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Just started Crossfit - Review


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2017 Nov 8, 1:39pm   9,781 views  20 comments

by joshuatrio   ➕follow (4)   💰tip   ignore  

Anyone here do CrossFit? I mentioned in the past that I was thinking about giving it a try. Since becoming a full time telecommuter, I decided to give it a go starting last week so I don't become a fat keyboard jockey. Gotta say, it's a lot of fun. I've done everything from traditional weight lifting, p90x, running and cycling - all for periods of 2-3 years at a time for the last 10 years. Everything has gotten boring, with the exception of cycling.

So far, CrossFit is one of the more challenging "activities" or sports that I've done. Every day is different, and you just show up - the routine is already planned out for you. The strength training is solid (squats/snatch's), and the emphasis is whole body. Today we did strength training and rope climb and medicine ball throws. Honestly, it was badass, and a lot of fun. You almost feel like a kid in a jungle gym. The "coaches" (with the exception of one) have been really good about proper form. I'm impressed - so far, and understand why people are die hards about it.

It is expensive ($180/mo.) but hell, cycling was expensive as I got into it.

With that said, what do you do to stay in shape? Any Crossfitters?

#imnotfat #stayinshape #crossfit

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1   RC2006   2017 Nov 8, 1:53pm  

My kids are small so about 75% of my exercise these days is from throwing them around and doing kid things. I also hike, mountain bike a little, and starting to think about getting into road biking.
2   joshuatrio   2017 Nov 8, 1:59pm  

rpanic01 says
My kids are small so about 75% of my exercise these days is from throwing them around and doing kid things. I also hike, mountain bike a little, and starting to think about getting into road biking.


I did road biking for years (even gave up my car for 3) and loved it. Since moving to Atlanta, there's no way in hell I'd bike on these roads.
3   RC2006   2017 Nov 8, 2:06pm  

A bunch of my friends are hard core retro road bikers so that and finding my dads 60s italian racing bike to restore is getting me into it. I've gained 10 pounds over the last twelve months so I need to do something I'd like to lose 15 and get back to my premarreid weight lol.
4   WookieMan   2017 Nov 8, 2:25pm  

Whether you have good form or not (or coaches), be careful on the knees with Crossfit. Of everyone I know that's done it 12 months or longer, they all end up with medium to major knee issues. One guy I know was on the leading edge of the whole Crossfit thing and is a coach himself. Ended up having knee surgery. Out of the 5 or so people I know that do it regularly (coupe times a week and for more than 12 months), probably 3 or 4 have had a surgery on their knees due to it.

This is exceptionally true for women. I don't know if any research has been done on it yet, but I'd guess 60-70% of women Crossfitters have destroyed their knees with 50% of them resulting in knee surgery.

Push yourself of course, but I assume you're not 22. So don't get caught up in the "rah, rah" meathead mentality of having to push it to the max every time. You'll end up hurt. It definitely is a good, full body work out that not much else competes with.
5   joshuatrio   2017 Nov 8, 2:38pm  

WookieMan says
Whether you have good form or not (or coaches), be careful on the knees with Crossfit. Of everyone I know that's done it 12 months or longer, they all end up with medium to major knee issues.


Good to know. The trainer just had acl surgery too. What moves in particular would cause all this?

So far it's been nothing to extreme. I've done a lot of squats in the past and have never had issues.
6   WookieMan   2017 Nov 8, 3:07pm  

joshuatrio says
What moves in particular would cause all this?

So far it's been nothing to extreme. I've done a lot of squats in the past and have never had issues.

I'm no doctor and haven't done cross fit myself. My understanding though is the time and intensity elements of it are the problem. You're doing intense things with the body and generally trying to get it completed in a certain frame or as fast as possible. Even the best form can get throw out the window when there's a time element added. Here's an excerpt from Crossfits own website: https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-crossfit
CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. All CrossFit workouts are based on functional movements, and these movements reflect the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more. These are the core movements of life. They move the largest loads the longest distances, so they are ideal for maximizing the amount of work done in the shortest time. Intensity is essential for results and is measurable as work divided by time—or power. The more work you do in less time, or the higher the power output, the more intense the effort. By employing a constantly varied approach to training, functional movements and intensity lead to dramatic gains in fitness.


Bold tags added for emphasis by me. They don't sugar coat you're doing heavy, hard things as fast as possible. Hence why I think there are so many injuries.

I'm not dogging Crossfit at all so you know, but you have to be careful. Especially if you're 30 plus. That's why I mention don't get sucked into the meathead aspect of it. If someone is pushing you too much, tell them to fuck off, seriously. If they say no, ask them to sign a waiver saying they'll cover the deductible and out of pocket for your forthcoming knee surgery(ies).

It's the intensity along with the herd mentality that I think a lot of people hurt themselves and sometimes permanently. I'd suggest have fun with it, but don't treat it as a sport or competition. It's neither.

PS: Running an old MacBook and losing use of ghjkl on my keyboard, so sorry for typo's.
7   Goran_K   2017 Nov 8, 3:10pm  

I used to do Cross Fit. I did it for a year and a half and stopped when I started getting injuries (shoulder, knee). I gained a lot of muscle actually and lost weight.

But now I just take long walks. Seriously, like 1 hour walks. After doing this for about 4 months, I'm literally the lightest I've ever been since I was like 19.

(I also dropped soda or any juice etc)
8   Ceffer   2017 Nov 8, 3:13pm  

WookieMan says
t's the intensity along with the herd mentality that I think a lot of people hurt themselves and sometimes permanently. I'd suggest have fun with it, but don't treat it as a sport or competition. It's neither.


Maybe rename it "Crossfuckedup".
9   Shaman   2017 Nov 8, 3:43pm  

My wife does it and has for a few years. I went to one session, kinda brutal, but I made it through ok though. She’s careful about not maxing out, not very competitive naturally, so I guess that helps.
It definitely helps her keep in great shape! And I really don’t mind a few muscles on my woman.
10   joshuatrio   2017 Nov 8, 5:02pm  

WookieMan says

It's the intensity along with the herd mentality that I think a lot of people hurt themselves and sometimes permanently. I'd suggest have fun with it, but don't treat it as a sport or competition. It's neither.


Ahhhh, makes complete sense. Thanks for the advice.

I'm not out for personal records, just for the workout. Completing the workout of the day is a challenge itself - if I can do that, I'm happy.

Goran_K says

But now I just take long walks. Seriously, like 1 hour walks. After doing this for about 4 months, I'm literally the lightest I've ever been since I was like 19.


Taking walks won't cut it for me. I've always needed an outlet outside of work, and my vice back in the day was competitive cycling and surfing. Since I'm no longer on the coast, this is the best alternative I've found.
11   MisdemeanorRebel   2017 Nov 8, 5:18pm  

WookieMan says
Bold tags added for emphasis by me. They don't sugar coat you're doing heavy, hard things as fast as possible. Hence why I think there are so many injuries.

THIS.

Do regular Bodybuilding and finish off with 10-15 minutes of Cardio.

There's this speed obsession with Crossfit that's outright dangerous. In fact, some Crossfit Champion just paralyzed themselves not long ago. This guy was a Crossfit coach:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540945/Kevin-Ogar-injury-CrossFit-athlete-left-paralyzed-waist-having-spine-severed-dumbbell.html
There's absolutely no rush in deadlifts, and no benefit and all the danger from rushing them. Nobody, certainly no 'fitness professional' should ever be deadlifting under time pressure.


People looking to build strength and/or hypertrophy should be trying to slow the execution of reps, and looking to perfect the form, not speed them up. Crossfit pushes the opposite for no good reason but plenty of bad ones. Bad form=injury. Intensity+Speed=Bad Form.



We've all seen the guys at the Gym doing bicep curls at hyperspeed, wondering why their arms don't grow. But it looks like they're doing some kind of hyperspeed breakdancing with the weights, like it's a contest to swing your arms as fast as possible. Instead of getting a pump, their arms are human pendulums moving the weight mostly by swinging them rather than using the muscle.
12   MisdemeanorRebel   2017 Nov 8, 5:25pm  

This video is actually supposed to promote Crossfit, but anybody who has the most elemental, non-bro science conception of physical training can spot the mistakes.
www.youtube.com/embed/viQnHOXyqEg

Running through the weightroom, that's smart. While carrying shit over your head, even smarter.

I don't know what the F is going on at 5 minute mark.

This guy isn't exactly built, if you saw him on the street you'd never think he's a gym rat at all. Probably because high speed timed crap he does isn't building much muscle.
13   WookieMan   2017 Nov 8, 6:09pm  

It's been a while since I've looked at particular workout/lifting plans. Best success I've had was with low weight, lots of reps and about 3 sets. So lets say I could max 250lbs on a bench press one time. I'd set up at 120-30lbs and try to do 30 reps x 3. If you can't do at least 20 reps at this weight, you bump DOWN the weight. This won't make you look like Hulk, but if you apply this to all other parts of the body, I've found it to be best. Like I said it's been a while, but I think this is an endurance approach to lifting.

I don't think most women like Hulk type men. If you've got one that likes that, have fun. It's tough to sustain long term. The lifting I'm talking about above is much easier to step back into if you have a bad week or even month. This is also why I feel like Crossfit is tricky. You can do Crossfit for a year and life happens. You don't get to the gym for a month and then you try to do what you were previously doing. You get where I'm going. Your fucking arm is numb and limp because you just dislocated your shoulder doing activities that you could a month ago and now can't. That scenario is not happening benching 130lbs for most grown men.

I know, I know, it's the third time. But I wouldn't discourage anyone from Crossfit, just get some advice from someone outside the gym before jumping in. And if you're 30+ your goal should just be to do the work out. Don't push weight or speed where you can. Odds are you're going to still end up healthier and in better shape then most work outs if you need the motivation from others. Remember though, fuck you is the phrase to push back at an overzealous coach or trainer. Health shouldn't result in injury.
14   joshuatrio   2017 Nov 9, 3:10am  

TwoScoopsMcGee says


People looking to build strength and/or hypertrophy should be trying to slow the execution of reps, and looking to perfect the form, not speed them up. Crossfit pushes the opposite for no good reason but plenty of bad ones. Bad form=injury. Intensity+Speed=Bad Form.


I'm not necessarily looking to build strength or mass. Just stay in shape. I've done the 3x10's, 4x12's, 5x5's and all that jazz at traditional gyms during my teen years and over the last 3-4 years, and honestly, it's just straight up boring.

The lifting portion so far at CF has been really slow. No rush. The trainer is constantly critiquing form. The squat and snatch portion has been 2 sets each minute, for 10 minutes (20 reps) which gives you plenty of time to think the motion through.

The workout of the day is a little different though, but it's never been with heavy weights. Maybe a 10-20 lb medicine balls, burpees, situps with a 10-20 lb plate, running, rope climbs etc.., but never really enough to injure yourself. This is the only portion that is timed if you even care about a personal record. Like I said, I just want to get through the workout.

So far, I like just walking in and being told, "you're going to do this stupid routine today" - then laugh at the routine, only to get your ass kicked because it's harder than you think.
15   joshuatrio   2017 Nov 9, 3:14am  

WookieMan says

I know, I know, it's the third time. But I wouldn't discourage anyone from Crossfit, just get some advice from someone outside the gym before jumping in. And if you're 30+ your goal should just be to do the work out. Don't push weight or speed where you can. Odds are you're going to still end up healthier and in better shape then most work outs if you need the motivation from others. Remember though, fuck you is the phrase to push back at an overzealous coach or trainer. Health shouldn't result in injury.


If I got that shit from a trainer, I'd walk out. And thank you for the SOLID advice. I'll keep that in the back of my mind while going through CF.

Interesting this is, I've struggled with some nerve/hip pain and shoulder pain for two years. After two weeks of CF, these issues have almost gone away. I think the emphasis on full body workout, helps hit muscle groups you don't normally hit with your standard gym rat type exercises.
16   zzyzzx   2017 Nov 9, 10:04am  

joshuatrio says
I did road biking for years (even gave up my car for 3) and loved it. Since moving to Atlanta, there's no way in hell I'd bike on these roads.


I used to ride my bike all over Atlanta. Exactly what is so objectionable about it?
17   Shaman   2017 Nov 9, 10:12am  

I’d agree on the speed thing. Intensity is more like not resting long between exercises. On the CF “prescription” I did, Most everyone was grouped by threes to do the workout. I was grouped with one other guy so we definitely went more intense because less standing around between exercises. We were done first long before anyone else, but nothing was done at a hectic pace except perhaps for the 100M run in between ten sets of pull-ups and snatches.
No need to go fast when you’re doing it for the exercise.
18   joshuatrio   2018 Jan 6, 2:42pm  

zzyzzx says

I used to ride my bike all over Atlanta. Exactly what is so objectionable about it?


After being hit 3 times in less than 5 months (by people on their phones), I decided it wasn't worth the risk. Where did you ride (besides silver comet)?
19   mell   2018 Jan 6, 3:34pm  

WookieMan says
This is exceptionally true for women. I don't know if any research has been done on it yet, but I'd guess 60-70% of women Crossfitters have destroyed their knees with 50% of them resulting in knee surgery.


The reason for this is that women are generally more overweight than men and also never trained their muscles and ligaments, not doing much household or kids chores anymore (no squatting, bending down etc.) - the price of lazyness. It's true it's hard on the knee and it's worth being careful, but many women have knee issues from almost any type of sport. Lose a couple of pounds and do serious exercises to strengthen the knees and things will get better.
20   mell   2018 Jan 6, 3:39pm  

Kickboxing, running, boot camps, cycling and seasonal sports like skiing/snowboarding or windsurfing, yoga. During busy/lazy periods half an hour youtube cardio burn and/or 100-200 push ups help as well. Keeping that BMI (yes it's flawed but..) just below 25 ;) Also intermittent fasting and paleo. In fact most would be ok by simply briskly walking 5-10 miles every day and eating proper food plus a little strength workout here and there (push-ups & squats and/or yoga).

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