Crossfit

[Matt Saternus]

I'm curious if any MGSers have tried/currently are involved in Crossfit. I have a friend who practices it, which got me interested, but then I read a fairly negative piece about it in this month's Men's Health. Please let me know what you're experiences are, the pluses and minuses, and whether you're staying with it.

[GolfSpy_X]

When it first became popular in this area I did it for sometime Matt. I did not see the Men's Health article...what negative did it have to say about Crossfit.

[Matt Saternus]

When it first became popular in this area I did it for sometime Matt. I did not see the Men's Health article...what negative did it have to say about Crossfit.

 

Off the top of my head: the author did not like the extreme "no pain, no gain" philosophy (raised a few health concerns), did not like the group dynamic of the classes, and had some issues with the overall philosophy of not training towards a goal. He observed that some of the "fittest" people in the classes were also the fattest, so he questioned whether or not Crossfit was really a good program for all people with all fitness goals.

[GolfSpy_X]

Well I would say I can see where he is coming from. But it really depends on the person too. I am someone that likes that type of workout...and like to be pushed. Many of the people that came in there came for a kick in the ass to jump start them back into shape.

 

But I can see where there might be some health concerns in my opinion. Many of those people are not ready for that type of workout...hence that is why you see people throwing up quite often in there. But his comment on not liking training towards a goal blows my mind. Almost all of us in life whether we are working out or in our jobs or in a sport set some type of mental goals. And the group dynamic is great for people that need that to push themselves...but for the ones not in shape I could see where it might hurt them...because they feel pressured to finish a class that they might not be ready for physically.

 

Now regarding his comment about some of the fattest people being the ones that were in the best shape. This is possible with these type of classes. Because many of the members are ex-athletes that let it get away from them. Also there is a LOT of cardio involved. So your cardio might gain quicker than your weight loss. And therefore you might see quite a few overweight people be able to bust your ass in a class. But over time they all cut down for the most part. It just might take some time.

 

So overall I think for the right type of person it is a great type of workout...but definitely not for everyone.

[Matt Saternus]

What you say makes sense. One thing to clarify: the author of the Men's Health article is a believer in having a clear goal in mind (weight loss, muscle gain, etc). It was his opinion that Crossfit does not have a clear goal, only the nebulous idea of being "more fit." His opinion was that you should know what you want to do and create a program that will accomplish it.

[Manavs]

Off the top of my head: the author did not like the extreme "no pain, no gain" philosophy (raised a few health concerns), did not like the group dynamic of the classes, and had some issues with the overall philosophy of not training towards a goal. He observed that some of the "fittest" people in the classes were also the fattest, so he questioned whether or not Crossfit was really a good program for all people with all fitness goals.

 

welcome to the pussification of our society.

 

Here is my favorite quote on this from arthur jones - inventor of nautilus:

 

 

exercise to be of value must involve overload

and if it involves overload exercise is not very pleasant

its hard

if it isnt hard, it has no benefit

 

clip starting at 1:00

 

that is what provides the the stimulus to change! if your body can do something easily, where is the demand for change?

 

the body is not a diplomacy - it doesnt change because of thought, or time, or mild effort.

 

 

I'm a fan of the cross fit concept in this sense that it challenges the mind and the body (granted it does leave out the nutrition component). and for anyone to bash it shows that they are mentally weak to confront a challenge.

[tomba51]

I've been doing Crossfit for about a year and a half. I've always been fit, I've always gone to the gym, ran, biked, did yoga, just lots of cardio, lifting and stretching. I've never gotten the kind of results that I've gotten with Crossfit. I'm stronger, faster, more defined and more flexible. I've belonged to 2 different Crossfit gyms (they call them "boxes" in Crossfit lingo) and I have never seen anyone throw up, although I'm sure it must happen occasionally. What I have seen is people laying on the floor after a workout trying to regain their breath. Yes, CF is a very intense workout.

 

As far as goals are concerned, both CF boxes that I have gone to have charts on the wall where you post your personal bests in various exercises. It's not done every workout, but there are occasional workouts where you are encouraged to try for a new personal best. Another goal is to try to do the workout of the day (WOD) as prescribed. Most members do a scaled version of the WOD, in other words, if a prescribed workout calls for 235 lbs for a certain exercise, one member may do that weight, another may do 150, while yet another member may do only 25 lbs. So each workout is scaled to the abilities of that particular member. So one of the goals of a Crossfitter is to be able to do the workouts as prescribed (at 64 years of age and only 5' 7'', 140 lbs, it'll be a long time before I can do a prescribed WOD. LOL). Everyone has their own personal goals. Some people want to be able to properly perform a certain move by a certain date (e.g. by next spring I want to be able to do a set of 10 strict pull-ups), some people might be in training for a road race (I want to set a new PR in the 10K race next month) or some people, like me, might just want to be as strong, fit, and flexible as possible.

 

Crossfit is definitely worth checkout out.

[Mrs.Manbearpig]

I've heard a lot of good things about Crossfit and know people who swear by it. I tried Crossfit once and because I wasn't doing one of the exercises properly I hurt my back. So just make sure whatever you decide to do you are doing it with correct form and with a professional who can identify that.

 

I don't believe that if you are in pain when you're doing a workout is the only way you are benefiting from exercise (I would assume different if you are a body builder or training for any other professional sport). You can train and push yourself to the point of where it is uncomfortable but not painful and still benefit as long as you are doing it properly. I do workout and when I do I'm not in pain, and the next day I can sure feel that I worked out the day before.