Crossfit

jadu1536

I have tried 2 cross fit workouts and I really like them.. but people have told me that you can easily get injured easily, so I am a bit weary to join. Are there any people on our forums who do crossfit regularly and do they have any advice as to if its safe to join or not?

harper16

It's safe to join. Just ease into it, and ask for help with proper form.

Cassandraw3

I do CrossFit regularly. It is only easy to get injured if you do not use correct form. Proper form always comes first. Then speed and intensity. Also, don't go too hard too fast. Listen to your body when it tells you to rest or go easy. It also makes a big difference when you have a good coach.

Geneveremfp

Depends totally on your box.

The box I go to is great. They push proper form a lot and really encourage you to use a modification if needed. Every session starts with the coach checking if there are any injuries or twinges to keep an eye on. Lots of focus from the coaches on correcting improper form.

I think some boxes aren't that good though from what I've heard and encourage you to push too hard and too quickly.

lemurcat2

Geneveremfp wrote: »

Depends totally on your box.

The box I go to is great. They push proper form a lot and really encourage you to use a modification if needed. Every session starts with the coach checking if there are any injuries or twinges to keep an eye on. Lots of focus from the coaches on correcting improper form.

I think some boxes aren't that good though from what I've heard and encourage you to push too hard and too quickly.

This. I did it for a while and really enjoyed it (eventually I was much more focused on other activities so although it was fun it wasn't worth the cost). My box was great and focused on form and didn't encourage people to do more than was safe for them, but I've definitely heard that others are different.

Onedaywriter

I’ve been doing CrossFit for a little over two years. I love it! I started at 57 years like (now 59) and weighing 308 lbs. now I weigh 200-205 lbs and feel like I’m in better shape than I was at 40.

Some observations on how to do this safely:
- each gym sometimes called a “box” is different. If there are more than one in your area check them out. I was lucky as I only went to the gym I’m at and I think it’s great. What you’re looking for is a philosophy of health and a love for training all kinds of people. The owner of my gym gets more excited by a lowered blood pressure than he does of a competitive athlete doing well at a regional competition.
- Give it a month. At first it is confusing and a pain to navigate if you’re not from a fitness background. It really took me about six months to fully understand it but that’s it a reasonable trial.
- Scale. Scale. Scale. I still do most workouts scaled after two years. Do not worry that the tiny person next to you is lifting 3 times what you are. Only compare yourself to your improving self.
- Always remember. If you do 10 more reps or use 5 more pounds on a dumbell than you should and hurt yourself- all you achieved is making yourself unable to workout for a month- so your good intention blows up on you!
- do the workouts you hate. When I started, burpees were my nemesis. I hated them! But now I hate pull-ups!! The ones you hate are the ones you need.

If you would like to ask anything specific just ask me.

Give it a try. It is not for everyone but you may just find you enjoy it! Besides bicycling it’s the only workout I’ve stuck with this long in quite some time.

New_Heavens_Earth

Scale! Do not let anyone shame you or force you to do an exercise or lift a weight you are not ready to. Tell the coach if something causes pain or doesn't feel right.

I enjoyed Crossfit but left due to my old box's refusal to further scale around an injury. I will look for another. If the coaches aren't winning to work with you, don't be scared to go elsewhere.

jadu1536

Onedaywriter wrote: »

I’ve been doing CrossFit for a little over two years. I love it! I started at 57 years like (now 59) and weighing 308 lbs. now I weigh 200-205 lbs and feel like I’m in better shape than I was at 40.

Some observations on how to do this safely:
- each gym sometimes called a “box” is different. If there are more than one in your area check them out. I was lucky as I only went to the gym I’m at and I think it’s great. What you’re looking for is a philosophy of health and a love for training all kinds of people. The owner of my gym gets more excited by a lowered blood pressure than he does of a competitive athlete doing well at a regional competition.
- Give it a month. At first it is confusing and a pain to navigate if you’re not from a fitness background. It really took me about six months to fully understand it but that’s it a reasonable trial.
- Scale. Scale. Scale. I still do most workouts scaled after two years. Do not worry that the tiny person next to you is lifting 3 times what you are. Only compare yourself to your improving self.
- Always remember. If you do 10 more reps or use 5 more pounds on a dumbell than you should and hurt yourself- all you achieved is making yourself unable to workout for a month- so your good intention blows up on you!
- do the workouts you hate. When I started, burpees were my nemesis. I hated them! But now I hate pull-ups!! The ones you hate are the ones you need.

If you would like to ask anything specific just ask me.

Give it a try. It is not for everyone but you may just find you enjoy it! Besides bicycling it’s the only workout I’ve stuck with this long in quite some time.

Thank You! I will try this.. and I do my best not to compare myself with anyone or do anything that doesn't feel right.

danae16

I agree with the others! You can get hurt doing many types of exercise if you don't learn proper form and go too hard! I have to remember that I am my competitor, not the other gym-goers! With that said...my crossfit gym always has scaling options. I regularly scale the workouts. Today we did a dumbell workout and the RX was 35lbs for women. I did 15lbs. I could have probably done 20 but I pulled something in my back while gardening a few weeks ago so i'm working back into things. No one has made me feel bad at all about going slow.

Also - I am a slow runner. Everyone is still encouraging even though I am the last person in almost every running workout! If you can find a good gym (box) then the community is great!