Info and Tips for New Crossfitters
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bostonwolf
Posts: 3,038 Member
I figured it might be a good idea to pin a thread to the top for any new folks who are starting Crossfit. We generally tend to share the same information on different threads with new folks so one spot might make it more efficient and make sure everything that needs saying get said.
For new folks:
1. Focus on form and technique above all else. If your box/coaches aren't doing this already (they should be) then question them as to why. Learn how to do the exercises the right way with lighter weights, then slowly build speed/weight/intensity. It's a very natural progression and one that will feel right when you do it.
2. Learn to love the foam roller. It will hurt. A lot. Keep doing it as it will greatly aid your recovery. Talk to your coaches if you have any mobility issues about the best ways to address them. If you have no mobility issues, I hate you. Kelly Starrett's (K-Star) site MobilityWOD.com is a great resource for all mobility issues.
3. As a 44 year old, I'd advise doing CF no more than 3 times a week to start. You will be using muscles you did not know you had. You will be more sore than you thought possible. Give 3x/week a month and if you feel good, add a class or two. Even a year in I think I could maybe do 4 WODS a week and still rest and recover properly, but I feel better if I do 3 then come in and do some lifting or just straight cardio.
4. If you have questions, ASK. Ask your coaches first, ask here if for some reason they can't help or you don't want to ask them. You will always find someone willing to help.
5. Pick a skill early on and master it. Double unders is probably the easiest for most people. I still haven't mastered it yet, but I'm much better than when I started.
6, You will quickly learn which move(s) you don't do very well (it could be because of a mobility issue, poor form, lack of strength, balance issues, etc.). Don't ignore these "goats". Pick a few days per month and work exclusively to improve them. Scale significantly until you master the proper movement. Try to get as technically proficient in as many moves as you can, even those you don't necessarily like (can you say, snatches or handstand pushups?!). It will make the WODs much more fun!
7. write down what your lifting so you can look back on how your progressing - so satisfying!
For new folks:
1. Focus on form and technique above all else. If your box/coaches aren't doing this already (they should be) then question them as to why. Learn how to do the exercises the right way with lighter weights, then slowly build speed/weight/intensity. It's a very natural progression and one that will feel right when you do it.
2. Learn to love the foam roller. It will hurt. A lot. Keep doing it as it will greatly aid your recovery. Talk to your coaches if you have any mobility issues about the best ways to address them. If you have no mobility issues, I hate you. Kelly Starrett's (K-Star) site MobilityWOD.com is a great resource for all mobility issues.
3. As a 44 year old, I'd advise doing CF no more than 3 times a week to start. You will be using muscles you did not know you had. You will be more sore than you thought possible. Give 3x/week a month and if you feel good, add a class or two. Even a year in I think I could maybe do 4 WODS a week and still rest and recover properly, but I feel better if I do 3 then come in and do some lifting or just straight cardio.
4. If you have questions, ASK. Ask your coaches first, ask here if for some reason they can't help or you don't want to ask them. You will always find someone willing to help.
5. Pick a skill early on and master it. Double unders is probably the easiest for most people. I still haven't mastered it yet, but I'm much better than when I started.
6, You will quickly learn which move(s) you don't do very well (it could be because of a mobility issue, poor form, lack of strength, balance issues, etc.). Don't ignore these "goats". Pick a few days per month and work exclusively to improve them. Scale significantly until you master the proper movement. Try to get as technically proficient in as many moves as you can, even those you don't necessarily like (can you say, snatches or handstand pushups?!). It will make the WODs much more fun!
7. write down what your lifting so you can look back on how your progressing - so satisfying!
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Replies
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Thank you, bostonwolf! I am new to the group and to this machines as well. I will read the introduction very carefully. Great iniciative.0
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Sorry, after reading your introduction I understood I was in the wrong group. English in not my own language and I was thinking of " crosstrainers".
Good luck with your group. CrossFitt is a bit to much for me at 58.
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Good tips
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Thank you for this helpful post.0
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Hey! I'm super new to crossfit (fourth week going to 3 classes per week) and im struggling with nutrition. i work in a restaurant and am allergic to gluten and also insulin resistant so i have to be VERY careful about what i eat in general but now that ive added crossfit to my day at 630am my appetite is INSANE between 8am and 1 or 2 pm and after that eating makes me feel very uncomfortable. Any advice on nutrition would be MUCH appreciated!0
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I've been Crossfitting for about 3 years and this was still great info for me. I did a lot of it (like mastering double unders and foam rolling), but I really needed the reminder to work on my weaknesses. Hip mobility here I come. Ugh.
Writing everything down can't be emphasized enough. It is so motivating to hit a PR or do a WOD with a heavier weight than previously.0 -
Very nice. I'm 61 and have been doing Cross fit 3x per week for just over a year. The advice given by OP is sound.1
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Thanks, it is compiled from several old threads that were posted on here.
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princessxmeow wrote: »Hey! I'm super new to crossfit (fourth week going to 3 classes per week) and im struggling with nutrition. i work in a restaurant and am allergic to gluten and also insulin resistant so i have to be VERY careful about what i eat in general but now that ive added crossfit to my day at 630am my appetite is INSANE between 8am and 1 or 2 pm and after that eating makes me feel very uncomfortable. Any advice on nutrition would be MUCH appreciated!
Protein and high quality fat will be key! Avocado stuffed with tuna, lots of chicken breast! Healthy fats will keep you fuller, but combine them with protein and a high fiber veggie like broccoli or you'll be starving all the time. Just be careful with loading up on handfuls of nuts. I feel like a lot of my athletes trying to do Paleo start eating nuts as snacks to keep full but they've eaten 10 servings without realizing it and then ask me why they are gaining weight1 -
Hi, there! I'm new to MFP but been a CrossFit person for nearly 7 years. Having an emergency stash of low sugar (or none, if possible) jerky is also a great idea. Steve's Paleo has some great options (beef sticks) and it also goes to a great cause-kids fling CrossFit who are facing hardships of all kinds. I also keep sardines in water and douse then with lemon.1
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My 2nd class ever was this morning and I am feeling pretty discouraged. The first one I did (last Friday) was a mix of cardio and strength so even though I struggled I still felt like I exercised. Today was all strength and I feel super awkward learning the weight lifting moves. Front squats were okay I guess but I kept feeling like I was messing up the push jerk and thruster (with a pvc pipe mind you). Not to mention something called the superman crawl was supposed to be a warmup and I sucked at that so hard...maybe because I'm not strong enough and maybe because I am just very uncoordinated but most likely both! Has anyone else experienced this, not given up, and actually moved past it? I am willing to work hard while I'm in class and was prepared for it to be physically difficult but not necessarily hard to figure out.1
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My 2nd class ever was this morning and I am feeling pretty discouraged. The first one I did (last Friday) was a mix of cardio and strength so even though I struggled I still felt like I exercised. Today was all strength and I feel super awkward learning the weight lifting moves. Front squats were okay I guess but I kept feeling like I was messing up the push jerk and thruster (with a pvc pipe mind you). Not to mention something called the superman crawl was supposed to be a warmup and I sucked at that so hard...maybe because I'm not strong enough and maybe because I am just very uncoordinated but most likely both! Has anyone else experienced this, not given up, and actually moved past it? I am willing to work hard while I'm in class and was prepared for it to be physically difficult but not necessarily hard to figure out.
Is this a fundamentals/basics class (I have a feeling not)? Most crossfit gyms I've looked into offer these kind of classes for newcomers, where you can learn things in an order that makes a bit more sense than jumping right into front squats and jerks, let alone thrusters, if you've never done proper bodyweight or back squats and strict overhead press. A beginner-specific class may be a more appropriate introduction to the skills that you'll need to develop to move into the more complicated stuff later on.
The thing with crossfit as a whole is that just going to classes is fun and all, but the underlying quest to better yourself and learn these new skills over the course of time is what keeps most people coming back for more, IMO.
On top of that, as a beginner who may have never done these things, it is quite possible that you don't have the mobility required to do some of these moves properly. Thus, any good coach would be able to teach you how to properly scale things for your level (example: doing goblet squats instead of front squats, where the movement pattern remains the same, but holding the weight in front of you gives you more balance and doesn't require the same amount of wrist flexibility. Strict or at least push press so you can learn to control the barbell before you try to jerk it. DB thrusters instead of with the bar, so again your wrist flexibility (and strength. These are tough on the wrists) and balance is not as much of an issue.
The PVC pipe is okay to teach the basics, and how the movements should feel to a degree, but without weight into it, it doesn't lend itself well to actually building strength or a nice WOD.
As for the warmup, I only know of a spiderman crawl, where you basically inchworm your hands out and lunge one foot to the outside of your hands and then do the other side. It's awesome for getting the core ready to stabilize you as well as getting the legs, hips and shoulders ready! It may take a little time to get it down, but trust me, if you stick with it, a few months down the line, you'll be surprised by what your body can do that it couldn't before! 0 -
My 2nd class ever was this morning and I am feeling pretty discouraged. The first one I did (last Friday) was a mix of cardio and strength so even though I struggled I still felt like I exercised. Today was all strength and I feel super awkward learning the weight lifting moves. Front squats were okay I guess but I kept feeling like I was messing up the push jerk and thruster (with a pvc pipe mind you). Not to mention something called the superman crawl was supposed to be a warmup and I sucked at that so hard...maybe because I'm not strong enough and maybe because I am just very uncoordinated but most likely both! Has anyone else experienced this, not given up, and actually moved past it? I am willing to work hard while I'm in class and was prepared for it to be physically difficult but not necessarily hard to figure out.
The weightlifting moves, especially the olympic lifts (snatch/ clean/jerk) definitely will feel strange and uncoordinated for a LONG time in my experience. They require bodily awareness that most of us don't start out with when starting a crossfit program, especially if we've never trained that way or haven't participated in physical activities in a while. I can CLEARLY remember how I thought I would never learn the lifts or become efficient at them. If I showed you a video of the first time I did a jerk compared to now you'd have yourself a good belly laugh. I love the olympic lifts so much now after years of doing crossfit that I stopped doing crossfit for a while all together and olympic lifting is all I train now. Stay patient and consistent and they will feel normal in time, I promise.1 -
My 2nd class ever was this morning and I am feeling pretty discouraged. The first one I did (last Friday) was a mix of cardio and strength so even though I struggled I still felt like I exercised. Today was all strength and I feel super awkward learning the weight lifting moves. Front squats were okay I guess but I kept feeling like I was messing up the push jerk and thruster (with a pvc pipe mind you). Not to mention something called the superman crawl was supposed to be a warmup and I sucked at that so hard...maybe because I'm not strong enough and maybe because I am just very uncoordinated but most likely both! Has anyone else experienced this, not given up, and actually moved past it? I am willing to work hard while I'm in class and was prepared for it to be physically difficult but not necessarily hard to figure out.
It's your second class...dont be so hard on yourself! It gets better ;-) there are still some things I struggle with and have to modify after 2.5 years1 -
My 2nd class ever was this morning and I am feeling pretty discouraged. The first one I did (last Friday) was a mix of cardio and strength so even though I struggled I still felt like I exercised. Today was all strength and I feel super awkward learning the weight lifting moves. Front squats were okay I guess but I kept feeling like I was messing up the push jerk and thruster (with a pvc pipe mind you). Not to mention something called the superman crawl was supposed to be a warmup and I sucked at that so hard...maybe because I'm not strong enough and maybe because I am just very uncoordinated but most likely both! Has anyone else experienced this, not given up, and actually moved past it? I am willing to work hard while I'm in class and was prepared for it to be physically difficult but not necessarily hard to figure out.
Hey Akrynski, hope things have gotten a little better for you! It was/is my experience that I'm still sucky, but just not as sucky as before. I'm about 6 months in. I love the heck out of it, but, I'm still bad. I'm slow and last at everything, I use low weights, I still can't even do a proper push up. But, I've tried to focus on the little things - I can put weights on the bar now, I can do 6 stepping-burpees before I feel like my lungs will explode, I conquered a fear and now do GHD sit ups. If you take your time, listen to your trainer, and to you body, you'll get there too. Also, lifts got MUCH easier when I had weight, even just the bar. I had NO control when using the PVC pipe for more than a couple of stretches/warmups.
Jordan Shalhoub is one of my fav you-tubers ever. She's real, and funny, and honest about most things (at least she comes across that way). She did an "everyone sucked in the beginning" video, and whenever I start comparing myself to others, or feel bad about the fact that I really do suck (for now), I watch this to remind myself that I am only a beginner - I've never worked out like this in my life - Even when I was at my healthiest, I wasn't this kind of athlete. Give it a watch when you have a few minutes to spare, and just remember that nothing worth doing comes easy. You'll get past the awkward phase if you just stick to it and keep trying.
https://youtu.be/ozAdUGgiuJc0
