Is crossfit worth it?

Flab2Fab27

I can see where this thread was going after just a couple posts. Your goal is to lose weight, so if that's the case your money would be better invested in a dietitian or reputable nutritionist. If your goal is gain endurance and some strength improvement, then CrossFit would be a good investment.

I like the idea of crossfit for a couple of reasons.

I hate doing cardio and know that doing cardio is a beneficial thing
I love lifting heavy things
People who do crossfit are motivated to exercise

My main problem with it (outside of the form issues and such that have been discussed over and over) is that outside of an untrained and out of shape individual, I don't see how crossfit can make you "stronger".

If you've never done any weight training at all, and have pretty low cardio "fitness", doing any amount of lifting regardless of the progression/programming is going to make you improve. I think that's where a lot of the love for Crossfit comes from, people enjoy doing it, they improve their previously basic strength and they get into better fitness.

But once you get to that certain level of strength/fitness, crossfit can't help you improve any more. You can't simply push yourself harder to get strong doing those types of workouts. You need a program that's designed to slowly increase your body's capacity to move heavier things.

I always hear crossfitters say things like "You gotta keep your body guessing", and "you never know what today's workout is going to bring", as if that's a good thing, but it seems more than a little silly to me. If your goal it to get stronger, how can you do that when you might not do the same lift 2 times in a month?

Maybe if I had trouble sticking to a program for any amount of time, I'd be more interested in trying it out, but I enjoy lifting for its own sake, whether or not I'm racing the guy next to me to finish. I also enjoy the progression, knowing that last week I did x and this week I'm going to do x+2.

IMO Crossfit is good because it gets people motivated who have never lifted, but at some point those people are going to stop seeing the progress they get initially and get frustrated and quit or move on to an actual program.

Seriously???

http://www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-apology (Thanks, ST)

And people doing crossfit "get frustrated and quit" because of a lack of progress? I don't think I've ever heard of this happening.



TL;DR - I don't think you actually know what crossfit is and isn't.

I stopped Crossfit because it didn't meet my fitness goals anymore. I wanted to improve my strength and just wasn't getting it through the classes so I can see what the poster meant. I also had zero interest in some of the things in the WODs including hand stand pushups and some of the Oly lifts.

There is a risk for injury (as there is in any exercise program) if you do stupid things.

With that said, if you're looking to get fit and improve endurance and stamina, crossfit is great.

It was also much cheaper than hiring a personal trainer to get me introduced to weight training.

JoRocka

If you are a novice and are doing muscle ups, I bow to you. Or you have a background in gymnastics already.
I was CrossFitting for nearly a year, my husband is still for over 1 1/2 year and neither of us are even near attempting a muscle up.
We are still on the developing the basic movements and building the strength to do one, a lot of stuff I learned in a gymnastics seminar put on by my gym with an instructor who has a background in gymnastics, still teaches gymnastics as well as CrossFits. Only a handful of very seasoned people on our gym do them.

I also haven't done a kipping pull up yet because I have not yet gotten a strict pull-up. I was almost there before pregnancy.

There is a world of difference between what your average CrossFitter does in a daily workout than what you see the elite CrossFitters doing.

FYI- cross fit doesn't own muscle ups.
or burpees
or power lifting
or olympic lifting.

It makes me want to punch a baby when someone asks me if I cross fit because I can clean and snatch- Or I work on muscle ups.

Seriously.

They do not OWN these concepts.

What he may have been trying to say is that the programming for pure strength improvement is not ideal in a WOD format. Strength improvement obviously can happen with CF, but if strength improvement is the goal it's not ideal. That's why many of your competitive CF athletes don't typically follow the typical WOD's. Also, if you watch the events many of those lifters also have a PL'ing or Olympic Lifting background which is where they much of their strength in the DL and OLY lifts comes from.

this.

very true- and an echo of what I said as well.

3dogsrunning

If you are a novice and are doing muscle ups, I bow to you. Or you have a background in gymnastics already.
I was CrossFitting for nearly a year, my husband is still for over 1 1/2 year and neither of us are even near attempting a muscle up.
We are still on the developing the basic movements and building the strength to do one, a lot of stuff I learned in a gymnastics seminar put on by my gym with an instructor who has a background in gymnastics, still teaches gymnastics as well as CrossFits. Only a handful of very seasoned people on our gym do them.

I also haven't done a kipping pull up yet because I have not yet gotten a strict pull-up. I was almost there before pregnancy.

There is a world of difference between what your average CrossFitter does in a daily workout than what you see the elite CrossFitters doing.

FYI- cross fit doesn't own muscle ups.
or burpees
or power lifting
or olympic lifting.

It makes me want to punch a baby when someone asks me if I cross fit because I can clean and snatch- Or I work on muscle ups.

Seriously.

They do not OWN these concepts.

What he may have been trying to say is that the programming for pure strength improvement is not ideal in a WOD format. Strength improvement obviously can happen with CF, but if strength improvement is the goal it's not ideal. That's why many of your competitive CF athletes don't typically follow the typical WOD's. Also, if you watch the events many of those lifters also have a PL'ing or Olympic Lifting background which is where they much of their strength in the DL and OLY lifts comes from.

this.

very true- and an echo of what I said as well.

It is interesting that you direct that at me. I didn't claim they owned it and am not sure how my post implied that. In fact, I would agree with that point. I was responding to a post that cited the high incidents of people be injured in crossFit from doing muscle ups. Muscle ups aren't exclusive to CrossFit. My point was muscle ups are not in anyway easy and most novices would not even be close to being able to attempt one let alone do one, poor form or not, unless they had a gymnastic background or a pretty decent strength background (in that case they may not exactly be a novice)


No one here claims that the elite only to the WODs. We average people don't only do the WODs. Before every WOD we work on technique and strength. Those who are interested in specific improvements also tend to do additional training. I don't think anyone would dispute that.

Sam_I_Am77

No one here claims that the elite only to the WODs. We average people don't only do the WODs. Before every WOD we work on technique and strength. Those who are interested in specific improvements also tend to do additional training. I don't think anyone would dispute that.

That's pretty true. Typical elite CF'rs that compete don't use traditional WOD's at all like I mentioned above because they know that the strength programming for WOD's isn't good.

3dogsrunning

No one here claims that the elite only to the WODs. We average people don't only do the WODs. Before every WOD we work on technique and strength. Those who are interested in specific improvements also tend to do additional training. I don't think anyone would dispute that.

That's pretty true. Typical elite CF'rs that compete don't use traditional WOD's at all like I mentioned above because they know that the strength programming for WOD's isn't good.

For maximum strength training benefits, no, the WODs aren't. But CrossFit is not just the WODs either.

It comes down to what your goals are. CrossFit can improve my cardio base, it has. Is it the best way for me to train for a distance race, no.
Can it make you stronger? Yes. If pure strength is your goal, there are more efficient options.
That doesn't mean it can't benefit an individual.

2boo2

i think it is funny how people say that crossfitters have bad form. They need to remember that each Box is different. Some emphasize form over anything else. I have had coaches that won't let anyone do kipping pull ups/dips unless they can demonstrate they can do strict the strict version. The same coaches will tell the people that they need to banded pull ups/ dips during timed WODS.

Also we don't do kipping pull ups, muscles ups, or dips everyday. Half the class is spent on mobility and skill work (learning proper form).

I admit some boxes are not that good and they give others a bad name. I would not trust any box that has a "groupon" deal that allows you to join without either testing out or doing an "on ramp".

I have seen Master PT , PT and Group X classes with worse form. I have seen some many PT teach people Dead lifts and squats which such poor form (i.e. rounded back, knees caving in, etc). Then the PT start adding weights even when their clients can do a proper air squat.


Poor form is also in group exercises classes. For example, look at any body pump class. The instructors don't go around correcting the rounded back and caved in knees during the squat tract. Also why do half squats? Because they don't want to have their posterior chain actually work? Also, they never emphasize the importance of keeping a neutral spine. The push ups in body pump will destroy your shoulders.

Point is.... there are good and bad points to everything. You just need to know how to filter it.

AlyRoseNYC

I love my CF gym, but I wouldn't pay $140. Also, if it was going to put a major strain on my finances, I would find something else to motivate me.

kelly_e_montana

I went to a CrossFit gym one time for an "evaluation test". I liked the workout. It was fun...BUT the particular one I went to, the people running it were not very knowledgeable. The owner didn't even know what "getting toned" was. There are a lot of shady CrossFit gyms. If you find a good one AND you can afford it then it's up to you but like others have said you can pay a lot less and still get results if you actually workout or spend the same amount and get personal training. The gym I went to was going to cost me $180 a month.

The reason the owner didn't know what "getting toned" was is because the concept of "getting toned" is ridiculous. Getting toned is losing body fat. If you want to "get toned" in the colloquial sense, then yes, those pink Barbie weights would be a great alternative to developing coordination, strength, flexibility, and explosive power through Olympic lifting.

Timshel_

The reason the owner didn't know what "getting toned" was is because the concept of "getting toned" is ridiculous. Getting toned is losing body fat. If you want to "get toned" in the colloquial sense, then yes, those pink Barbie weights would be a great alternative to developing coordination, strength, flexibility, and explosive power through Olympic lifting.

A good crossfit owner would be able to articulate that, minus the condescending tone, to help someone new to the program.

Wilbur_NOLA

Don't most people do crossfit so they can brag about doing crossfit to other people?

http://liferxd.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/memecrossfit.jpg

PRMinx

Don't most people do crossfit so they can brag about doing crossfit to other people?

http://liferxd.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/memecrossfit.jpg

I figure if I can listen to and support my friends numerous daily post about little Sally or Johnny learning how to use the toilet, they can humor a few CrossFit posts.

Siege_Tank

If you are a novice and are doing muscle ups, I bow to you. Or you have a background in gymnastics already.
I was CrossFitting for nearly a year, my husband is still for over 1 1/2 year and neither of us are even near attempting a muscle up.
We are still on the developing the basic movements and building the strength to do one, a lot of stuff I learned in a gymnastics seminar put on by my gym with an instructor who has a background in gymnastics, still teaches gymnastics as well as CrossFits. Only a handful of very seasoned people on our gym do them.

I also haven't done a kipping pull up yet because I have not yet gotten a strict pull-up. I was almost there before pregnancy.

There is a world of difference between what your average CrossFitter does in a daily workout than what you see the elite CrossFitters doing.

My post wasn't about muscle ups, it was about crap form in general, but that image from Ripptoe's Starting Strength clearly shows how ANY joint may be overloaded with improper form.

You shouldn't be doing muscle ups until you have a 1.5x bodyweight FROM A DEAD HANG pull up, probably the same for a chin up, and to make sure your shoulder and rotator are protected, you should probably be proficient with a two handed press, or simply, a press.

But since you made mention of the muscle up, How ridiculous is it to perform ANY weight pull up with a kipping motion, you're reducing the weight lifted by using momentum at the top and bottom of your pulls, in the name of VO2 max.

Yeah, it's an awesome pump, but for a real world "functionality"standpoint, NO person anywhere hangs off a cliff and puts their chin over the side as fast as they can, over and over, they pull themselves up after a dead stop.

The differences between any style of exercise is the goals you are trying to attain with that style of workout. Crossfit is equally mediocre at everything, as it was designed to be. Weight lifting is for strength, running is for endurance, and agility drills are for agility.

Are quickly performed kipping muscle ups and pull ups impressive? Hell yes. Are they useful for attaining a goal OTHER than to become profficient at either kipping muscle ups or kipping pull ups? No.

Sorry.

JoRocka

Don't most people do crossfit so they can brag about doing crossfit to other people?

http://liferxd.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/memecrossfit.jpg

I figure if I can listen to and support my friends numerous daily post about little Sally or Johnny learning how to use the toilet, they can humor a few CrossFit posts.

PREACH!!!

although- I don't support all the numerous daily posts about little susie or sally or jonny or billy. I just scroll quickly past them.
yuck.

But I assume for my less than athletic friends- they do the same to me.

PRMinx

Don't most people do crossfit so they can brag about doing crossfit to other people?

http://liferxd.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/memecrossfit.jpg

I figure if I can listen to and support my friends numerous daily post about little Sally or Johnny learning how to use the toilet, they can humor a few CrossFit posts.

PREACH!!!

although- I don't support all the numerous daily posts about little susie or sally or jonny or billy. I just scroll quickly past them.
yuck.

But I assume for my less than athletic friends- they do the same to me.

AMEN!

ValGogo

Don't most people do crossfit so they can brag about doing crossfit to other people?

http://liferxd.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/memecrossfit.jpg

rotflmfao!

jofjltncb6

If I'm hanging off of a cliff, I'm going to cheat form as necessary to get back up on it.

That sounds like a pretty strong argument for kipping being more functional than strict.

3dogsrunning

Ok?

Perhaps I misinterpreted your post, but I am not sure why the need for the bite me part.

Actually, I was reading it over again, and there wasn't one. My apologies. I retract my offers of biting. Friends?

:flowerforyou:

Siege_Tank

If I'm hanging off of a cliff, I'm going to cheat form as necessary to get back up on it.

That sounds like a pretty strong argument for kipping being more functional than strict.

ROFLMAO

Nice one. In retrospect, I'd cheat like a MOFO too... but, my point was, if one was to go to the gym with the intention at becoming the most proficient at pulling themselves over something in a life or death situation, I don't wanna have to kip to get the job done.

Cliffhanger and not trained for it? Kip away!

JoRocka

If I'm hanging off of a cliff, I'm going to cheat form as necessary to get back up on it.

That sounds like a pretty strong argument for kipping being more functional than strict.

well- if you're hanging off a cliff 50 times in a row- I suspect you got bigger issues than kip vs non kip. LOL

Well, then, by all means.. bite away. I didn't know I was in here with the "we like it rough" crowd

ETA: Now that song is stuck in my head. Na na na na na come on, I like it like it come on

HEH. that make wind up on ze ipod for the workout tonight. LOL and yes- we are definitely all about that here.

shmerek

^^ Lol

I lift and I do cf for the cardio I hate the "brand" but the workouts are fun. I know it isn't going to bulk me up. If I had to choose one it would be the lifting hands down. I don't kip, I don't post about the WOD, when we are doing deadlifts or other oly lifts I slow down to concentrate on form so that usually makes me the last to finish but who gives a ****? Wait do I even cf?

JoRocka

yeah- some of their workouts are fun. I have done them. I definitely cherry pick- I tend to avoid the OLY lifting ones- and go more for the speed/calesthestic/plyo ones- it's a nice balance for cardio- I got really into Bodyrock/HIIT style workouts for about 2 years and found supplementing for "just getting my workouts in" was perfect.

Now I'm off crazy work schedule- lifting wins- but they are really good to supplement for an entertaining work out- no questions asked.

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

If I'm hanging off of a cliff, I'm going to cheat form as necessary to get back up on it.

That sounds like a pretty strong argument for kipping being more functional than strict.

Good luck "swinging" on the edge of a cliff, or getting your fingers round the "bar" on the cliff. Cliff rock tends to prevent swinging for some reason...but maybe you just lean over cliffs made of free hanging bars, then it would help you.

OP I'd say weigh the possibility of encouraging friends at Crossfit vs the real increased injury risk and high cost. I'd say its not worth it, but I'm not a big social exerciser, even though I still need to find a decent replacement spotter :P

kelly_e_montana

I can see where this thread was going after just a couple posts. Your goal is to lose weight, so if that's the case your money would be better invested in a dietitian or reputable nutritionist. If your goal is gain endurance and some strength improvement, then CrossFit would be a good investment.

I like the idea of crossfit for a couple of reasons.

I hate doing cardio and know that doing cardio is a beneficial thing
I love lifting heavy things
People who do crossfit are motivated to exercise

My main problem with it (outside of the form issues and such that have been discussed over and over) is that outside of an untrained and out of shape individual, I don't see how crossfit can make you "stronger".

If you've never done any weight training at all, and have pretty low cardio "fitness", doing any amount of lifting regardless of the progression/programming is going to make you improve. I think that's where a lot of the love for Crossfit comes from, people enjoy doing it, they improve their previously basic strength and they get into better fitness.

But once you get to that certain level of strength/fitness, crossfit can't help you improve any more. You can't simply push yourself harder to get strong doing those types of workouts. You need a program that's designed to slowly increase your body's capacity to move heavier things.

I always hear crossfitters say things like "You gotta keep your body guessing", and "you never know what today's workout is going to bring", as if that's a good thing, but it seems more than a little silly to me. If your goal it to get stronger, how can you do that when you might not do the same lift 2 times in a month?

Maybe if I had trouble sticking to a program for any amount of time, I'd be more interested in trying it out, but I enjoy lifting for its own sake, whether or not I'm racing the guy next to me to finish. I also enjoy the progression, knowing that last week I did x and this week I'm going to do x+2.

IMO Crossfit is good because it gets people motivated who have never lifted, but at some point those people are going to stop seeing the progress they get initially and get frustrated and quit or move on to an actual program.

IMO it's not a lifting program. I previously ran and swam or did sports conditioning. Now I do CF metcons for my cardio and most of my strength training outside of CF or at open gym time at CF (or at our oly classes at CF)...Anyway, I used it to replace cardio and learn more about lifting and gymnastics, not as a strength program.

kelly_e_montana

Don't most people do crossfit so they can brag about doing crossfit to other people?

http://liferxd.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/memecrossfit.jpg

I figure if I can listen to and support my friends numerous daily post about little Sally or Johnny learning how to use the toilet, they can humor a few CrossFit posts.

PREACH!!!

although- I don't support all the numerous daily posts about little susie or sally or jonny or billy. I just scroll quickly past them.
yuck.

But I assume for my less than athletic friends- they do the same to me.

AMEN!

No joke! Or see pics of your dinner every night...

chrystee

SO worth it for me.

My box is like part of my family, we've become friends and my coaches are amazing.
The cost keeps me motivated to go.
I'm getting SO much stronger.
It always changes, so its always something different.
I love it.

chrystee

I absolutely love CrossFit.

Its what gets me out of bed in the morning when I'm having a depressive episode. The community support is second to nothing and is the best motivational tool I've ever found.

But I don't pay anything like $140 dollars a month to be fair.

And no, it won't make you bulky. Most men at my CrossFit gym aren't even bulky. It tends to make them lean and athletic but it doesn't make for huge muscles.

ANd talk to the owners of the box.. If you can't afford 140, you can usually scale down.. Ours is 150 for unlimited sessions, and believe me, I'm there at least 5-6 times a week, twice on tuesday, becuase we have an extra yoga WOD. Tehre's also no contract at my box, so if I decide tomorrow that I can't afford the cost, I don't have to pay for the next month. Our's will also put it on hold if you go out of town for 2 weeks, or vacation, or whatever comes up.

chrystee

My wife has a good deal of experience with weight lifting and its over all pretty fit muscle wise. She does want to lose 15-20 lbs, and recently started crossfit.

Starting crossfit though has NOTHING to do with those lbs and everything to do with being more fit. Provided you go to a good gym for it (key word being good) crossfit will push you beyond what most people will do at the gym.

What I love about it, is that it doesn't coddle women like most PT's do. You are not doing idiotic bosu ball exercises, or shying away from real lifts. We recently had a tree fall in our yard and my wife was rolling 300 lb segments at 5'7" 147lbs.

If you want to be very FIT then crossfit may be you, if this is about weight loss, then you still need table push aways and fork put downs.

Hell yea.

susie7172

I bought a Groupon for Crossfit. I was so excited because I'd heard so many good things about it.

I hated it.

I've been working out regularly for at least 20 years, so it wasn't my first time with weights. But, there was so little instruction to new folks. It was so loud, I couldn't hear the instructor anyway. Everyone was throwing around their weights and they'd go crashing down. After class, I talked to the owner and expressed my concern about the lack of instruction. Someone could very easily get hurt.

I haven't gone back. I've considered giving another location a go, but I've found other workouts that are satisfying to me.

workshardplaysharder

If you want to be very FIT then crossfit may be you, if this is about weight loss, then you still need table push aways and fork put downs.

You don't need crossfit to be very fit.

Siege_Tank

If you want to be very FIT then crossfit may be you, if this is about weight loss, then you still need table push aways and fork put downs.

You don't need crossfit to be very fit.

Reading comprehension fail. She said "want" and "may"..