Crossfit input plz

I ran into a guy at Whistler bike park who does crossfit competitions, we rode together a few laps and then he split, but not before getting me curious about his workouts. There is a crossfit gym close to my house and a quick google search showed what they do.

Any personal trainers on here to chime in with the good and the bad of such workouts? Would you recommend it? And why?

The Crossfit "movement" is a little cult-ish to some (there are some real haters on this board), but there's something to be said about the benefits of functional exercises vs more targeted exercises. I don't go to a Crossfit gym but for the last few weeks I've been getting myself back into a fitness regime, and I do stuff in their style. It's a little early for real results but it certainly kicks my ass after my runs.

The bad part of Crossfit is rhabdomyolysis, so take it easy. ;)

My girlfriend goes and she loves it, however she is smart, if you can go but not get caught up in the whole push till i die or get injured effect then i think it is awesome, but that is with anything. Most people who can't stop going hard cause they are so A type get injured since they are lifting too much too soon and technique sacrifices. She has gotten nothing but stronger on the moto, kiting, skiing, running , from it and she is addicted…but like I said she lifts less than they suggest and on some days forgoes some of the workout to do cardio so she can save her legs for real sports like biking, moto , skiing etc.

if you get crazy about it and have an over-exuberant instructor, you will get a repetitive strain injury (ie. tendonopathy, aka "tendonitis"). bad instructors will put more emphasis on effort than form, and the result is injury. your physiotherapist will be happy to take your money though, so go for it!

Just to join in on the dog pile…

Are you:

A) Pushing yourself to the limit all the time regardless?

or

B) Not A

If you are A, best you stay away from cross-fit, unless cross-fit is the only thing you want to do.

get back in the ring you pussy
3:16! 3:16!!!!!!!!!!!

Appreciate the input, I am definitely type A and very likely would hurt myself doing this. Based on what I've read, crossfit may not be for me.

I think you should try it, and then decide. I have been doing Crossfit for about 2 years now. That it has improved my riding is beyond debate. I climb faster now than when I was logging huge mileage as a roadie. I am more comfortable in the air, and faster on the descent, because I am much stronger now. For me, it works, and I am definitely not type A.

That being said, every boxes differs, in programming philosophy and sophistication of coaches. Some of what is being said here is true, if you can't check your ego at the door, you will get hurt. Same deal if your coach is a meathead.

Nothing has ever improved my fitness as much as Crossfit, but I took it slow, and I scale workouts when I need to. 2 years in, I have no injuries, and no intention of developing any.

Forget about rhabdomyolysis, you are more likely to develop that from an 8 hour epic on the bike than a Crossfit workout.

Try it out. It's only exercise.

DaveB well said I would say the same is true from my girlfriend…she is tough and loves hard workouts now in all sports and I have never seen that before from her before she started crossfit…plus she absolutely loves it!

But you sound like you have done the same as her, being smart and dont be in a rush to get fit and strong…you have a life time…most people forget this and hammer like it is their last year on the planet, they end up getting injured in all sports…

I think you should try it, and then decide. I have been doing Crossfit for about 2 years now. That it has improved my riding is beyond debate. I climb faster now than when I was logging huge mileage as a roadie. I am more comfortable in the air, and faster on the descent, because I am much stronger now. For me, it works, and I am definitely not type A.

That being said, every boxes differs, in programming philosophy and sophistication of coaches. Some of what is being said here is true, if you can't check your ego at the door, you will get hurt. Same deal if your coach is a meathead.

Nothing has ever improved my fitness as much as Crossfit, but I took it slow, and I scale workouts when I need to. 2 years in, I have no injuries, and no intention of developing any.

Forget about rhabdomyolysis, you are more likely to develop that from an 8 hour epic on the bike than a Crossfit workout.

Try it out. It's only exercise.

pretty good response.

i will add that almost any training program/routine can provide you with good benefits as it's not what you do but how you do it. the how you do it is all about techinque and loading where loading is a function of the intensity, volume and frequency of your workouts. people get hurt becuase of the how - poor tehcnique and over loading - not because of the what.

the key thing when choosing a training routine is to pick one that compliments the activities you enjoy and do the most. the reason for this is that you can't maximize all levels of physiological performance. anybody that says they can are either using a boatload of supplements, illegal drugs, both of those or are simply full of crap. you simply cannot train at a high level for strength and cardio at the same time, you'll last about 10-14 days at most before you start to fall apart. if you think you're doing both and surviving then you're not training at the high level that you think you are.

when is comes to human performance you can essentially do one of three things:

1. you can maximize strength, power, explosiveness, speed, agility and have low to moderate levels of cardio vascular performance

2. you can maximize cardio vascular performance and have low to moderate levels of strength, etc.

3. you can have moderate to good (but not great) levels of cardio and strength.

imo the way most people tend to ride (or play other sports) they should have more emphasis on strength/resistance training and less emphasis on cardio training. say anywhere from a 80/20 to 60/40 split. the reason being is that good to great leg strength will help carry you on climbs up to a couple of hours and make steeper climbs far easier compared to if you are focusing on cardio conditiong.

i also beleive that resistance training can provide you with more overall health benefits than cardio training. that's not to say one should ignore cardio training, but the avg person or rec athlete will get better health/performance benefits from focusing more on resistance training that cardio traing; about a 60/40 to 70/30 split.

so yes, go try the crossfit as you may like it and take it slow. once you get a taste for it and understand the principle then factor in your total activity level (incl your job) when deciding how much effort you want to put into it. if nothing else it will give you some great training ideas that you can inocorporate into a different training program.

one of the key values of a trainer or coach is helping you determine your loading and keeping it at a level that allows for performance growth without causing fatigue or injury.

Some great responses, but the common theme seems to be that the intensity of it is a double edge sword with injuries and progression sharing the same blade.

Personally, i would say a group gets hurt from it, because they not accustomed to the complexity of some of the moves. Cleans, and some of the kettle bell type stuff requires impeccable technique to accommodate increases in load with out injury. Exuberance seems to over come technique and thats where the fail begins. If your strict and define your own pace, but follow the principles of progressive overload with out sacrificing the safe technique your in the right direction.

The group all doing the movements in the same fashion also harbours the double edge phenomenon. It can push you hard for success, or bravado will f u up in the end if you let it affect you.

Well I'll weigh in.

There is nothing wrong with cross fit and you can go hard in any training program… The only difference between a 'normal' routine and crossfit is crossfit has a heavy cardio component which makes it intense that way.

Lets be clear… you will not become Ronnie Coleman doing crossfit.

So what are your goals? Your goals and your goals alone should determine which program is 'right' for you combined with of course consideration to past injuries etc.

You need to focus on what you want. Strength? Size? Good cardio? Etc.

Crossfit in case you were wondering focuses hard on the cardio component due to the intense nature of the workouts/super set work and circuit style work.

You will get ripped, good cardio from it. If you are out of shape now you may gain some muscle. If you are already a trained athlete to some degree you will probably not gain much muscle or strength. You will gain muscular endurance however.

If your focus is more along the lines of hypertrophy/strength then crossfit is not for you. If this is the case stick to the old school training regimens and lift heavy. If you have specific questions you can PM me as I sometimes forget to check back.

Source: I am a BCRPA certified trainer and have lifted weights for 9 years.