Anyone Crossfitting?
 

I'm a newish crossfitter and I love it! Anyone else?

I haven't heard of it, vaguely only. I am going to check out what it's about though!

big fan of crossfitters, but i live in a very small town and there isnt a box here. i would be terrible at it, but i do think it looks like fun. im just not speedy. im more of a push-something-really-heavy-once-and-then-done kind of gal. i sure would love to try it though.

i've done a few at-home WOD's and i am sucktastic, but it really pushes me to the limits. which is fun. every once in a while. lol

here is a pretty cool crossfit chick. i admire her strength.
http://www.crossfitasheville.com/201...-tamara-cohen/

Wow! Thanks for that link!

As for speedy crossfitters, yeah, I'm slow. But I tell myself that "I'm slow but I'm here and that's what counts."

As you may know, I used to. I quit when I started to feel uncomfortable with the 'culture'. I had shoulder pain and was told to just ignore it. My shoulder pain kept getting worse. It took about 6 months of me doing careful exercise afterwards for the pain to subside in my shoulder. There are certain aspects I liked and certain aspects I didn't, but I'd never go back.

Since then, I've read a lot of stuff that provides some valid criticisms of Crossfit. I'm not sure but I think New Rules of Lifting Supercharged provides some valid points on why a randomized program like Crossfit may not necessarily provide you the results you want.

Right now, I'm doing Convict Conditioning and I enjoy it. It is a progressive program.

If you enjoy it though, I'd say enjoy it. I'd watch for injuries, shoulder tends to be a big one with Crossfit. If you start to feel uncomfortable for any reason, that is ok. If you have no problems though and love it, that is ok too.

Actually, she no longer Crossfits. Somehow I became FB friends with her when I did, she is probably one of the biggest critics of Crossfit now but she had different goals that Crossfit wasn't meeting. She is pretty impressive though now that she focuses on weight lifting solely.

right she strength trains now, yeah? i dont really follow crossfitting close. she only did it for a bit and then opened her own gym. i read this great article/interview from a fat positive blogsite about her.

she's one tough cookie.

i wouldn't fit in well with a box that promotes ignoring injury. a friend of mine teaches barbell lifting at one (he's a powerlifter and crossiftter) and they are very conscientious. i really think it depends on the box.

I do know one of the criticisms of crossfit is high injury/poor form so I am watching for that closely. I feel like that at least at the crossfit I go to, they are very picky about safety and form. Everything is adaptable and I am able to choose the activity that pushes me personally even if it is very simple for others there. So at least at this moment, I am impressed with this particular CF's focus on safety and form.

But it's good to keep in mind!

And Convict Conditioning? :lol: I have to check it out! It brings to mind climbing down a rope of bedsheets out of a jail cell. :)

It is a body weight exercise program with a funky name :) Both my husband and I are doing it together.

here is the article i was referencing. i think cohen has a great attitude, and it was a good read.

http://www.radicalhateloss.com/2011/...ara-cohen.html

excerpt

Nelie,

I feel the same way. The principles of CF are fine but the mentality of it gets a little out of control. The obsessive Paleo diet (which if I recall you are vegan?), the now-vilification of the Zone diet (former flavour), the proudness over puking in training and even rhabado as if it was a badge of honour.... oh dear!!

It's box specific too, glad you found a good box midwife! I do most of it at home.

I didn't know this was a nationwide/international thing. Thought it was just my local branch being ridiculous and obnoxious.

Hi new here. Saw this thread. Crossfit has a bit of a cult mentality that I just don't understand. They elevate Greg Glassman to a god-like status and he doesn't even do Crossfit. Don't get me wrong a lot of the workouts are fun and the variety keeps things interesting but they advocate things like high rep olympic lifts. That's just asking for injury.

I did crossfit for two months last October/November. I loved it but I felt like I never really got integrated into that cult mentality that was definitely present at my box. The workouts were intense but usually fun and it was a great way to push myself. I was gaining lots of muscle (I actually gained about 5 pounds) and eventually ran an 8 minute mile, a personal best.

However, I witnessed its high potential for injury. You are encoraged to finish the WODs, which often combine exercises requiring heavy weights and/or perfect form, in a short time period of time and as fast as possible. No matter how careful you are in maintaining your form, the intensity without opportunity to rest is exhausting. Often times I personally compromised form in order to finish quickly. I saw a few injuries while there, including my boyfriend who dislocated his shoulder. That pretty much ended it for us.

I don't get what the hoopla is over Crossfit: It's like gym class for adults. What's so revolutionary about that? After taking about ten classes with two different instructors, here are my specific criticisms:

1) A lot of time wasted. Our class is scheduled for an hour, but out of that hour, I get about 20 to 30 minutes of working out. The rest of the time is spent setting up equipment, talking about form (which should be done in an Intro. class or before class, not during class--except to those whose form looks problematic), etc. If the class was scheduled for just half hour, that would be fine, but to schedule an hour class for a 20-30-minute workout is a waste of time. So, what should be an efficient workout, is actually inefficient.

2) Higher risk of injury - I agree with one of the other posters who mentioned this issue. I really believe crossfit is for the young. I'm pushing 45, and my body does not respond well to quick movements with weights. I, too, hurt my shoulder during a crossfit class, and this is after almost two years of exercising 6 days a week with no injury (and I'm no slouch---I push myself & take other tough classes).

3) It seems haphazard - When I lift on my own or even take group fitness classes, there is some method to it. I want to hit all the major body parts. With crossfit, though, it seems haphazard. For instance, during a single class, my shoulders may get a great workout but my triceps might only get an incidental or no benefit. KWIM?

4) Can't I do this on my own? My gym sells packages of 10, and I bought one because I wanted to try CF. But it only took a few sessions for me to ask myself, "Why can't I do this on my own?" There's nothing complex about selecting a few moves and rotating them as fast as one can.

All in all, I'm not a big fan of CF, but I realize I'm in the minority because there are many people out there who love it.

I've heard (I'm not sure if it's true) that there are so many injuries that no major company will insure any of the "boxes." I believe crossfit itself had to start an insurance company just to cover their affiliates. There was that guy who sued one of the gyms because they pushed him so hard he got rhabdomyolysis. I'm all for pushing oneself but there comes a point when that pseudo-machismo is just kind of silly. There's one workout it's something like thirty reps of snatches for time. That defeats the purpose of doing an "o-lift." Instead of actually getting people to reach their own fitness goals it's all about getting them in the door with that "are you tough enough" mentality. You can't train for everything and if you try to you just end up mediocre at everything. Did anyone see the crossfit games where one of the competitions was a softball throw? Where does it end? Some of their workouts are good, don't get me wrong. I used to do them in my garage but after a while it went from varied to just chaotic and I don't mean that in a good way.

We don't have cf here, but we do have Elite Fitness, which sounds very similar, especially attitude part. You'd think they owned the gym.

At my age all that jumping and slinging and heaving at a fast pace would throw something out of whack for sure.

Midwife, I'm still doing crossfit, 4 years now at the same gym, still love it. Definitely, not all CF gyms or trainers/owners are the same. I definitely got lucky finding such a great one the first time out. Glad you have found a gym that you love and that you're enjoying the workouts.

There is actually a crossfit gym (I guess it's called a box?) near me and I have been interested in trying it out, but now that I've heard more about the overall mentality, and the injuries, and the dietary restrictions, I think I'll pass. I'll stick to using my kettlebells at home for a fun, safe, total body workout.....

Cheryl! Thanks for chiming in. I miss our old weightlifting threads...

Keep Moving Forward, it seems there is variation in the different boxes.

Also, maybe I am old/grouchy/crochety enough to know that I should and shouldn't do during workouts (ie I don't rush). I haven't felt unsafe at all. :shrug:

Maybe I'll start a Crossfit support thread with the idea it is for support, although I do think the information in this thread may be useful for general information.