Crossfit Newbie

Just drink the purple Kool-Aid. The Crossfitters will fill you in on how to do all the moves and exactly what food to eat. It's part of the cult.

Are you taking the on ramp program? I believe that is a requirement. They go through all the basics there with you.

Be prepared for the email with articles warning against the dangers of CrossFit a certain member sends. Yes, you can get injured, just like any other activity. If you read the warning articles closely you'll see a theme - people who pushed way too hard, most admit they knew they were doing it at the time. A good coach tries to prevent injuries but you have a responsibility as well.

Like anything else, some Crossfit gyms sound like good places to train, with plenty of knowledgeable people who insist on good form and that do a good job preventing people from pushing too hard and injuring themselves. Some.... don't do that.

For form on the major lifts, you can't beat the book "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. Some people disagree with some of the specifics on how he teaches the form, and some people disagree with his personality (curmudgeonly old Texan), but for a thoughtful, sometimes irreverent scientific dissection of how the human body reacts doing compound lifts under a loaded barbell, you can't beat that resource. Be warned it is 374 pages long and pretty dense, don't plan on tackling it in an evening or two. Rip used to be associated with Crossfit, but ended that association because he disagrees with a lot of what crossfit does (one example is the high rep/low weight olympic lifts). If you get on the Starting Strength website there's a lot of anti-crossfit on there, just so you know. But, for learning about how the human body works under a barbell, you can't beat it.

In to see responses. I got a 2-month Crossfit groupon, but decided not to use it... I read too much about injuries and bad form. For someone with years of experience and a solid base, I'm sure it's fine. For my part, I'm pretty new to heavy lifting and I'd much rather keep my strength and cardio separate so I can maintain form. But someday, maybe.

Been at Crossfit 4 years now. Never was an athlete, never lifted heavy... don't really think I've been hurt by it. If you find a good box with a good coach who cares about form, you will be FINE. People do get hurt from time to time, but it's usually when they don't listen to the coaches or get reckless with their training. Happens in every. single. sport/activity. People just like to point fingers at faceless entities rather than take responsibility for their actions.

It's not everyone's workout of choice though. And that is fine. Find what works for you and what you love to do and it will be the best thing for your fitness because it gets you moving and keeps you active. But don't go dissing something you haven't tried for yourself because you read some things.