working on it”), they still feel entitled to lecture about the “benefits” of Crossfit and how inferior other training methods are, even though I’ve actually been diligently going to the gym with a consistent weight training and cardio routine for decades now!
It’s so cool to see that these folks have gone and spent hundreds of dollars on the latest Reebok Crossfit gear – it makes them definitely look “legit.” It reminds me of the guys you see on their new $5,000 Cervelo roadbikes stuffing their guts into XXXL-sized kit and wind-tunnel Oakleys and helmets so that they look like overfed Lance Armstrongs. After shoehorning their enormous desk-cultivated bodies into those tights, they then precariously position themselves on the seat, and put those $700 rims at extreme risk of folding like greeting cards.
If you decide to start, make sure you know:
the first rule of crossfit, never stop talking about crossfit.
DOW is the straight troof. Crossfit is for the frustrated middle age wannabe athletes who were never quite good enough when they were younger at any sport.
Hah! Ok I’ll admit I sort of had this impression of crossfit. But I do know some extremely fit people who participate in other sports and swear by crossfit. I think what I really want is an obstacle course gym to train in addition to regular weight lifting. Thanks for the input.
hahahahhahahah
just read starting strength 5*5
Why not take Adult Gymnastics class?
That actually sounds really interesting, but I haven’t ever seen that advertised. Will have to look into it.
Dow is spot on, cf is similar to marxism, beautiful in theory but not realistic and prone to injury. Complex movements should be done in isolation to high repetitions, let alone sequentially. The athletes you see on cf usually do their own training in which dyamic, oylympic movements are done in a different day (or different hour) than the cardio aspect. I would recommend joining a strength and performance gym that carries similar equipment but teaches fundamentals.
Time will show that one of the greatest modern olympic weightlifting athletes was destroyed by cf (Dmitry Klokov).
it’s amazing how crossfit elicits such emotional responses. i do a variation of crossfit called Sealfit and i can say without a doubt that it has drastically changed my body, mind and spirit for the better. i can’t comment on how effective or dangerous joining a crossfit gym would be. i do my program by myself and i learned the complex moves by watching videos on Youtube (California Strength and a few others have great videos that take a building block approach to mastering olympic lifts. Also you can search Mike Bergener who has some great instructional videos). I’ve been an athlete my whole life and am coordinated so it wasn’t difficult for me to pick them up. I also kept the load extremely light and only increased it gradually until i knew i had perfect form.
all i know is this program turned me from a ball of goo back into a strong, durable athlete. i think one of the more dangerous aspects of crossfit is that it is typically done in a group, which tends to cause people to try to perform beyond their ability. my advice would be to avoid doing it in a group if possible.
Here’s the sealfit program if you’re interested:
I think those extremely fit people would be extremely fit regardless of what they do.
100% accurate.
mark this down as one of the funniest posts ever on AF. Well done DOW.
I’ve been involved in personal training for a long time and with crossfit type training since 2009. The powerlifting, weight lifting and body building communities have been hating on it for the majority of that time because they watched some youtube videos and think they know what they are talking about. I can’t say I am an advocate of crossfit, because it is an affiliate model, but I am an advocate of the gyms I’ve worked in. Here’s the deal:
-
Crossfit is an affiliate model. Not a franchise, like Planet Fitness. This means that quality of a gym varies enormously, from excellent collegiate level coaching to some schmuck that can’t get a job anywhere else.
-
Do not screen for a crossfit gym on price. While that is a consideration, it if much more important to look at the gym and coachs’ credentials. Some questions: how long have they been coaching? Do they have experience coaching outside of crossfit? Do they have specific classes (Oly, gymnastics, barbell, endurance, etc.) What do other members of the gym say? How long has the gym been open? These are primary questions. If the cost per month is $170 that is going to be way cheaper that joining a normal gym and paying for personal training classes. You are getting small group training several times a week for that 170 and there is typically no long term contract.
-
Injuries happen at every gym. The stupidity you bring to your workout will increase the likelyhood of an injury. For example, if you are performing 30 rep olympic lifts at 85% of your max effort you are going to have a bad time. I’ve never been injured doing crossfit. The only time I’ve really been injured working out was actually at Iron Sport Gym outside of Philly, which basically any crossfit hater would tell you is a legit gym. I was on a strenth cycle and I had a severe strain while squatting (incidentally at a weight that I now could rep for 10). Injuries can happen anytime under any coach.
-
Your gym should be able to explain their programming. There should be a strength and mobility component to what they do.
-
Once you start a weightlifting or gymnastics program, go slowly. Your muscles will recover much more quickly than your connective tissue (tendons and whatnot). You need your tendons to develop, as evidenced by my squatting injury. This is particularly true of gymnastic movements like muscle ups and kipping pull ups. If any gym tries to get you do do kipping pull ups or muscle ups before you can do 5 or 10 strict pullups, then run out of that place like its on fire.
-
Check your ego. Listen to your body. Everyone wants results immediately, but that is how you get hurt or burned out. Scale the weight slowly and don’t try to compete with anybody but yourself. Move in a slow and controlled manner focusing of form. Smooth is fast. Jerking around like a spastic monkey accomplishes nothing, drains energy and is asking for injury.
That’s all I have right now. Other people have been hating on crossfit since I became involved 5 or so years ago. If crossfit was injuring so many people and providing such poor results, it is surprising that it grew so quickly. I coach at a crossfit gym now because I is the most gratifying to me. For example, I had somebody start a year ago probably 100 pounds overweight. She is not naturally athletic and wanted to quit after the first few weeks. I did som one one one sessions to get her more comfortable. Now, she is down to 140. That makes me way more happy that working with some guy who played HS sports, thinks he’s an athlete and already knows everything. Generally, the people who are the strongest, fastest have the most legit athletic history (D1 or pro) are also the most humble. They have nothing to prove.
The issue is that there are good gyms and bad gyms. In my experience the good gyms take the majority of the pie and bad gyms wither and die.
I heard you have to lay on the ground after a crossfit session to really emphasize the stress and strain of the workout.
what’s your program BidStud?
I haven’t had a gym membership for over six years now, and it’s not just because there is a gym in my building since I seldom use that. Here’s what I’ve been doing to stay fit:
-
Free weights and pilates mat in my apartment
-
Combination of swimming, tennis, or interval running on an outdoor track 4x a week
-
Sleeping at least seven hours a night
-
Eating healthily (e.g. no soft drinks or dessert, except if it’s part of a restaurant prix fixe menu that I paid for – the idea of “sunk cost” is still sometimes irrelevant to me)
I think the last two bullet points seem to have had the most beneficial impact on my body and mind.
Never been inside a CrossFit, but I was on a varsity sports team in college so the idea of athleticism is not unfamiliar to me.
I think most people ignore the simplest fact; all these programs are pointless if you don’t have a regular and sufficient sleeping schedule.
I seriously don’t think I could live without dessert… i’m one of those people that could happily go to a restaurant, order dessert and leave.
Obviously in moderation though, I don’t go nuts and eat 5 slices of salted caramel cheesecake after every single meal. More like 4.