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

[Jer]

Fat people do it all the time and they lose weight... Those pictures are not indicative of people who first start working out... they've been at it for a while. With proper diet AND exercise they end up like that.

There are people of all body types & skill levels at our Crossfit gym. There is this one girl in fact that if most of you saw her you would probably think she was fat and lazy. She's one of the strongest girls there and works out like a beast. It's just that she hasn't been doing it long enough to be ripped looking but I assure you, she would work most of us on this forum in most capacities. I told my wife that will be me someday where I will be strong and in shape but still look like a bit fat tub of goo. lol

I had to /facepalm at that. Take it easy Jer.. stretch.. and warm up properly.

I do warm up and stretch. I was there an hour early each class stretching and warming up when nobody else in the class was. The reason I even did this was because I have a past of cramping when playing sports. Ever since I was a kid when we would start 2-a-days for football I would cramp up bad the first week or two and it wouldn't matter how many bananas, how much water or how much stretching I would do. I was often one of the most limber guys on the team even at 225lbs because of how much stretching I did and how serious I took it. Some people are just prone to cramps and unfortunately I fall into that category. The injury just sucks because it throws a real wrench in the gears as far as how I had planned my first month. Life is what happens when all of your plans don't work at exactly as expected I guess.

[ZERO THEORY]

Cross fit emphasizes overall fitness with improved muscle tone and cardio...But in real life I would rather have the muscle tone and cardio.

Muscle "tone" is achieved by lowering body fat to pronounce the muscle fibers. There is no such thing as "toning" muscles via activity or exercise. You can get "tone" by simply eating below maintenance (macronutrient expenditure). You can have just as much muscle tone by working your body composition in Oly lifting/powerlifting/bro splits. If you're referring to sarcosplasmic vs myofibrillar hypertrophy, that's a different can of worms.

Secondly, lifting weights in a format outside of the Crossfit prescription in no way prohibits cardiovascular, respiratory, or musculoskeletal endurance. There is more than one way to skin a cat, but one of the most brilliant marketing devices Crossfit affiliates employ is suggesting that Crossfit has some sort of special ability to make you a more well-rounded athlete, and that without Crossfit, there's no way you can be strong, flexible, and have endurance simultaneously.

I will debunk the myth for you. Crossfit is circuit training that utilizes dynamic programming. That's it. No more, no less. You don't do the cleans in any special way, you don't do the burpees in a way that facilitates better fitness compared to any other form, and you don't run any different than a track and field athlete. It works well for non-athletes because they aren't used to stimulus that both exhausts their ATP stores and increases their heart rate. But it does not have special abilities in regards to making you more lean, giving you more stamina, or getting you stronger.

Lastly, Rich Froning along with virtually every other top Crossfitter have had to explain on numerous occasions that they don't do Crossfit to get to the top of their game; it won't let them. They use traditional strength and stamina programs to push them to their physical peak, since Crossfit by nature doesn't offer progressive overload or individualized programming.

[Jer]

Your point?

[RonMexico]

Does Crossfit have you doing movements where stretching is recommended, rather than just warming up? For instance, I never stretch before a run because running doesn't require movement outside of my regular range of motion; however I certainly warm up before running.

Every time I've worked out at a box they've had dynamic warmup that involves a total body warm up and a moderate stretch.

[Justin]

I will debunk the myth for you. Crossfit is circuit training that utilizes dynamic programming. That's it. No more, no less. You don't do the cleans in any special way, you don't do the burpees in a way that facilitates better fitness compared to any other form, and you don't run any different than a track and field athlete. It works well for non-athletes because they aren't used to stimulus that both exhausts their ATP stores and increases their heart rate.

There's nothing in CrossFit that's a secret. The movements have all been around forever, and if you want to CrossFit on your own, there's nothing stopping anyone from going to the main site or even the website of a local gym, and following the WOD every single day for free. Probably the most unique thing about CrossFit exercise is the pairing of weightlifting movements while on the clock, but I'm sure that even there, CF isn't the first to come up with that particular idea.

What it does do, generally, is offer a form of exercise programming far and away more effective than the typical "go to the gym and run on a treadmill while reading a magazine" programming that most people do on their own.

Lastly, Rich Froning along with virtually every other top Crossfitter have had to explain on numerous occasions that they don't do Crossfit to get to the top of their game; it won't let them. They use traditional strength and stamina programs to push them to their physical peak, since Crossfit by nature doesn't offer progressive overload or individualized programming.

And the cars in NASCAR aren't stock.

[Jer]

First two weeks down and I feel better. Unfortunately I tore/pulled my left hamstring (had cramping the first night and fought through which did more harm than good) so my workouts have been limited to upper body for the most part. That being said I'm still getting VERY good workouts. It's kind of mind boggling because back when I did cardio/lifted a injured hammy would have meant your workouts were VERY limited. Only a few movements and it would be difficult to get a good cardio/lift workout. I've been able to observe the fundamentals class and then when they put them into action the trainers came up with a workout I could do on the fly that was both challenging and fulfilling. I ran out of breath and had to push through just like the other people in the class who had use of their lower body. Naturally I'm bummed I can't do the lower body workouts but at the same time I really felt like I've got good workouts even though my knowledge of movements to this point are very basic. I can only imagine that once I've been doing this for a while and learn the more advanced movements that I could get even more out of an all upper body workout. That being said, my hamstring is starting to feel better and I'm chomping at the bit to get going again. I suck at running and really need to work on that so getting this sucker back to service will go a long ways in my overall advancement and fitness.

[Jer]

Oh, I almost forgot.... Since I was wearing a pair of grass-stained New Balance walking shoes that I use to mow as my Crossfit shoes I decided to get some real shoes. Popped out to the Reebok Outlet store and scored a pair of Bronco orance Reebok Crossfit Nano 2.0's for only $40 plus got some no-show Reebok socks for half off on top of that, or like $2.50 per pair. Much better quality than the Walmart special socks I wear currently. The wife scored the same model of shoe in her size in a gray/blue color and also got some socks and the guy even threw in a few pair of $15 long socks she can wear to work (dental assistant) for free. At first it was like Bazaro world because they had several size 13 & 14 shoes for me to choose from and no size 8 for her which is a common size. After some digging they managed to find her size in what would've been the shoe she wanted anyway so it worked out but we were confused at first as we had both reversed rolls in shoe shopping for the first time ever. All in all we got like $300 worth of stuff for less than $100. I know these won't make me any more healthy or better at movements but they might save me from spraining an ankle or something which in theory could make me more healthy. ;-)

[T-Giv]

Love those kicks!

[Jer]

Love those kicks!

I've been wearing them around the last couple of days since buying them to break them in and they're about the most comfortable shoes I've ever wore. I have a feeling that when I'm wearing Denver Broncos orange in the warmer months these will be my wear around shoes too. They're that comfortable. I'm about to head out the door to Crossfit to try them out for the primary purpose they were purchased so we'll see how they do. Anything is better than my grass stained lawn mowing shoes. lol

[hurley842002]

Love those kicks!

I'm not normally into the real bright colors, but I'd definitely rock those!