To start this post, let me first apologize for my recent absence from the world of the interwebz. Currently I’ve hit the 3 week mark of my internship at Acceleration, which is a fantastic place and I’m currently learning heaps.

My internship starts at 6am and ends at 6pm every Monday to Friday. It’s probably the reason why for the first time in my life, I’ve been constantly sleeping by 10pm and waking up at 5am (sometimes even earlier).

Some of the other interns ask me how I survive and don’t I get bored with such long working hours? I guess my answer would be if you love what you are doing and constantly make an effort to learn something new every single day, there is no reason for you to get bored with what you do.

That being said, here is a sneak peak of what my weekly schedule is like:

Monday- Friday

1. Intern from 6am- 6pm

2. Lift weights like a bad-ass

3. Eat a copious amount of dead animal flesh ranging from beef, bacon and the occasional kangaroo.

4. Fend off drop bear attacks.

5. Be awesome.

Saturday & Sundays

1. Still eat a copious amount of dead animal flesh

2. Get my weekly dose of knowledge bombs into my head

3. Geek out watching superheroe animated films.

4. Be awesome

I am really enjoying the life here and trying to make the most out of the short 3 months I have. However, before my internship, I was working at a Crossfit box back in Malaysia.

Before you all hate on me for jumping on the Crossfit bandwagon and wrecking my body like the videos you see on Youtube, let me say that not all Crossfit boxes are the same and mine definitely wasn’t.

So after really experiencing what Crossfit  I’ve decided to write this post which will touch on the good, the bad and ugly of Crossfit. This is in no way trying to put down the place I work at or Crossfit as a sport, but it’s what my observations have brought me to.

So let’s jump right into the juicy stuff:

 

 

The good

Crossfit has built a culture with a strong sense of community and camaraderie. It’s amazing to see that almost every single member there is friendly as hell and constantly motivating one another to perform better. The atmosphere and camaraderie is probably the best in the entire fitness industry.

It’s probably why members keep coming back day after day to get their daily workout in. This shows that if you have a community behind you, it’s easier to be consistent with your training. And consistency will produce results.

Another thing I really like about Crossfit is the use of compound multi-joint movement as their main focus. I’m not saying that single joint isolation exercises are bad; in fact it is actually a useful tool to maximize hypertrophy.

However, too many people focus on the minors rather than what is important when it comes to their fitness goals. Crossfit advocates dumbbell, kettlebell and barbell training as their primary tool. By using movements like squat, presses and pull – ups, it is actually a fantastic way to get stronger, lose fat and pack on muscle when done correctly.

Compare this with the endless amount of curls, leg extensions and pec deck machines; I must declare Crossfit the winner here. Most people who wants to be confident with their clothes off don’t have to be doing a ton of isolation work. Using big movements as advocated by Crossfit, they can achieve their fitness goals faster.

Lastly, Crossfit has some magic where it appeals to the female population. The benefits of strength training for the female population are endless, in fact I wrote a post awhile back on why women should strength train.

However, most women are afraid of getting bulky and because of that shy away from lifting any significant amount of weights. Using only, their pink dumbbells or following some form of ridiculous Tracey Anderson method is probably why most females never achieve the “toned” look they all want.

Crossfit on the other hand have their members performing squats, deadlifts and presses. Some of them even lift weights so heavy it might make some guy piss in their pants!

Best part, a lot of them look pretty damn good too!

 The bad and the ugly

Despite the benefits Crossfit brings to the table, it has its drawbacks as well. One of the major drawbacks I see in Crossfit is the extremely low barrier of entry.

As I mentioned above, Crossfit uses big multi-joint movements. These big movements require adequate mobility and proficient technique to prevent injury and reap the benefits. However, those that join Crossfit are the normal people who all have day jobs.

If Crossfit is their first time participating in strength training, it might not be the best choice for them. Most people have terrible mobility in both the hip and thoracic spine and starting them off with squats and overhead presses is certainly not the right way to go.

There are other ways to train the legs and shoulders without starting them off with advance progression. Using a goblet squat variation provides a training effect while allowing to work on specific mobility restrictions. Once the members are ready, by all means, go kill it with the back squat. Until then, use an exercise that you will be able to within your mobility limitations.

The general population moves poorly, and without emphasizing on fixing movement deficiencies, the one-size-fit all program might bring more harm than good.

Besides that, Crossfit is basically doing everything to get better at everything. It does not follow a well structured periodized program that allows for proper peaking and development of specific strengths. There are studies showing that a periodized training routine produces greater benefits compared to one that does not.

Also because of its lack of specificity, I do not think this will be a suitable form of training for the athletic population. Moreover, Crossfit is a sport by itself, and if you are a Crossfit competitor, by all means keep doing Crossfit.

But if your sport is weightlifting, powerlfiting or any other sport besides Crossfit, it’s hard to find any specific carryover to your sport. You will get better at doing movement (after all you are doing everything under the sun) that might be required in your sport, but you won’t be exceptionally good at performing them.

The focus of multi – joint movements in Crossfit is definitely good; however taking things to the extreme might not be for most people. Crossfit workouts are usually done in the form of performing the most reps in a certain time or completing a certain amount of reps in the shortest time possible.

This might lead to executing movement with poor form. While Crossfitters will receive proper coaching and guidance, when fatigue kicks in, it’s entirely a different ball game.

In fact, in a paper used to study on how Crossfit can improve maximal aerobic capacity and body composition comprising of 54 subjects, 16% of participants dropped out due to overuse injury.

That being said, the participants were monitored by ACSM certified fitness professionals. Despite the coaching from professionals, injuries were still present. Not to mention, the length of the study was only 10 weeks long.

I’m not saying that Crossfit is a sure road to injury hell, improper lifting leads to injury and Crossfit might lead to improper lifting.

A lot of people will say that the solution to this is to check your ego at the door. But let’s be honest here, with a group of 10 people surrounding you with such intense atmosphere, can you really say: “Alright that’s enough?”

The last point I want to make is that Crossfit completely rarely touches the aerobic system. Their WOD’s are typically very lactic based which is the reason why you feel the burn in your body, that’s lactic acid flooding your muscles.

The lactic anaerobic energy system activates  the sympathetic nervous system, also known as the fight or flight system. The sympathetic nervous system taxes our CNS compared to the parasympathetic system that is activated during periods of relaxation.

 

Most Cross fitters have a day job and saying their job is not stressful is like saying that Unicorns are not awesome. Further meddling with the sympathetic nervous system during training on top of the stress at work is a recipe for disaster.

Do it every day( most Crossfitters do their WOD’s everyday)  and you will most likely feel like shit. Moreover, most people would actually benefit from more aerobic work.

Wrap- Up

This post is not meant to bash Crossfit and say everyone should not do it. The purpose is to throw a few important thoughts on the table if you are considering joining Crossfit. It’s important to know your limitations, training age and other factors before deciding if Crossfit, or any other fitness methods are suitable for you. Find out the risk vs the reward for you before considering doing anything.

Let me say that if you are currently Crossfitting and you absolutely love it by all means keep doing it. In fact, I’ve tried some Crossfit WODs and some of them are pretty fun. As long as the method you are using is keeping you healthy and helping you progress, I have no right to stop you.

More Crossfit boxes are having more qualified coaches, and if you are actually interested in joining Crossfit, I’m not afraid to give some of my recommendations.

To wrap things up, here is something to ponder on:

Crossfit, powerlifting and bodybuilding are all means to your end goal. If the mean you are currently using works, why change it?

Crossfit,powerlifting or bodybuilding are means to an end. If what you’re doing is working,why change it? <—– Click To Tweet!!

 

 

What are your thoughts on Crossfit? Have you done it or not? What are your experiences with it? Drop me your comments and hate mail.

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