Crossfit

[Matto313]

I hate to bring up crossfit on the forums because there is so much animosity between the two. I wanted to ask the personal trainers, who are crossfit certified (Or arent) a few questions.

To give a little background:
I have made drastic progress since I started using this site. I have dropped 79 lbs since Jan1. I love getting faster and stronger. I find that I am not addicted to fitness and want to change up the normal routine, by implementing a crossfit routine in maybe once a week. So I can work on my explosive power and really push my body to the limit.

I have done a lot of research and do know the risks of injury, however, I read the crossfit page and understand not to try to jump into it like I would hitting the weights in the gym. Starting off with less weight and/or slowing down and building proper form being key, could potentially benefit me in numerous ways as well as keeping me from picking up an injury. I think the aspect of implementing a few different things into my workouts will help me blast through barriers and transform my body.

So my questions are:
To those who are xf certified instructors:
-Is there a good place to start?-I dont want to specifically start off with WOD, if I cant get a good enough routine out of it.

Are there any excercises that could increase my chance of injury?(Even when done properly)


Thanks in advance!

-Matt

[brasuca6]

I'm not certified by crossfit, but have done their workouts with my unit. In my opinion, the best of crossfit is the bodyweight and conditioning stuff. I found lifting weights with crossfit pretty worthless personally, because I'm trying to get stronger, not have more muscular endurance, be an elite athlete, etc. But, if you google "crossfit bodyweight workouts" there's a pdf that comes up with all their bodyweight workouts. You can start from there. It makes for a good alternative to cardio.

And with bodyweight stuff, there should be pretty low risk of injury, so long as you do real pullups and not kipping. But focus on form and not speed, time, total and you'll be good.

[HMFIC_BROWSIN]

But focus on form and not speed, time, total and you'll be good.

I like this^^ I think crossfit has the right idea in most aspects, but very risky in the injury department if you chose to use their "form"

[italianplaya30]

I like this^^ I think crossfit has the right idea in most aspects, but very risky in the injury department if you chose to use their "form"

thats also my issue with crossfit as well...focusing too much on time where form could be compromised

I would follow the bodyweight and conditioning WODS and add in a regular training

[popupwindow]

So I can work on my explosive power and really push my body to the limit.

Can you be a bit more precise in your goals? If you want to develop explosive power, by what metric? Improve your vertical leap, broad jump, triple jump? Imrpove your 1RM clean and jerk? And what do you mean by 'push your body to the limit'? How, and to what purpose?

A sensible structured s&c program would be better, but the specifics would depend on your main goals. A broad, well rounded program might have something like 2x/week of strength lifts, squat, press, pull and 2x/week of Olys or plyos, something like that.

If you want power, supersetting high rep clapping pushups with box jumps isn't the way to get there, nor is using random workouts once/week. Injury wise will depend on your structure and background, but if you do end up doing CF, nix the kipping pullups, butterfly pullups, GHD situps, american kb swings (russian swings are fine), SDHP, wall ball, high rep barbell movements when fatigued, high rep Olys and DLs especially, box jumps especially with a rebound off the floor for high reps, heavy/high rep overhead squats and any other movements which may cause pain to you.

[cobfab12]

crossfit=tai bo in my book

a fad and a ****ty one at that
brb same workout for everyone, oh you have a goal, no **** that just do this stupid ****
brb 70 year old running for 3 miles and doing kippers and clean and jerking
brb disregard form acquire flailing movement

i hate crossfit with an utmost burning and ferocious roar that would rival that of Cthulhu himself

[Matto313]

Can you be a bit more precise in your goals? If you want to develop explosive power, by what metric? Improve your vertical leap, broad jump, triple jump? Imrpove your 1RM clean and jerk? And what do you mean by 'push your body to the limit'? How, and to what purpose?

A sensible structured s&c program would be better, but the specifics would depend on your main goals. A broad, well rounded program might have something like 2x/week of strength lifts, squat, press, pull and 2x/week of Olys or plyos, something like that.

If you want power, supersetting high rep clapping pushups with box jumps isn't the way to get there, nor is using random workouts once/week. Injury wise will depend on your structure and background, but if you do end up doing CF, nix the kipping pullups, butterfly pullups, GHD situps, american kb swings (russian swings are fine), SDHP, wall ball, high rep barbell movements when fatigued, high rep Olys and DLs especially, box jumps especially with a rebound off the floor for high reps, heavy/high rep overhead squats and any other movements which may cause pain to you.

My ultimate goal, is that I dont want to train, just to lift more, I want to be better all around. Not necessarily for strenght, but for endurance as well. I hate to use philosphies of others, but Bruce Lee said that one style of anything just doesnt cut it. After losing the 79 or so pounds, I have found that my body is capable of drastic change and by "pushing my body to the limit", I mean I want to find out just what Im physically capable of. Also, I want to compete in the Tough Mudder competition to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. So I guess that would be my plan. I am just looking for opinions from everyone, before I make my decision to either start or just use XF to guage my progress.

[popupwindow]

My ultimate goal, is that I dont want to train, just to lift more, I want to be better all around. Not necessarily for strenght, but for endurance as well. I hate to use philosphies of others, but Bruce Lee said that one style of anything just doesnt cut it. After losing the 79 or so pounds, I have found that my body is capable of drastic change and by "pushing my body to the limit", I mean I want to find out just what Im physically capable of. Also, I want to compete in the Tough Mudder competition to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. So I guess that would be my plan. I am just looking for opinions from everyone, before I make my decision to either start or just use XF to guage my progress.

While it sounds like your goals are somewhat 'random,' training for random goals is different from training randomly. It's hard to train opposing capacities simultaneously, especially stuff like strength and endurance, as the adaptations from one generally interfere with the adaptations of the other. However, it probably wouldn't matter two much if you're not trying to be great at either. 2 days a week of barbell strength training to develop some foundational strength and do some prehab stuff (low back strength, RC, abs etc), 1-2 days/week of bodyweight circuits interspersed with some running, stuff like pushups alternated with hill runs, chinups or role climbs alternated with 400m repeats and stuff like that would be good for general conditioning, and then 1-2 days/week of pure endurance stuff, going for a 10k run, 20k bike ride etc. Ensure that the workouts are progressive, not random. So try to slowly get stronger in the gym sessions, have perhaps 5-10 bodyweight circuits your rotate between so you can tell if you're improving, and keep track of your long endurance sessions again to see if you're progressing. Don't jump into this straight away, take 2-3 weeks to condition your body to the schedule, working submaximally, then start to ramp up the volume and intensity. Have a deload week every now and then, like every 4-8 weeks, and once every 12-16 weeks take 5 days completely off.

Something like that is how I would recommend you train for your goals, with some variation based on specific goals, scheduling, equipment etc.

[redbirdfan1]

check out the cross fit gyms in your area and talk to their trainers and tell them your goals and your concerns. See if they are legit or just someone trying to make money off the name. Good CF gyms will do wonders for you if you stick to it. Same w/ any good program whether you find one and stick to it yourself or a good PT. CF is def good if you feel like you need a push and motivation working out w/ others around you.

People get hurt every day working out. World class athletes get hurt. People get hurt in their homes. I really don't buy into the myth that you're more likely to get hurt doing CF than anything else. Its a weak argument. What it boils down to is you are the master of yourself. You do what you think you can do safely and nobody is making you do something you can't do. Seems like people think if you do CF a trainers is going to hold a gun to your head and make you do more weight than you can safely do. Good gyms are not going to put you in harms way, just like a good PT of any kind isn't going to do. there are plenty of bad PT's out there than can hurt you just as badly if you don't know what you're doing.