crossfit and weightlifting...

[itgirl25]

i am new to crossfit, been doing it for about 2 months now. however, it has been a supplement to my normal gym routine. i crossfit 3 or 4x a week and i have been following a 4 day split schedule for weights in the gym. tonight when i mentioned hitting the gym for my weight session on ******** my fellow crossfitters gasped! so my question is...is it bad to crossfit and still lift weights in the gym? i love the challenge of crossfit but i also love that pump feeling i get from isolating my muscles. there is just so much to learn. i am feeling overwhelmed by it all. help...

[rdferguson]

As far as I'm aware, here's the basic Crossfit schedule:

Start of session: strength, speed or skill work.
Finish: metcon.

Doing that 3+ times per week doesn't really leave much room to do anything else, if you're taking the strength/speed/skill work and metcon seriously.

What's your actual goal, BTW? Crossfit isn't really a bodybuilding program (granted, one could argue that Crossfit isn't really a PROGRAM, anyway, so much as it's just a guideline), and isn't designed to be done in conjunction with a bodybuilding split. Likewise, most bodybuilding splits aren't designed to be done in conjunction with somethinga s high intensity as Crossfit.

[itgirl25]

well, i really wanna build muscle. my gym routine was getting a bit stale though so i added crossfit to kinda shake things up a bit. i love it now and i don't wanna hafta choose between the two. but i still like the pump i get from isolating my muscles in the gym as well. can i find a happy medium and use both somehow?

[illiniStrive]

Maybe Crossfit 1-2x a week instead?

And EAT. That's going to be the biggest impetus to weight gain.

rdferguson, I had to grab that quote for my sig lol, it's such a winner.

[PeterGibbons316]

You can't do a structured weightlifting routine at the same time as an unstructured crossfit routine. You need to either add some structure to the crossfit so that it fits, or remove structure from your weightlifting so that you are free to work whatever muscle group has had enough rest on any particular day.

[DCSpartan]

You can't do a structured weightlifting routine at the same time as an unstructured crossfit routine. You need to either add some structure to the crossfit so that it fits, or remove structure from your weightlifting so that you are free to work whatever muscle group has had enough rest on any particular day.

much wisdom here.

A relatively easy way is to do a full body work out one day, followed by two CF workouts, then a rest day. That way you are on track with your other cultists.

[CookAndrewB]

much wisdom here.

A relatively easy way is to do a full body work out one day, followed by two CF workouts, then a rest day. That way you are on track with your other cultists.

I lolled.

When I saw the title I was a little baffled, because crossfit is weight lifting... plus other stuff. Nothing magical about it. It can easily be worked into a normal training week, given you can (as Pete stated) give it a little structure so that you can anticipate what is coming next.

Even so, I REALLY can't see a good reason why you can't roll into the gym for some curls and calf raises, if that is what you want to do, and you can recover from it.

By the way, RD, your comment on "if you take it seriously" Last I checked, nobody gets paid to crossfit... well, maybe the creators who are taking the concept to the bank. Still, how "seriously" should you take your training if it is just a hobby?

[Jax05]

Stick to one, either CF or lifting.

[rdferguson]

I lolled.

When I saw the title I was a little baffled, because crossfit is weight lifting... plus other stuff. Nothing magical about it. It can easily be worked into a normal training week, given you can (as Pete stated) give it a little structure so that you can anticipate what is coming next.

Even so, I REALLY can't see a good reason why you can't roll into the gym for some curls and calf raises, if that is what you want to do, and you can recover from it.

By the way, RD, your comment on "if you take it seriously" Last I checked, nobody gets paid to crossfit... well, maybe the creators who are taking the concept to the bank. Still, how "seriously" should you take your training if it is just a hobby?

By seriously, I mean that for whatever task is at hand you actually do the WORK, rather than just go through the motions. You don't need to be doing something professionally to get serious when you walk in the gym door. As I said, CF generally starts with strength, speed or skill work, then has metcon afterwards. Say it's a strength day and the task is to do 10 doubles of squats. Someone not being "serious" might just do 10x2 at 50% 1RM. Someone being a little more serious might do something more like 10x2 at 85-90% 1RM. So really, I'm just talking about effort here.

Anyway, PeterGibbons said it best. IMO OP should just do structured resistance training with sensible metcon afterwards, so that she can enjoy CF style training while still focusing on her BB goals.

@ illiniStrive: I'm honoured.

[itgirl25]

thank you everyone for your insight. i appreciate any and all opinions and will consider everything everyone says.

[itgirl25]

You can't do a structured weightlifting routine at the same time as an unstructured crossfit routine. You need to either add some structure to the crossfit so that it fits, or remove structure from your weightlifting so that you are free to work whatever muscle group has had enough rest on any particular day.

this makes alot of sense to me. basically i wanted to know if it was a bad idea to hit the gym and work any lagging parts that i feel didn't get full attention from that day's WOD.

I lolled.

When I saw the title I was a little baffled, because crossfit is weight lifting... plus other stuff. Nothing magical about it. It can easily be worked into a normal training week, given you can (as Pete stated) give it a little structure so that you can anticipate what is coming next.

Even so, I REALLY can't see a good reason why you can't roll into the gym for some curls and calf raises, if that is what you want to do, and you can recover from it.

By the way, RD, your comment on "if you take it seriously" Last I checked, nobody gets paid to crossfit... well, maybe the creators who are taking the concept to the bank. Still, how "seriously" should you take your training if it is just a hobby?

believe me, i definately know that CF is weightlifting. but in my head they are 2 different animals. i feel like CF is more of a full body workout and while i leave feeling pretty drained i don't always feel like i worked every muscle. i still like to pay specific attention to ab work and i feel my shoulders are weak. i'd love to focus on them more. but not every day is a heavy shoulder WOD. so basically i wanted to know, as stated above, whether i can still hit the gym to work that lagging part. i can see where i may need to relax my split schedule and rely more on how my body feels post WOD and go from there. i'd just hate to cut out isolation exercises comepletely. but i also don't wanna undo any progress i make at CF. i feel so confused. i love the challenge and intensity of CF, but i really really wanna have sexy, sculpted muscles as well. i suppose i am just trying to find the happy medium, if there is one.