Crossfit--worth it or too extreme?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDDyxXyf6UU&feature=player_embedded#!

Thank you. It's nice to know there are people out there who "clean" with even worse form than me.

My face hurt watching this. I kept waiting for those girls to knock a tooth out or break their nose.

I couldn't get past the second girl. My toes were curling so bad I got a cramp...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDDyxXyf6UU&feature=player_embedded#!

Thank you. It's nice to know there are people out there who "clean" with even worse form than me.

My face hurt watching this. I kept waiting for those girls to knock a tooth out or break their nose.

I couldn't get past the second girl. My toes were curling so bad I got a cramp...

I have never seen anyone clean this poorly. That was hideous. Why would you not use an overhand hook grip when cleaning? So awkward!

I started doing Crossfit 3 months ago. Prior to that I worked out at the local World's Gym. I never even broke a sweat working out on my own.

I really like having a trainer at Crossfit who is constantly encouraging me and correcting my form. I cannot believe the improvements that Crossfit has made to my body and my cardio levels.

I can see why people have concerns about the lifting, but all of my lifts are scaled. I started doing the olympic lifts with just a dowel until I could get my form correct. We also have a 10-session on boarding program for beginners that is mandatory.

I live in Northern Canada and Crossfit is $180/month for an unlimited membership. Personal training here runs at $40/hr!

Our trainer at Crossfit tells us to eat whatever we want. There are a few men that go to the evening class that eat Paleo but most people just try to eat healthy foods, "clean" eating.

In the past when I have wanted to lose weight, I have turned to a quick fix starvation diet, i.e. Isagenix. Now that I am doing Crossfit, I know that I have to fuel my body. It really focuses on strength over skinny. I have not lost any weight since starting Crossfit but I have definitely lost body fat.

For the negative people on this post, your thought processes are very unhealthy. There is a great website "the Mood Gym" which offers free cognitive behavioural therapy. I strongly encourage you to work through the program. It is amazing what a difference it will make. Attacking people for choosing a form of exercise that you do not agree with is completely irrational behaviour. This forum is supposed to be a supportive outlet for people who want to live a healthy lifestyle. Stress and negativity can really have a harmful long-term impact on your health.

Disclaimer: I am a CrossFitter. I don't do Paleo. I'm a copywriter, so I'm pretty sure I won't be dodging bullets or saving anyone's life anytime soon.

Is it worth it?

Yes, but only if you need it. And I'll tell you why. I hate traditional "exercise". For me, the 7 Circles of hell all feature jogging or swimming in some way. I get extremely bored and end up not going. The same goes with weightlifting. I always start, get self-conscious at the meat-heads (no offense anyone. If you are one, you're probably happy about it) and quit. CrossFit keeps me on my toes, and I don't get bored. There is a level of friendly competition, and my "Box" is the only place I've ever worked out where someone whose name I didn't know slapped me on the back and said "You can do this". It makes me want to work out. It makes me want to be fit. That being said, I'm sure if I had the motivation or attention span to be able to do this on my own, I probably would. But for someone like me, this has been the only thing that has kept me going.

Is it too extreme?

It can be. People DO get sucked in, and it becomes their life. Especially the Paleo people. God forbid they ever eat a cupcake. They could never forgive themselves. There are also some people who are obsessed They push themselves too hard attempting to set new PR's or knock out "Fran" in under 4 minutes and end up with screwed Lumbar and a case of Rhabdo. It does happen. But there are plenty of people, like myself, who CrossFit and haven't "drank the Kool-Aid". We like that there is someone dictating our workouts, checking our form, and encouraging us. Some of the workouts ARE nasty. You scale them to your level. Can't do "Karen" with a 20 lb medicine ball? Drop it to 10 lbs, or maybe cut the reps from 150 to 75. I almost never do the WOD's as Rx'ed, because I am a small guy and am doing this to stay in shape, not to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. For instance, if the WOD for the day at my gym is one of the "Hero" workouts (which are very, very difficult), I'll do one of the other approved workouts like "Cindy" or "Jackie". Just because the majority of the people there are doing one thing doesn't mean EVERYONE has to. I do what I am comfortable with.

Have I been injured? Yes. I got a hernia and had to have surgery. But I got that doing Back Squats and it wasn't even near my max weight. Squats are something almost everybody does at their Globo Gym and a lot of people even do them at home. I also got a broken toe while walking my dog and blew out my knee playing soccer. Injuries happen. I don't blame it on CrossFit. Especially since it was a hernia, a super common injury for anyone that lifts. Even infants get hernias and, last time I checked, they weren't trying to set a PR on a Clean and Jerk. However, I have heard of some CrossFit affiliates that can push too hard. It depends on the box and the trainers there. There is quite a bit of argument even on the official CrossFit discussion bored about this very thing. Do your research. Use common sense.

Long post short, if you are anything like me and want someone watching you, planning your workouts, keeping you guessing, and a group of people encouraging you...Join a Box. If you can stay with a proper workout plan on your own, can't stand up to a trainer when something is too difficult, and don't get bored doing traditional exercises, it IS probably too extreme for you and you shouldn't waste your money.

Thank you for reading.

Chris

Bump!!! I have been doing crossfit for only 3 weeks, 4 days a week. I'm about 70lbs overweight and i love that everything can be scaled to suit my performance abilities. i already feel myself getting stronger and clothes fitting looser. i LOVE my trainer, he's such an awesome motivator and really pushes me when i need it. I've never looked forward to going to the gym before, but now i can't wait to get back!!!

I truly believe Crossfit is my 1 way ticket to a healthy body and I can tell I'm already hooked for life!!! :happy:

If you are interested in high-level athletic performance and outstanding overall physical fitness to rival firefighters and infantry grunts in the armed forces, then it could be worth it. If you are going to be content to be an "average" human, it's likely not.

^^^ This

For some, it is a great program/workout/cult, whatever. For others, it is an invitation to injury.

While I have respect for any program that gets people active and is effective at increasing their overall health and fitness level, I find that Crossfit is not for me.

First, the monthly dues are exorbitant- up to 5 or 6 times what I pay for my normal gym dues. My gym gives me everything I need to get in a good workout- a wide range of free weights, hammer strength, machines and cardio equipment, not to mention multiple locations in my area that ensure that I'm able to get in a workout regardless of where my schedule might have me on a given day. I can't say the same for Crossfit- it's my understanding that your membership is tied to a specific gym, making it entirely inconvenient for my schedule.

Second, Crossfit is not conducive to meeting the goals I've set for myself. Crossfit will not help me increase my lean muscle mass, nor will it help me increase my overall strength levels in the squat and deadlift. If my goals were to increase my overall athletic performance, conditioning and agility, then I'd certainly consider Crossfit an option.

Third, a lot has been made about the increased risk of injury due to the idea that the workouts need to be executed with speed in order to "beat the clock", etc. I'm not going to say that the injury risk is greater than a conventional workout, as I've seen countless idiots at my gym doing bastardized versions of traditional weightlifting exercises with such horrible form that an injury is all but inevitable. But, for me, there's never any reason for me to rush through my workouts- as long as I manage to keep my heart rate up, my form solid and my reps where I need them to be, then that's all that matters. I will never try to rush through a rep with compromised form in order to finish my set or workout more quickly.

You gain +2 to necromancy

Very fitting that this thread would be revived the same week as The Walking Dead S3 premiere.

I just started doing Crossfit 4 weeks ago at my local box. Everyone is required to do the 2 week (6 session) training course to learn the fundamentals. I "graduated" to the regular WODs on October 8. My coaches are extremely passionate about the sport & all of us that do it. They modify the WODs to my level. I haven't been able to do a WOD as Rx, but I'm working on it!

I'm hooked!

I have a hard time taking anyone who does Crossfit seriously. Terribly judgmental of me, isn't it?

Crossfit is too extreme for most people's needs - and on top of that, it's too EXPENSIVE!

For most people, Crossfit is too extreme, too expensive, and the "do it till you drop" atmosphere of many Crossfit facilities is much more likely than most exercise programs to cause injury. Crossfit coaches tend to be very hard core and encourage people to push their bodies harder than they should. And as we all know, injuries can be VERY expensive in terms of medical expenses, lost work time and pain.

I haven't read every single post so if I repeat something I apoligize. As many are saying, there are extremes to every form of diet and exercise. Cross-fit can certainly be effecive as can the Paleo diet, but everything in moderation. If you try cross-fit and someone is telling you to keep going when you know you are already sick or hurting yourself then they probably aren't the best coaches to work with. It is one thing to push limits and another to blatantly risk someone's well being. I was trained in a variety of simple isolation exercises, in proper form with proper weight, that minimizes the risk of injury while maximizing the effort of the targeted muscle group. It has worked well for me and I rarely have issues or injuries. Let's just say that being cautious did not prevent me from seeing results, you just need to be consistent.

Whatever you choose to do, always start at a level that you can handle and work your way up into the more advanced levels, but don't be in a rush to do more than you are capable of at your current phyical state. It is great to push yourself and really figure out what your are capable of, but if you injure yourself you can't do ANYTHING until you recover, so be reasonable.

As to the "cult" side of things, that is probably different at each facility you go to. Having a support group can be good, as long as they are not advising you poorly!!! (don't drink the Kool-aide)

There are some really good points here and some rediculous ones. For starters, ignore anyone (on either side of the argument) that makes broad generalisations about crossfit gyms. There is a huge diversity in the quality of CF affiliates, in the 5 years I've been around CF I have seen it grow immensely and new boxes pop up all over the place. Some have all the problems cited here, some have all the positives, most are a mix of both... You need to shop around

The cost is a factor for many, however I don't think its really fair to compare the costs to a regular gym. A fairer comparison would be to other specialised gyms such as a yoga studio or fight/martial arts gym.

The injury critisim always cracks me up, in all honestly I think the most injury stricken people I know are runners, yet they are often the harshest critics of CF.