CrossFit newbie needs advice

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zeldon919
zeldon919 Posts: 118 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

Yesterday I had my first CrossFit foundations session (3 total). I’m super out of shape, and while my expectations were low it was still depressing. Everyone was very nice though and there was a scaled version for anything I needed.

Does anyone have tips for a very out of shape CrossFit newbie?

Also - I know CrossFit doesn’t burn a huge amount of calories, but can someone just give me a flat amount to add for exercise calories (50% of exercise calories). 150? 250?

Thanks

Replies

  • Cassandraw3
    Cassandraw3 Posts: 1,214 Member
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    Everyone has to start somewhere! Just do your best and work to continually improve. No one will judge you for having to scale. And track your progress! It is always great to see how far you have come.

    As far as the number of calories burned, I would track it under circuit training and for the minutes put the length of the metcon. Each crossfit workout is broken out into a strength portion and a cardio portion. The cardio portion is generally referred to as a "metcon" for metabolic conditioning. Calories burned are going to vary. For me, personally, I found that I typically burned around 250 calories a class at 5'4" 150-160 lbs.

    I hope you are enjoying it so far! I have been doing crossfit for a few years and I love it.
  • zeldon919
    zeldon919 Posts: 118 Member
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    Thanks.
    Haven’t done enough to have an opinion, but I’ve never liked exercise and I don’t imagine this will be different for a while, which is ok if I’m actually doing it, I feel like I’m improving and the environment is supportive.

    I’ll add ~150cals on CrossFit days. Seems reasonable.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,231 Member
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    I've cherry picked CrossFit WODs in the past to experience them and they are tough. The only thing I can offer is you've got to tailor them to your current abilities. If you're not in tip top shape, I can't imagine you'd be able to complete a WOD as prescribed. So, tailor to provide you with the CrossFit experience knowing that your exercises may be modified as will be your reps and times. Otherwise, you'll fail miserably and throw in the towel and move on to your next exercise program. Be safe and good luck.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited March 2019
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    You start where you are, track your baseline, and progress from there, tracking all along the way so you can see your accomplishments. It doesn't matter whether it's CF or some other program. Do be aware that slight variations on an exercise are not directly comparable. A front squat vs back squat vs sumo squat are different exercises that you may do at different weights. A squat at the beginning of your workout may be different weight than one at the end.

    Take measurements and progress pics too because otherwise your mind and eyes and memory will lie to you about your progress. You do not change your fitness overnight or in a short amount of time, at least I don't. It's a work in progress and I'm never where I really wish I was, but I'm also further along than I thought was even possible for me, given where I started 5 years ago. I still modify many exercises, for various reasons.

    If you feel like the least accomplished person in the gym, just remember that those with less ability than you didn't even bother to show up!
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,492 Member
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    zeldon919 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone.

    The plan is to go 3x a week and do as much as I can when I’m there.
    I’m also going to focus solely on doing better than myself, not comparing myself to others or being overly concerned with completing the WOD.

    My fitness goal is to establish a 3x weekly fitness habit, so I’ll focus on that alone. I’m also going to keep track of what I can do, to see my progress (1 additional push-up is progress, very realistic).

    I’m focusing on diet for weight loss, fitness for health (and healthy lifestyle changes). I’ll eat ~150 exercise calories on CrossFit days.

    @zeldon919

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  • asochable
    asochable Posts: 43 Member
    edited March 2019
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    My crossfit gym is an amazing community! We embrace scaling and the coaches know us all so well to help us pick appropriate weights and modifications until we are ready to move on to more difficult (Rx) versions. Some days if my legs are tired from running, I might go lighter in a workout and I know I’m still getting a great workout.

    Sometimes I’ll leave the gym and count the workout and amaze myself. Like the other day I did 98 deadlifts at 95 pounds! I didn’t realize it in the workout because I was just going along counting my rounds but on the drive home when I do the math it feels amazing! You truly do more than you knew you were capable of.

    Honestly, I record it as a 1 hour CrossFit class (which says like 500 calories) and only eat about half of it back and it seems to be working. It’s a high intensity workout and you’re building muscle so it’s hard to tell what residual calorie burn there might be, but logging the hour and eating back half seems to work for me! That being said, I’m close to my goal weight so I am trying to lose at about 0.5lb/week.

  • jenniday1229
    jenniday1229 Posts: 27 Member
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    The hardest part is stepping into the box for the first time, so congrats on taking that first step!

    I'm coming up on my 1 year crossfit anniversary and this past year has been nothing short of amazing for me. For reference I was 5'3" 230lb when I started. I hadn't worked out in at least 3 years, and had never really been consistent with any routine in my life. Now I'm down 57lbs and have made amazing strength gains that I never thought possible. Wish I had done this a long time ago, but it's never too late!

    The first couple of months are hard. Your body will be like "WTF are we doing??!!" My advice is to space out your workouts, take a day in between to recover. Hydrate like crazy. Stretch on your off days. If you work at a desk get up every 30 minutes and move for a few minutes. You might question your sanity. You might wake up on workout days and wonder if you can even do anything that day. Most days by the time you get in the box and do a stretch and warm up you'll be amazed at how much better you feel. Stay consistent. Put it on your calendar and treat it like an appointment. I protect my scheduled workouts and work other things around them. For a busy schedule this has been key for me. Now I'm up to 4 crossfit workouts during the week and usually 1 run on the weekends.

    Have patience and trust the process. Trust the scaling. We all start where we start and progress from there. If you don't understand a movement or have questions, ask your coach, that's what they are there for. Record your progress, you'll love looking at how far you've come.

    For MFP logging, I was never one to log exercise calories really, and crossfit is hard to measure since the movements and times are different every day. When I went from 3 classes/week to 4 I changed my activity level from sedentary (work a desk job) to lightly active. This worked out to be the "sweet spot" for me. The daily calorie allowance was plenty to keep me fueled and keep an average of -1lb week fat loss. I also adjusted what kinds of foods I eat and when to support a lunchtime workout, primarily eating a good balanced breakfast.

    Hope this helps a little. I'm excited for you!
  • zeldon919
    zeldon919 Posts: 118 Member
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    Thanks everyone.

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