Crossfit... Better than lifting weights?

Ok so here is my question. I prefer lifting weights, however after graduating from police academy, I kept in touch with a few guys from other departments. Together we had vowed to become huge Luke our instructors were in academy.

Well, I have been lifting, bout to use my first prohormone, etc.J Anyways, I spoke with one of the guys and told him how my gains have been, etc. He told me that he had been using crossfit and became bigger stronger and ripped, all if this by using the workout of the day (which changes everyday and cycles 3 days on 1 day off). I had looked at some if these exercises and even attempted a few, however u believe that it would only be good for endurance and getting ripped, not necessarily bigger. So therefore I did not change my workout.

Today, u spoke with another guy I went to college with and advised him of me about to begin hdrol (since he used to take steroids while he was a bouncer) anyways out of nowhere he said there was no need for juice or a ph he said if u wanna get bigger and stronger as well as ripped up..... Do crossfit! I told him that I had checked it out but it didn't seem like I would get bigger so I didn't stick with it. He commenced to say you remember how I looked on winstrol and how I looked on deca? Well I am stronger bigger and not bloated.from the roids. He said he was the most ripped ever as well as cardio was greater then ever.

Well needless to say it makes me wonder if that could b true. I have not seen him in about a year and if he looks like he says... Maybe we are all doing the wrong workout. So my question is has anyone else tried crossfit? If so how were your results? If you dint have a clue on what I'm talkin about check out crossfit.com

Steroids show results no matter what. Steroid uses succeed in spite of thier methods most time not because of them. For natural lifters crossfit is not ideal to gain mass.

Crossfit does involve lifting weights, just in a different fashion than bodybuilders, since they are after different goals (usually). If you're a LEO, being both strong and fit are pretty necessary, so you may want to try it out. If it's not for you, then go back to what you've been doing. If you want to get bigger, you can check out crossfitfootball.com

I'm not saying there aren't issues with crossfit, or the community, but it may be worth checking out. That's the best way to find out if its for you.

I believe that Furious Pete has been doing nothing but CF for awhile now and seeing great results.

[QUOTE=SwiftyX;439032201]Steroids show results no matter what. Steroid uses succeed in spite of thier methods most time not because of them. For natural lifters crossfit is not ideal to gain mass.[/QUOTE]

"Bodybuilders succeed in spite of themselves." --Lyle McDonald


Steroids make that statement true all the time.

Crossfit is a very good tool, but as many have stated before, it has a different goal in mind. It all depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want to gain weight, size, muscle, then progressive overload in the 8-12 rep range is ideal. You also need to keep a positive nitrogen balance. Crossfit is more geared towards burning a few more calories and endurance. In other words both have their place. Being an officer, I could seehow you would benefit from using both types of routines.
I wont even bother talking about roids.

-------------
For Personal Fitness Coaching, Meal Plans and Workouts
Visit my website at AmbitiousFitness.com
Best Wishes, Rob

[QUOTE=LPD351;439028351]
Well needless to say it makes me wonder if that could b true. I have not seen him in about a year and if he looks like he says... Maybe we are all doing the wrong workout. So my question is has anyone else tried crossfit? If so how were your results? If you dint have a clue on what I'm talkin about check out crossfit.com[/QUOTE]

Crossfit is good for athletics, and endurance, and also for someone in your line of work.

It's the [i]last[/i] thing I'd recommend for anyone who has aspirations to look like a bodybuilder.


Train for what you want to become.

[QUOTE=ironwill2008;439110001]Crossfit is good for athletics, and endurance, and also for someone in your line of work.

It's the [i]last[/i] thing I'd recommend for anyone who has aspirations to look like a bodybuilder.


Train for what you want to become.[/QUOTE]

I agree with the first statement, however do not with the second. As someone stated, it can be a useful tool possibly when utilized w/ a bodybuilding type program. Think of how many of us bodybuilders lack flexibility. I have to be honest....I warm up thoroughly, but for the life of me cannot remember when I actually got a good stretch in. This combined w/ a training regimen would in my opinion gear you towards a Frank Zane type of look.

[QUOTE=LPD351;439028351]Ok so here is my question. I prefer lifting weights, however after graduating from police academy, I kept in touch with a few guys from other departments. Together we had vowed to become huge Luke our instructors were in academy.

Well, I have been lifting, bout to use my first prohormone, etc.J Anyways, I spoke with one of the guys and told him how my gains have been, etc. He told me that he had been using crossfit and became bigger stronger and ripped, all if this by using the workout of the day (which changes everyday and cycles 3 days on 1 day off). I had looked at some if these exercises and even attempted a few, however u believe that it would only be good for endurance and getting ripped, not necessarily bigger. So therefore I did not change my workout.

Today, u spoke with another guy I went to college with and advised him of me about to begin hdrol (since he used to take steroids while he was a bouncer) anyways out of nowhere he said there was no need for juice or a ph he said if u wanna get bigger and stronger as well as ripped up..... Do crossfit! I told him that I had checked it out but it didn't seem like I would get bigger so I didn't stick with it. He commenced to say you remember how I looked on winstrol and how I looked on deca? Well I am stronger bigger and not bloated.from the roids. He said he was the most ripped ever as well as cardio was greater then ever.

Well needless to say it makes me wonder if that could b true. I have not seen him in about a year and if he looks like he says... Maybe we are all doing the wrong workout. So my question is has anyone else tried crossfit? If so how were your results? If you dint have a clue on what I'm talkin about check out crossfit.com[/QUOTE]

Crossfit will not make you bigger than a bodybuilding program and will nto make you stronger than a strength program. Check out the powerlifting section for a huge thread on the pros and cons of crossfit.

It does wonders for women but I not much for men!

[img]http://www.crossfiteastbay.com/assets_c/2009/02/Crossfit_Nicole-Eva_large-thumb-500x374.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.crossfitinvictus.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/hallelujah-crossfit-invictus-san-diego1-573x600.jpg[/img]

when i was in iraq. crossfit became very popular.. i seen guys who did it for months , and months, and months... sweatin balls,, going from set to set.. throwin medicine balls in the air.. not one of them got any better looking, or stronger.. im sure they got sum endurance out of it..

cross fit in my opinon is like a really sweat cardio / stretch routine... IDK

BUMP
I was looking into crossfit and found this on their FAQ:

[quote]If you train the WODs hard, and eat right and get lots of sleep, you will definitely gain lean mass, lose fat, and yes, you can build muscle mass with the crossfit protocol. More specifically, according to Coach,
Here is a hierarchy of training for mass from greater to lesser efficacy:
1. Bodybuilding on steroids
2. CrossFitting on steroids
3. CrossFitting without steroids
4. Bodybuilding without steroids
The bodybuilding model is designed around, requires, steroids for significant hypertrophy.
The neuroendocrine response of bodybuilding protocols is so blunted that without "exogenous hormonal therapy" little happens.
The CrossFit protocol is designed to elicit a substantial neuroendocrine whollop and hence packs an anabolic punch that puts on impressive amounts of muscle though that is not our concern. Strength is.
[B]Natural bodybuilders (the natural ones that are not on steroids) never approach the mass that our ahtletes do. They don't come close.[/B]
Those athletes who train for function end up with better form than those who value form over function. This is one of the beautiful ironies of training.[/quote]

Opinions on this?

[QUOTE=DanielHimself;443051971]BUMP
I was looking into crossfit and found this on their FAQ:



Opinions on this?[/QUOTE]

Yes doing a mishmash of GPP, strength training, cardio with no planned progression and no real structure is the key to building mass when not using steroids.

[QUOTE=SwiftyX;439032201]Steroids show results no matter what. Steroid uses succeed in spite of thier methods most time not because of them. For natural lifters crossfit is not ideal to gain mass.[/QUOTE]

I can google you some examples of steroids not working. There are many. They work if used responsibly and properly.

[QUOTE=pharmamarketer;443095041]I can google you some examples of steroids not working. There are many. They work if used responsibly and properly.[/QUOTE]

I do not know of any way to keep steroids from working. I've never heard of a steroids non-responder. Now, if you take crap genetics and amplify them, you still get crap. You may get bigger and stronger crap, but you get crap out all the same. ;)

To the OP:
#1- You are a police officer thinking of taking anabolics? Not for nothing, but I hope you get popped on a drug test. You are supposed to be a role model for the community. Police officers should be an example of a law abiding citizen, not an example of the people you put away.

#2- If I was in a job that required athletic performance, I would definitely be eyeballing crossfit over bodybuilding. Big arms won't save your life, but well developed athletic skills might.

I have been doing crossfit twice a week for a little over two months and have gone from 170-185lbs.

I can see why roidmonkies hate on it though. First of all it creates balanced muscle groups, you won't get the ridiculous proportions that bodybuilding will give you. My gains have been mostly shoulders, back, and legs.

After working different splits for years and spinning my wheels the crossfit experience is a breath of fresh air and very effective.

Remember that it is going to build FUNCTIONAL muscle so if you just want massive arms (which are not really important functionally) keep curling.

Side note. Anyone know of forums that are for exclusively natural lifters?

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1206332711]I have been doing crossfit twice a week for a little over two months and have gone from 170-185lbs.

I can see why roidmonkies hate on it though. First of all it creates balanced muscle groups, you won't get the ridiculous proportions that bodybuilding will give you. My gains have been mostly shoulders, back, and legs.

After working different splits for years and spinning my wheels the crossfit experience is a breath of fresh air and very effective.

Remember that it is going to build FUNCTIONAL muscle so if you just want massive arms (which are not really important functionally) keep curling.

Side note. Anyone know of forums that are for exclusively natural lifters?[/QUOTE]

I'm sure the guys from this 4yr old thread will be enthralled by what you're adding to the table.

Here's an article that will hopefully help you spit out some of the koolaid you've been drinking: [url]http://www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly[/url]

And lol at "FUNCTIONAL muscle," massive arms are "not really important functionally..." Please go find me a record holding powerlifter with small arms... Oh wait, is benching not FUNCTIONAL.


Discussion of illegal substances is not allowed on this forum btw. Not sure about "exclusively for natural lifters"

anyone else see the contradiction here? i guess i'm an anomaly getting balanced gains in my legs, arms, chest, back, shoulders, and core by doing a full body heavy lifting routine 3x a week.

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1206332711]I have been doing crossfit twice a week for a little over two months and have gone from 170-185lbs.

I can see why roidmonkies hate on it though. [B]First of all it creates balanced muscle groups, you won't get the ridiculous proportions that bodybuilding will give you. My gains have been mostly shoulders, back, and legs. [/B]

After working different splits for years and spinning my wheels the crossfit experience is a breath of fresh air and very effective.

Remember that it is going to build FUNCTIONAL muscle so if you just want massive arms (which are not really important functionally) keep curling.

Side note. Anyone know of forums that are for exclusively natural lifters?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1206332711]I have been doing crossfit twice a week for a little over two months and have gone from 170-185lbs.

I can see why roidmonkies hate on it though. First of all it creates balanced muscle groups, you won't get the ridiculous proportions that bodybuilding will give you. My gains have been mostly shoulders, back, and legs.

After working different splits for years and spinning my wheels the crossfit experience is a breath of fresh air and very effective.

Remember that it is going to build FUNCTIONAL muscle so if you just want massive arms (which are not really important functionally) keep curling.

Side note. Anyone know of forums that are for exclusively natural lifters?[/QUOTE]

I want to introduce your throat to my Pukie the Clown.

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1206332711]I have been doing crossfit twice a week for a little over two months and have gone from 170-185lbs.[/QUOTE]

In that weight gain time frame you probably gained 2-5 pounds of lean muscle at most. Congratulations. (note: not saying this is bad if you start lean and need to bulk occasionally)

[QUOTE]First of all it creates balanced muscle groups, you won't get the ridiculous proportions that bodybuilding will give you. My gains have been mostly shoulders, back, and legs.[/QUOTE]

Oh? Last I looked, pro Olympic lifters and strongmen do arm isolation to prevent injury and chest to better squeeze and grasp things. There's a lot of "roid monkey bodybuilding" going on behind the scenes in strength sports.

Maybe that's why CrossFitters get injured so much more than other athletes and exercisers. Weak arms in comparison to the rest of their bodies? Or is it the sloppy form with high reps, placing plates right behind guys doing snatches, jumping on little stools for a half hour and pregnant women flopping around on kipping pull ups?

[QUOTE]After working different splits for years and spinning my wheels the crossfit experience is a breath of fresh air and very effective.[/QUOTE]

Let me guess...you didn't add weight to your exercises, never squatted and never gained weight properly?

My current gym is packed full of all kinds of huge bodybuilders (including some I think are on roids) and I see none of them doing CrossFit. In fact a lot of them are on the 70s version of split routines. Tons of benching, squatting, curls, rows, dips, dumbbell presses and machines, and they split it up into bodyparts.
So why is it that bodybuilders are the ones I see deadlifting 500 for reps and curling as much as what you guys can power clean? And before you object, my previous gym had a certified crossfit section.

[QUOTE]Remember that it is going to build FUNCTIONAL muscle so if you just want massive arms (which are not really important functionally) keep curling.[/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/4PjbsQU.jpg[/IMG]

" Side note. Anyone know of forums that are for exclusively natural lifters?"

[url]http://romanoroberts.com.mx/steroids-crossfit-and-the-crossfit-games-who-how/[/url]

Warning your not supposed to talk about illegal supplements on here or you will be put on red.

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1206332711]After working different splits for years and spinning my wheels the crossfit experience is a breath of fresh air and very effective. ?[/QUOTE]

A lot of people that dont train very intensely (ie body part splits with lots of sets of light weights) often see really good gains from any sort of intense program, whether its CF or HIIT or anything else that makes you break a sweat. Problem is, the gains from CF plateau real fast after about 12 weeks in, and if you really want to progress you end up doing a hybrid program of strength training plus WODS. At the end of the day, smarter programming with "regular" workouts will giveyou all teh gains of CF with none of the injury issues. Of course, you wont be able to brag about your 225 pound "elite" deadlift.

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1206332711]Side note. Anyone know of forums that are for exclusively natural lifters?[/QUOTE]

Another thing: Where's the evidence that there's a "natural lifting" style of weight training that's any different except in terms of "don't inject this illegal stuff into your butt"? Arnold Schwarzenegger himself squatted, deadlifted, curled, rowed and ate his way to huge muscles. Is that not the same stuff that makes a CrossFitter's muscles bigger, except he did more of it and injected stuff up his ass? (and he was already semi huge as a teenager doing muscle mag routines)

I probably should have mentioned that the WOD's that I do at my box are "hybrid". We will always start with one or two 5x5 strength movements: bench, shoulder press, jerk, clean, squat etc... that movement will also be included in the WOD as a higher rep movement. It is a fact that high intensity interval training has positive effects on many of the factors that influence muscle growth. The main thing I would think would be a hindrance is the caloric burn (so I eat a LOT).

When i talk about arms, i talk about ridiculous arms. The kind of arms that make it hard to wash your hair (notice how many un-naturals have shaved heads?)... THOSE arms are NOT functional. lol

As far as my experience with weightlifting goes, I am no broski but I know my way around a gym. I was doing 4-5 day splits, primarily free weights, with a trainer for some periods of time, for about 2-3 years. I'm not saying that this kind of lifting does not get results, **** I got a bigger but I didn't feel "stronger" (if that makes any sense).

I'm all for doing what works for you (for some of us that's some help from a "friend") but let's remember that there's different ways of doing things that work for different people.

[QUOTE=DCSpartan;1206518821]A lot of people that dont train very intensely (ie body part splits with lots of sets of light weights) often see really good gains from any sort of intense program, whether its CF or HIIT or anything else that makes you break a sweat. Problem is, the gains from CF plateau real fast after about 12 weeks in, and if you really want to progress you end up doing a hybrid program of strength training plus WODS. At the end of the day, smarter programming with "regular" workouts will giveyou all teh gains of CF with none of the injury issues. Of course, you wont be able to brag about your 225 pound "elite" deadlift.[/QUOTE]

FYI.


The injury issues are from stupid people, not from the training. It's the people who are extremely competitive and sacrifice form for a better time that get injured. When I do a WOD its with a weightlifting mentality, EVERY rep matters as does form. No injuries yet :)

Also, xfit is FUN :) I forgot that part

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1211425821]I probably should have mentioned that the WOD's that I do at my box are "hybrid". We will always start with one or two 5x5 strength movements: bench, shoulder press, jerk, clean, squat etc... that movement will also be included in the WOD as a higher rep movement. It is a fact that high intensity interval training has positive effects on many of the factors that influence muscle growth. The main thing I would think would be a hindrance is the caloric burn (so I eat a LOT).

When i talk about arms, i talk about ridiculous arms. The kind of arms that make it hard to wash your hair (notice how many un-naturals have shaved heads?)... THOSE arms are NOT functional. lol

As far as my experience with weightlifting goes, I am no broski but I know my way around a gym. I was doing 4-5 day splits, primarily free weights, with a trainer for some periods of time, for about 2-3 years. I'm not saying that this kind of lifting does not get results, **** I got a bigger but I didn't feel "stronger" (if that makes any sense).

I'm all for doing what works for you (for some of us that's some help from a "friend") but let's remember that there's different ways of doing things that work for different people.[/QUOTE]

What was your 3 year, 5 day split that your trainer had you on?

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1211425821]
When i talk about arms, i talk about ridiculous arms. The kind of arms that make it hard to wash your hair (notice how many un-naturals have shaved heads?)... THOSE arms are NOT functional. lol [/QUOTE]

So, what do you suppose they shave their heads with? Their feet? Arms too big to wash your hair but not too big to shave! You, sir, are a total douche. GTFO.

Cross fit is better than weight lifting. Cross fit is good for sports person. And having a lots of advantages such like as Energy level, mental toughness, stamina of our body.

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1211425821]It is a fact that high intensity interval training has positive effects on many of the factors that influence muscle growth.[/QUOTE]


First of all, what you guys call HIIT and Tabata usually isn't anything like it. The intervals in the Tabata study were all out sprints on a cycle and that intensity can't even be duplicated by burpees.
Check out: [url]http://www.roypumphrey.com/the-tabata-myth-its-just-interval-training-not-magic/[/url]

Secondly, the VO2 and other aerobic endurance adaptations taper off over weeks, so you still can't go the distance if you just do HIIT.

[QUOTE]When i talk about arms, i talk about ridiculous arms.[/QUOTE]

Physically impossible without drugs or synthol. You that afraid of training arms?

[QUOTE=eswift1983;1211430761]The injury issues are from stupid people, not from the training. It's the people who are extremely competitive and sacrifice form for a better time that get injured.[/QUOTE]

Stupid people like the crossfit.com employees who post workouts of 100 glute-ham raises or some such on the main page? Who tell you to do "thrusters" with a terrible awkward wrist position or floppy pull ups just so they can look unique and seem like they're stronger than they are?

[QUOTE=johndoctor;1211608681]Cross fit is better than weight lifting.[/QUOTE]


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