Crossfit - All In?

SGM_Adonis

So I'm at around six months into my Crossfit ummm....dare I say "Journey"?

I do enjoy the competitive spirit. I love the team aspect. I love that I get to measure my progression not against others, but against myself via previous PRs.

But I have to admit that I'm constantly hearing people complain about their sore shoulders...that they can't sleep very well. Yet I see them continuing on with attempting their HSPUs, Hand Stands, OH Squats, etc. There are some aspects of Crossfit, that I just can't "buy into". I protect my body. I don't want to hurt my shoulders. I avoid HSPUs and Hand Stands. Honestly, I don't see them as necessary. I can do other exercises that will strengthen those areas. Sure, the alternative has a total body advantage but I don't see the advantage outweighing the risk of injury.

So no, I'm not all in. I'm not one to have to try Paleo, HSPUs, PROGENEX products, and all other things considered a Crossfit craze.

Does this mean I'm not a crossfitter? Hell no! I love the crossfit mentality and I see myself continuing to improve in those areas that I deem proper, safe, and advantageous to a better body and mind.

What are your thoughts?

PRMinx

I don't buy into anything I don't want to. I don't eat Paleo and I don't drink Progenix. If I"m not feeling up to a heavy weight on some days, I don't lift it.

I'm still a CrossFitter. I still love my CrossFit community. I'm just responsible and I don't have an ego that supersedes common sense and logic.

shutyourpieholeandsquat

I agree with Paige. You're a crossfitter if you crossfit. Plain and simple. Hell, yesterday my coach called me an "athlete". ME! I laughed. He said "you did an athletic competition so you're an athlete. Get over it and accept it" haha

SGM_Adonis

I agree with Paige. You're a crossfitter if you crossfit. Plain and simple. Hell, yesterday my coach called me an "athlete". ME! I laughed. He said "you did an athletic competition so you're an athlete. Get over it and accept it" haha

I'm not disputing that I am or am not a crossfitter. What I'm wondering about, is how you all feel about avoiding certain exercises because risk outweighs reward.

PRMinx

I agree with Paige. You're a crossfitter if you crossfit. Plain and simple. Hell, yesterday my coach called me an "athlete". ME! I laughed. He said "you did an athletic competition so you're an athlete. Get over it and accept it" haha

I'm not disputing that I am or am not a crossfitter. What I'm wondering about, is how you all feel about avoiding certain exercises because risk outweighs reward.

I avoid HSPU - it's just not important to me to master it. I also step up on box jumps when it's a very intense WOD with a lot of box jumps. I don't get a kick out of scraping up my legs.

1PatientBear

I agree with you Ricardo. One thing I haven't been able to buy into is kipping. I still use bands on pullups because I refuse to kip and want to be able to do strict. HSPU and the like don't bother me, but kipping seems like cheating to me. Not judging anyone who DOES choose to kip, but it's just not for me.

I also don't do paleo. Advocare is HUGE in our box and I partake to some degree but haven't consumed the Koolaid there yet either.

cmay89

I agree with Paige. You're a crossfitter if you crossfit. Plain and simple. Hell, yesterday my coach called me an "athlete". ME! I laughed. He said "you did an athletic competition so you're an athlete. Get over it and accept it" haha

I'm not disputing that I am or am not a crossfitter. What I'm wondering about, is how you all feel about avoiding certain exercises because risk outweighs reward.

It's called being smart. If something is not worth it to you in the long run, then by all means, there is no reason at all to do it. I work on HSPUs and handstand holds, because I'd ultimately like to make it to regionals one day and wish to be as prepared as possible. My goals dictate that I need to learn certain skills.

A smart crossfitter knows when something is of benefit to them and when something isn't.

I don't do paleo, zone, no progenex, no herbalife, no advocare. I'm a no frills kind of girl. I want people to see what my body can do, not what diet I follow or what supplements I take. 4+ years in and I don't think that my viewpoint is going to change a bunch on this part of it.

SGM_Adonis

I agree with you Ricardo. One thing I haven't been able to buy into is kipping. I still use bands on pullups because I refuse to kip and want to be able to do strict. HSPU and the like don't bother me, but kipping seems like cheating to me. Not judging anyone who DOES choose to kip, but it's just not for me.

I also don't do paleo. Advocare is HUGE in our box and I partake to some degree but haven't consumed the Koolaid there yet either.

The latest at my box is the Zone/Paleo hybrid diet that they want us to try. I'll give it a try just to see how a month affects my body. Yes, I don't kip at all....butterfly pullups are the other one, I just don't see it. Yes they have a degree of difficulty, but I just don't see doing a butterfly for sake of time. I'd rather do strict pullups.

_Resolve_

I avoid HSPU for a few reason, I am not confident that trying to press my body-weight with my shoulders is a good idea yet and im not very comfortable upside-down. Instead I do wall walks, the trainers at my box are always going to push for someone to make a breakthrough but not at the cost of injury. I do eat primal but only to control my blood sugar, it keeps me off of diabetes meds.. if that wasn't the case I would eat the hell out of some bread.

Keep doing what your doing, if you enjoy it and it yields results than its a win win

Inkratlet

Well, part of my Buddhist philosophy involves being mindful of my body, mental state etc. So if something causes pain (I'm not talking about some delayed onset soreness) I don't do it. I have no desire to be the best and show everyone how awesome I am. I would like my body to be the best it can be and to get up to competition standard but that's for ME and not for anyone else. I won't hurt myself getting there, that defeats the purpose.

Box jumps usually fall into the pain category. I do take part in max height box jumps for skill, but high volume in WODs can cause me knee problems so I quite often do step ups. Haven't yet attempted HSPU's mainly because I only this morning got handstands and I'm nowhere near being able to do them.

I don't do Paleo and I don't do Progenex. I also prefer Nike to Reebok, although I do have a pair of Reebok lifters purely because I couldn't find any others small enough for my tiny feet.

I know what you mean though. There's a guy at my CF who is 'all in', he owns every piece of Reebok branded equipment there is, wears all the t-shirts, has the whole CF fashion look going on etc. But I heard the other day he is opening his own CF gym about 20 miles away so he's bought into all of it and is flying the flag high - fair enough.

bostonwolf

So I'm at around six months into my Crossfit ummm....dare I say "Journey"?

I do enjoy the competitive spirit. I love the team aspect. I love that I get to measure my progression not against others, but against myself via previous PRs.

But I have to admit that I'm constantly hearing people complain about their sore shoulders...that they can't sleep very well. Yet I see them continuing on with attempting their HSPUs, Hand Stands, OH Squats, etc. There are some aspects of Crossfit, that I just can't "buy into". I protect my body. I don't want to hurt my shoulders. I avoid HSPUs and Hand Stands. Honestly, I don't see them as necessary. I can do other exercises that will strengthen those areas. Sure, the alternative has a total body advantage but I don't see the advantage outweighing the risk of injury.

So no, I'm not all in. I'm not one to have to try Paleo, HSPUs, PROGENEX products, and all other things considered a Crossfit craze.

Does this mean I'm not a crossfitter? Hell no! I love the crossfit mentality and I see myself continuing to improve in those areas that I deem proper, safe, and advantageous to a better body and mind.

What are your thoughts?

I'm with you. I feel like it's my coach's job to motivate me and make sure I'm doing it right. I feel like it's my job to say "I'm not ready for that" and scale accordingly.

At 285 lbs, I'm not doing hand stand pushups. I'll do wall walks and get myself up there and hold it for a bit, but I'm not going to max out. If I want to do that to my shoulders I'll do push presses.

I would say that you are the Crossfitter that more Crossfitters should emulate. Crossfit is about improving yourself. I think a lot of people take the "I'm going to beat everyone in this WOD" and end up causing themselves injury for no other reason than ego.

bostonwolf

I agree with you Ricardo. One thing I haven't been able to buy into is kipping. I still use bands on pullups because I refuse to kip and want to be able to do strict. HSPU and the like don't bother me, but kipping seems like cheating to me. Not judging anyone who DOES choose to kip, but it's just not for me.

I also don't do paleo. Advocare is HUGE in our box and I partake to some degree but haven't consumed the Koolaid there yet either.

I did an Advocare cleanse and thought it was a waste of money. Won't do it again.

I do use the Progenex Recovery just because I like it and it does seem to help ease my muscle soreness a bit.

bostonwolf

Well, part of my Buddhist philosophy involves being mindful of my body, mental state etc. So if something causes pain (I'm not talking about some delayed onset soreness) I don't do it. I have no desire to be the best and show everyone how awesome I am. I would like my body to be the best it can be and to get up to competition standard but that's for ME and not for anyone else. I won't hurt myself getting there, that defeats the purpose.

Box jumps usually fall into the pain category. I do take part in max height box jumps for skill, but high volume in WODs can cause me knee problems so I quite often do step ups. Haven't yet attempted HSPU's mainly because I only this morning got handstands and I'm nowhere near being able to do them.

I don't do Paleo and I don't do Progenex. I also prefer Nike to Reebok, although I do have a pair of Reebok lifters purely because I couldn't find any others small enough for my tiny feet.

I know what you mean though. There's a guy at my CF who is 'all in', he owns every piece of Reebok branded equipment there is, wears all the t-shirts, has the whole CF fashion look going on etc. But I heard the other day he is opening his own CF gym about 20 miles away so he's bought into all of it and is flying the flag high - fair enough.

I will do jumps at 20 inches. 24 inches and I step up. 20 inches I can land every time, no problems. 24. Not so much.

alysa521

I think through doing crossfit I have learned how important it is to take care of myself. I come from a marathon background and after years of 50+ miles per week and 3 stress fractures it wasn’t til doing crossfit did I become aware of the importance of taking care of myself. I now do at least 15 min of mobility every single night and I eat so much better. I don’t eat “Paleo”, I eat real food without ingredients that I can’t pronounce, most of which happens to fall under the Paleo list. I’m more aware of making sure I get enough sleep and knowing when to back off weight and just work on form if I’m feeling beat up.

Do I want to finally get muscle ups and HSPU’s? Of course but I did everything strict before I attempted to kip, pull-ups, rings dips, etc. I still use an ab mat in HSPU WODs and do them all strict because until I’m strong enough to do an RX strict HSPU I’m not getting any stronger by kipping the heck out of them. I think most people learn pretty quickly that crossfit is a journey and there’s always something to get better at, but it’s not worth beating up your body and burning yourself out. It’s also not sustainable in the long run.

Inkratlet

I will do jumps at 20 inches. 24 inches and I step up. 20 inches I can land every time, no problems. 24. Not so much.

I can do them at 20" no problem, which is usually RX for ladies in our WODs, but the relentless impact on my knees over and over again as I do 200 of the damn things is not worth it. What exactly am I gaining from that? Proof to everyone that I can do 200x 20" box jumps? At the expense of the next couple of WODs because I'm icing my knees... :laugh:

Disclaimer: randomly chosen number. I don't think we've ever done that many but it made the point.

shutyourpieholeandsquat

I agree with you Ricardo. One thing I haven't been able to buy into is kipping. I still use bands on pullups because I refuse to kip and want to be able to do strict. HSPU and the like don't bother me, but kipping seems like cheating to me. Not judging anyone who DOES choose to kip, but it's just not for me.

I also don't do paleo. Advocare is HUGE in our box and I partake to some degree but haven't consumed the Koolaid there yet either.

The latest at my box is the Zone/Paleo hybrid diet that they want us to try. I'll give it a try just to see how a month affects my body. Yes, I don't kip at all....butterfly pullups are the other one, I just don't see it. Yes they have a degree of difficulty, but I just don't see doing a butterfly for sake of time. I'd rather do strict pullups.

Our box promotes Zone/Paleo hybrid too. I haven't done it because it's just too much for me at this point, not saying I won't at some point. I also don't care anything about Advocare, etc. As with most gyms they all have some product line of something to sell and just because you don't buy in doesn't mean anything.

I'm not to the point of kipping yet because my upper body strength sucks (ha) so I can't weigh in on that. My box has good coaches and doesn't push weight on us or anything that may injure us or anything we don't feel comfortable doing, and for that I'm thankful.

SGM_Adonis

I will do jumps at 20 inches. 24 inches and I step up. 20 inches I can land every time, no problems. 24. Not so much.

I can do them at 20" no problem, which is usually RX for ladies in our WODs, but the relentless impact on my knees over and over again as I do 200 of the damn things is not worth it. What exactly am I gaining from that? Proof to everyone that I can do 200x 20" box jumps? At the expense of the next couple of WODs because I'm icing my knees... :laugh:

Disclaimer: randomly chosen number. I don't think we've ever done that many but it made the point.

*sees* 200 24" Box Jump WOD written on board....*opts for 2 mile sprint to the house*.

FWMagicMike

So I'm at around six months into my Crossfit ummm....dare I say "Journey"?

I do enjoy the competitive spirit. I love the team aspect. I love that I get to measure my progression not against others, but against myself via previous PRs.

But I have to admit that I'm constantly hearing people complain about their sore shoulders...that they can't sleep very well. Yet I see them continuing on with attempting their HSPUs, Hand Stands, OH Squats, etc. There are some aspects of Crossfit, that I just can't "buy into". I protect my body. I don't want to hurt my shoulders. I avoid HSPUs and Hand Stands. Honestly, I don't see them as necessary. I can do other exercises that will strengthen those areas. Sure, the alternative has a total body advantage but I don't see the advantage outweighing the risk of injury.

So no, I'm not all in. I'm not one to have to try Paleo, HSPUs, PROGENEX products, and all other things considered a Crossfit craze.

Does this mean I'm not a crossfitter? Hell no! I love the crossfit mentality and I see myself continuing to improve in those areas that I deem proper, safe, and advantageous to a better body and mind.

What are your thoughts?

I think you are a smart person and have questions. I think that you aren't pressured into doing things that you do not agree with will make you very aware. I hope when you question why something is done, that your box gives a great breakdown and not a "well, this is how it is here". If my gym was like that, I would never do kipping pull-ups, but they explained how it is beneficial. Plus, our gym also does strict pull ups and is well rounded in all kinds of movements.

I personally love handstands and HSPU because I love the challenge and I am a calisthenics lover. I also eat vegan. I am just as much as a crossfitter as one who eats paleo, as much as someone eats processed foods. I think it is awesome you are wary of your surrounding and movements.
Just a thought, those that do the movements that have hurting body parts, they should know the difference between pain and discomfort. HSPU or handstands done properly do not put stress on the shoulders because you are stacked at a unit. Basically, the biceps, triceps, forearms and shoulders should fail simultaneously, and as volume increases, sure it becomes much more difficult.

I as a vegan and one who just loves to work out, see you too as one who just wants to be the best you can be.

:drinker:

FWMagicMike

I will do jumps at 20 inches. 24 inches and I step up. 20 inches I can land every time, no problems. 24. Not so much.

I can do them at 20" no problem, which is usually RX for ladies in our WODs, but the relentless impact on my knees over and over again as I do 200 of the damn things is not worth it. What exactly am I gaining from that? Proof to everyone that I can do 200x 20" box jumps? At the expense of the next couple of WODs because I'm icing my knees... :laugh:

Disclaimer: randomly chosen number. I don't think we've ever done that many but it made the point.

This, what you said is absolutely true. The point of box jumps is supposed to fire up your fast twitch muscles and increase your speed through plyometric training. The thing with box jumps (and this is the main reason why many injuries happen in crossfit) is that a majority of plyometric training (box jumps, burpees, tuck jumps, double unders, wall balls...) should be done within a certain amount of volume and not done to fatigue, this causes overtraining. So box jumps are great for building speed, endurance, agility and increase your VOmax, however, if I were you, I would begin doing step ups when you feel fatigued, so you do not hurt yourself. You are a smart crossfitter because you are very smart to stop when you know you should!

JAllen32

I'm still very new to CF, its actually only my second week. But I love the box I go to. Travis, my...Idk what you call him, coach? I guess? He doesn't subscribe the "everyone should do this diet" thing, and he doesn't allow kipping. He is very much about proper form and technique and taking it slowly until you get it right. Its balls to the wall with what is good for you. Sure I can box jump 24"+, but he would prefer that I use 20" because I'm doing a lot of them. He doesn't want us getting hurt just to prove we can do something. I know CF has a bad rap with the non-believers, but it doesn't have to be a crazy workout that is going to get you injured. It just depends on having a trainer that knows what they are doing, you listening to your body.

~From a newb's standpoint.

bostonwolf

I agree with Paige. You're a crossfitter if you crossfit. Plain and simple. Hell, yesterday my coach called me an "athlete". ME! I laughed. He said "you did an athletic competition so you're an athlete. Get over it and accept it" haha

I'm not disputing that I am or am not a crossfitter. What I'm wondering about, is how you all feel about avoiding certain exercises because risk outweighs reward.

It is absolutely necessary. As a fellow 40 year old, you know that you just don't recover like you used to. I feel as strong as I ever have, but I do not bounce back from a hard session like I used to.

And as I said before, there are exercises I'm not even going to begin to seriously work on until I lose another 50 lbs or so. HSPU, anything on the rings besides locking out for time and then, maybe, dips.

I would rather go lighter and avoid injury than go heavy, hit a PR, and not touch a bar for a month.