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Crossfit is a joke to me. A massive, overpriced fad. It encourages bad form, goes far too hard on joints and the results I've seen from folks aren't nearly as speedy as doing it the tried and true way.
What's worse is that the program is breeding a whole culture of d'bag guys who think they're cool because they do dozens of pullups badly and with no form. I can not only out-bench most of those Crossfit people, but also take a bikram yoga class and run a half-marathon with no problems. Any program that doesn't stress flexibility and real cardio training is only going to cripple you in the long run.
And yet I know dozens of people, old and young, in-shape and out, that go to CrossFit 3+ times a week and I have yet to personally meet anyone that has hurt themselves doing CrossFit. Odd.
Crossfit is a joke to me. A massive, overpriced fad. It encourages bad form, goes far too hard on joints and the results I've seen from folks aren't nearly as speedy as doing it the tried and true way.
yep, because no one uses bad form in other gyms/programs outside of CF....no one......ever.
Also, what is the tried and true way?
Quote:
What's worse is that the program is breeding a whole culture of d'bag guys who think they're cool because they do dozens of pullups badly and with no form. I can not only out-bench most of those Crossfit people, but also take a bikram yoga class and run a half-marathon with no problems. Any program that doesn't stress flexibility and real cardio training is only going to cripple you in the long run.
BN
so, let's say you have a CFer who just does CF and doesnt bench, and you want to brag and say you can out bench them? Duh.
Now take a CFer who also strength trains(which many do) and it wont be that easy. there are alot of strong guys/girls that do CF.
And also, many CFers also participate in yoga, do flexbility and mobility workouts in addition to the main workout, and we've had 3 or 4 people just out of our small gym who have done mini marathons, plus one guy who is doing the Boston marathon in April.
I can also run a half marathon, no problem. My time wont be great because I dont distance run much, but I would most definitely finish it.
Have you ever done CF for a somewhat extended period of time? A few of our members were skeptical when I first got them to come, but after an extended period doing CF, they found that most of their ideas about CF were pure misconceptions.
This week I had my first experience with CF. It was an free intro class. I was had several conversations with the trainer/owner before I even arrived to find out what was going to happen in the intro session, and what exercises we'd be doing. He changed it up a little, and I found that it all was very doable. We started out with a warm up on the rowers, then did dynamic stretching (the very same warm up drills I'd already been doing at bootcamp).], then we did an interval "fitness test" seeing how many rounds of these exercises (5 pull ups, 10 pushups and 15 squats) we could do in 5 minutes. It was really fun, and I LOVED it!!
The trainer was really good, and there was no pushing or bullying to keep up with the others in the class. I found it to be a really positive experience. This CF is affiliated with several others in Central Cal, so if I ever went back, it would be to one of their affiliates.
Again, I know dozens, possibly more than a hundred, people who do CrossFit at least 3x a week - none of them have hurt themselves in the gym. How do you explain that? The two gyms that I go to are just extremely lucky?
Haven't you heard? People like to generalize based on one or two pieces of anecdotal evidence.
Crossfit is great in that it has gotten legions of people to understand the concepts of intensity in their training as the way to meet their fitness goals. I also like that it focuses on developing multiple aspects of fitness and that it has introduced many people into actually lifting heavy things and doing actual compound lifts. I DON'T like the lack of emphasis on proper form that seems to be prevalent (I've been to a few Crossfit gyms and there was ZERO form instruction for the most part, nor many people really qualified to teach proper form), nor do I subscribe to the method as being the best and most efficient way to either get stronger, more flexible, faster, or build endurance (although I will say it does build endurance better than most other methods).
I've found personally that building a good strength base built on a proper routine of progressive overload, combined with a focus on compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, bench, overhead press,and eventually when one is more advanced, the olympic lifts, is a better way to accomplish most fo the goals of crossfit but even more effectively. You of course then have to incorporate a good mobility/flexibility program and maybe some occasional speedwork (which if you just do sprints of some type doubles as a cardio workout/endurance builder). Then combine that with some strongman training or odd lifts that force adaptation and growth and you will be one heck of a well-rounded individual.
All of that requires very detailed programming and a lot of knowledge gained from experience, research, and understanding of your body and good nutrition and recovery methods. If you do it right, though, the results will be phenominal.
Bottom line is, there are better ways than crossfit, but crossfit is generally easier for most people becuase they don't have to think as much as if they did a custom tailored program like what I do. Still, you will get adequate and sometimes very good results doing crossfit and for the majority that is all they are looking for.
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