Any crossfitters here?

[tawney]

Hello, just wandering if so. I have only been doing crossfit for about 2.5 months and have so far been amazed at my results. I love the focus on olympic lifting the most as most gyms you will never see someone doing cleans or snatches.

[Deleted]

Yeah I've been doing Crossfit for about a year. It's not the magical be-all and end-all. Do what works for you.

[Neazy]

People don't do olympic lifts because:

1) They're hard
2) You can get big and strong with other exercises (in some cases more efficiently)
3) They're usually only done in competition by (gasp) Olympians

I think everyone should do power cleans. But if you only ever do olympic squats then your hamstrings won't get as strong as someone who does low-bar squats.

[jbhasban]

Crossfit has some good attributes (focus on functional/mobility strength) but also a lot of negative aspects (focus on entire body movements to the exclusion of isolation exercises, focus on technically difficult lifts that have limited functional purpose). It is a good thing to be able to do ATG back squats, front squats, and be able to do a proper triple extension and crossfit teaches you how to do these things. It is not a good thing to focus on learning how to do overhead squats, power cleans, and other olympic lifts because they are not practical in real life and any benefit you can gain from them can be gained through less technically difficult lifts (box jumps are just as good as power cleans and a lot safer).

My biggest gripe with crossfit is how they speak of their philosophy in regards to functional exercises. They say you don't do curls because you never do curls in real life. But when is the last time you ever saw someone do a muscle up or a kipping motion in real life either? Kipping is completely unnatural and functionally pointless. When is the last time you ever did a snatch when picking something up?

Anyways, anything that gets you to exercise is good. Just don't deceive yourself and think that crossfitters have it all sorted out. Crossfit is a lot like yoga. Both have their uses and both can be taught by incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable people. And then you have the morons who passed a course and teach classes.

---------- Post added 2013-01-04 at 06:45 AM ----------

People don't do olympic lifts because:

1) They're hard
2) You can get big and strong with other exercises (in some cases more efficiently)
3) They're usually only done in competition by (gasp) Olympians

I think everyone should do power cleans. But if you only ever do olympic squats then your hamstrings won't get as strong as someone who does low-bar squats.

I am pretty sure all crossfitters do deadlifts for hamstrings. I also think they do low back squats. Actually, it is virtually impossible for anyone to do an olympic squat without olympic lifting shoes and I doubt most crossfitters bother buying those.

[bdecker12]

I am pretty sure all crossfitters do deadlifts for hamstrings. I also think they do low back squats. Actually, it is virtually impossible for anyone to do an olympic squat without olympic lifting shoes and I doubt most crossfitters bother buying those.

At my gym we do both for our hammies. Love low bar back squats. A lot of our members also have lifting shoes. Crossfitters love spending money on shoes. Reebok nanos for 120 dollars? yuck. But our coaches are knowledgeable and classes are fun. Its the motivation and competition with friends that I love.

[tawney]

I agree there are some aspects to crossfit that i find a little dumb. i also think some of their workouts go a little far. but for an average out of shape person i believe the group workout is very motivating and helpful. i would never be able to workout alone at the intensity i do at crossfit .
i agree some of the oly lifts are not really needed but for me i love trying to learn them. i love the c&j but have yet to get a good snatch.
and regarding oly shoes it's obvious you've never been in a cf box because they love spending on expensive shoes as most have different shoes for metcons and oly shoes for heavy lifting days.

[Neazy]

Crossfit has some good attributes (focus on functional/mobility strength) but also a lot of negative aspects (focus on entire body movements to the exclusion of isolation exercises, focus on technically difficult lifts that have limited functional purpose). It is a good thing to be able to do ATG back squats, front squats, and be able to do a proper triple extension and crossfit teaches you how to do these things. It is not a good thing to focus on learning how to do overhead squats, power cleans, and other olympic lifts because they are not practical in real life and any benefit you can gain from them can be gained through less technically difficult lifts (box jumps are just as good as power cleans and a lot safer).

Box jumps don't work anywhere near the same amount of muscles as cleans do. I would also argue that box jumps are more dangerous because there's really nothing dangerous about moving a bar in the same motion every time. If you miss with a power clean, the bar just doesn't get up to your shoulders and then you drop it on the ground, whereas with box jumps it's definitely possible to miss the box or slip and fall backwards.

I am pretty sure all crossfitters do deadlifts for hamstrings. I also think they do low back squats. Actually, it is virtually impossible for anyone to do an olympic squat without olympic lifting shoes and I doubt most crossfitters bother buying those.

Most crossfitters do olympic squat or at least a high bar squat which doesn't use all of your posterior chain. And yeah you can do deadlifts to hit your hamstrings, but that's like doing leg curls, quad raises and calf raises instead of squatting. You get bigger when you work everything at once instead of splitting it up.

[jbhasban]

Box jumps don't work anywhere near the same amount of muscles as cleans do. I would also argue that box jumps are more dangerous because there's really nothing dangerous about moving a bar in the same motion every time. If you miss with a power clean, the bar just doesn't get up to your shoulders and then you drop it on the ground, whereas with box jumps it's definitely possible to miss the box or slip and fall backwards.



Most crossfitters do olympic squat or at least a high bar squat which doesn't use all of your posterior chain. And yeah you can do deadlifts to hit your hamstrings, but that's like doing leg curls, quad raises and calf raises instead of squatting. You get bigger when you work everything at once instead of splitting it up.

You can snap your back (if your pelvis turns posterior on the way down due to excessive weight and lack of form, something that is more likely to happen in a power exercise) or drop the bb on you if you power clean improperly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fplHD-aBmLg. As for hurting yourself on a box jump... it is possible but you generally have pads around the box and a wall in front of you to brace yourself. Yes, they do exercise slightly different muscles (more upper body and quads with a power clean), but their primary purpose, developing power in a triple extension, is the same. Personally, I do not do power cleans because I never feel comfortable quickly loading so much weight into a front squat. I may do hang cleans (to a standing position) or power shrugs. I simply feel the part of the lift where you drop below the bar to be extremely technical and serve no real purpose other than that specific lift. The power aspect, where you throw the bar up as high as you can, serves a great purpose.

[Neazy]

You can snap your back (if your pelvis turns posterior on the way down due to excessive weight and lack of form, something that is more likely to happen in a power exercise) or drop the bb on you if you power clean improperly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fplHD-aBmLg. As for hurting yourself on a box jump... it is possible but you generally have pads around the box and a wall in front of you to brace yourself. Yes, they do exercise slightly different muscles (more upper body and quads with a power clean), but their primary purpose, developing power in a triple extension, is the same. Personally, I do not do power cleans because I never feel comfortable quickly loading so much weight into a front squat. I may do hang cleans (to a standing position) or power shrugs. I simply feel the part of the lift where you drop below the bar to be extremely technical and serve no real purpose other than that specific lift. The power aspect, where you throw the bar up as high as you can, serves a great purpose.

You can hurt yourself in every exercise if you use bad form. That's not a reason to avoid power cleans. I just don't see the point in doing box jumps and shrugs (or some other traps exercise) when you can combine the two and do power cleans.

[jbhasban]

You can hurt yourself in every exercise if you use bad form. That's not a reason to avoid power cleans. I just don't see the point in doing box jumps and shrugs (or some other traps exercise) when you can combine the two and do power cleans.

As I said, power shrug does the same thing as power cleans but doesn't require as much technique.

[Neazy]

As I said, power shrug does the same thing as power cleans but doesn't require as much technique.

But then you don't get the jump, so you'd still have to do box jumps with those shrugs to work all of the same muscles as a power clean.

[Projali]

There IS a difference between power cleans and competition cleans. A lot of it has to do with the floor technique that a lot of people don't have. Doing a complete snatch or clean and jerk from the floor up will make you better at those specific exercises. Which is fine. I love Olympic lifting but I don't act like hitting a 120kg C&J is going to make me a more "functional" human.

Crossfit has grown to be a huge entity across the US. I'm glad Olympic and compound movements are getting more attention. That is great. I have a high school friend who opened a box with his girlfriend and they do some fine programming.

However, there are Crossfit facilities that will teach really terrible form cleans, squats, deads, etc. and have you do them at high volume. You have every right to ask the owner or program coach about their credentials. You should never have to change your grip half way up a clean. You can youtube search bad crossfit videos all day if you'd like. It's anecdotal evidence but you also have a lot of coaches and founding participants shying away from the brand/WOD style just because they dislike how much it underemphasizes the importance of doing these lifts correctly and methodically.

The Crossfit mentality of "work out til you puke" and Pukey the Clown are an embarrassment. Marketing exhaustion as a sign of a good workout is irresponsible.

[jbhasban]

But then you don't get the jump, so you'd still have to do box jumps with those shrugs to work all of the same muscles as a power clean.

So there are two different type of power shrugs. There are power shrugs that emphasis only the traps then there are inside pull power shrugs where you do everything you would do for a power clean other than drop under the bar and drop your shoulders under the bar. You essentially do a power shrug from the ground while allowing your elbows to unlock when appropriate.

[Marionette]

I have been doing Crossfit for about 4 months now, I have gained 5 lbs and I am still going up. I am 90 lbs and 5"1 I can power clean 90 lbs, full clean 100 lbs, deadlift 150, snatch 75, front squat 100. I am still gaining pr's everytime I max out on a lift, and I lift with chucks, not $500 olympic lifting shoes, you don't need that crap. I use my chucks for running and lifting, you don't need 5 different pairs of shoes for Crossfit. There are a lot of bad Crossfit boxes out there with some horrible coaches but when you do it right, it's amazing. As a Crossfitter you should remember this "Crossfit is to lift better than a runner and run faster than a lifter" if that is not your goal, Crossfit is not for you, try bodybuilding and weightlifting. There is a function for all of these exercises, there is a time to kip and a time for strict pull-ups, the point of a kip is to keep the body moving, not because you're too weak to do strict, you're focusing on your range of motion and cardio, the point is to keep your body moving and to work more muscle groups than a strict pull up, gymnasts use this technique. It helps with coordination which you need for Olympic lifts, it also helps with bad flexibility in the shoulders which can lead to you not lifting as much as you could. It helps with hip power as you need it to kip, which in return, yet again, helps with all of the Olympic lifts as you need hip power.

[jbhasban]

I have been doing Crossfit for about 4 months now, I have gained 5 lbs and I am still going up. I am 90 lbs and 5"1 I can power clean 90 lbs, full clean 100 lbs, deadlift 150, snatch 75, front squat 100. I am still gaining pr's everytime I max out on a lift, and I lift with chucks, not $500 olympic lifting shoes, you don't need that crap. I use my chucks for running and lifting, you don't need 5 different pairs of shoes for Crossfit. There are a lot of bad Crossfit boxes out there with some horrible coaches but when you do it right, it's amazing. As a Crossfitter you should remember this "Crossfit is to lift better than a runner and run faster than a lifter" if that is not your goal, Crossfit is not for you, try bodybuilding and weightlifting. There is a function for all of these exercises, there is a time to kip and a time for strict pull-ups, the point of a kip is to keep the body moving, not because you're too weak to do strict, you're focusing on your range of motion and cardio, the point is to keep your body moving and to work more muscle groups than a strict pull up, gymnasts use this technique. It helps with coordination which you need for Olympic lifts, it also helps with bad flexibility in the shoulders which can lead to you not lifting as much as you could. It helps with hip power as you need it to kip, which in return, yet again, helps with all of the Olympic lifts as you need hip power.

I disagree with kipping being good for developing hip power. I do think it is good for gymnasts (which a lot of really good crossfitters use to be). I understand kipping is designed for cardio but I think it's silly to turn a strength exercise into a cardiovascular activity. If you feel inclined to do as such, a better exercise is kettlebell swings. If you are doing really heavy strict pullups, you will get a cardiovascular workout. This is true for any heavy exercise.

And I highly suggest you get different shoes for running. While your chucks are great for lifting, they are absolutely dreadful for running. The lack of arch support can do harm to your knees in the long term.

[Marionette]

Yes, but kettlebell swings are not a bicep workout like kipping is, it's designed to get you into shape and looking good but not too buff, if you look around, there's a crap ton more females that do Crossfit and we don't want to look creepy, we want to look good. I also agree, chucks should not be used for running.. heh.

[jbhasban]

Yes, but kettlebell swings are not a bicep workout like kipping is, it's designed to get you into shape and looking good but not too buff, if you look around, there's a crap ton more females that do Crossfit and we don't want to look creepy, we want to look good. I also agree, chucks should not be used for running.. heh.

I have never met a woman who looks too buff who lifts normally unless she is taking steroids. 99.9999% of women do not have the genetics to look buff. Hell, most men don't really have the genetics to look too buff without steroids either.



On the left, with A LOT of steroids. One spot over, with LESS steroids or no steroids (I am under the belief that most athletes in the Olympics cheat but I, of course, have no proof of this).

BTW, if you don't believe the woman in the left is buff enough to be on roids, look at this:


Same woman, just different lighting, bronzer, and slightly more dehydrated.

Anyways, kipping is not a bicep exercise. Kipping pullups are (barely). Kipping is just the leg motion. The whole design of kipping pullups as a cardiovascular activity makes no sense to me, however. The legs are simply not taxed enough to generate much cardiovascular strain. I have done kipping before and while I am not an expert at them, I was able to do around 40 kipping pullups in a row and felt NO cardiovascular strain. I feel more doing pullups with extra weight but even then, the muscles involved for pullups are not large enough to require your body to need to increase its heart rate. That is why the best cardiovascular activities are leg intensive (running). But by all means, keep doing your kipping. It isn't bad for you. It just makes no sense to me for anyone who isn't a gymnast looking to get better at uneven bars/rings/parallel bars. If you are truly looking for an intense cardiovascular whole body workout, go jump in a lake. And swim.

[Deleted]

Kipping helps with sustained hip drive. Since it's the hip that generates the kip not the legs. If you just swing your legs from back to front you generate a forward > backward motion not an up > down one which comes from the hips. It's about transferable skills - A good hip drive translates into all of the olympic lifts that a CF'er will be expected to perform regularly.

Kipping was never designed for cardio. Kipping is also there as a method for competition. It's smooth, fast and less taxing on the primary muscles used in Pullups that enables you to do much higher volume. The reason most Crossfitters do kipping pullups? Because (rightly or wrongly) they just want quicker WOD times and to keep juice in the tank for whatever else they have to do on that workout. Any good crossfit box should regularly program workouts with strict pullups to help strengthen the muscles required to do Pullups in the first place. Likewise, any good Crossfitter that has aspirations to compete should be proficient with the kipping method, yet also consistently work their strict reps to stay strong.

Also, saying doing heavy sets of weighted strict pullups being beneficial to cardio?? What possessed you to say that? Heavy sets are about strength and muscle control only.

Finally, let's take steroids out of the equation for a second... For a Crossfitting woman to go from what she is now to anything near the woman in the pictures (or any of the women at the Games for that matter) would require a Herculian effort, years of formative conditioning and a complex diet. Factors which I'm sure about 90% of most women (and men for that matter) that regularly go to Crossfit don't have.

All that said and done though, I'm itching for them to open the registrations for the Crossfit Open games already. HURRY UP!