So who here does Crossfit? (please no Crossfit haters... it's played out)

[Justin]

With the exception of a year-and-a-half absence (where I got fat), I've been CrossFitting regularly for a bit over five years.

In that time, I've come to really like most of the things embodied by CrossFit and much of the culture that surrounds it.

The best pieces of advice I can give you are these:

1.) Find a gym with a supportive staff and client culture. If they aren't interested in helping you achieve your goals, or don't seem to give you proper coaching on technique, find a different CrossFit gym.

2.) Listen to your body, engage with the coaches, and scale the WODs appropriately. The WODs are specifically designed to be extremely challenging even for someone who is exceptionally athletic. If there's something you're not sure about, reduce the weight, ask for coaching, and substitute an exercise you know you can do with proper form.

3.) Get a notebook and log your workouts, and keep track of things like performance on baseline WODs (the girls) and 1, 3, and 5 rep maxes for the weight lifting moves.

4.) Start doing stretches and other forms of mobility work like rolling out on a foam roller and tennis ball. Go here for lots of good info:
http://www.mobilitywod.com/

I have/had a lot of mobility issues in my upper body, and this caused a lot of problems with being able to execute things with proper form. I found that going to the gym early and doing some mobility work helped out. Getting a foam roller and rolling out at home is also a good idea.

5.) In addition to scaling WODs for proper technique, scale for intensity. Many of them are programmed to be short, fast, and intense bursts. If you do the WOD as prescribed, but it takes you 40 minutes to complete a 15ish minute workout, you're going about it wrong.

6.) if you opt to supplement, start with the basics. Vitamin D3, zinc, magnesium, and maybe creatine monohydrate. Check any supplements against the data at examine.com.

7.) The paleo diet works (at least it did for me) but it's a pain in the ass to stick to, and almost impossible if your spouse isn't on board with it.