[Closed] Anyone tried CrossFit?

There's loads of them sprung up round here, mainly because the whole PT type training is mega popular now, folks seem to like someone managing your training and nutrition, and also the fact you can line an industrial building, fill it with equipment that's robust, not like the super fancy Bannatynes style model, and folk will come. I see the attraction tbh, you're paying for the quality of instruction more than for the big posh gym.

Daughter goes to teen crossfit, it's ace for her and she enjoys it, it's very alpha male though, lots of taps aff muscle men, but as an former rugger you'll be fine with that.

I'd like to give it a go, but a small inguinal hernia is kinda holding me back tbh.

I’d have thought that if any crossfitters we’re here, they’d have already told you.

Is it not just circuit training by another name? What's the difference (yes yes, i do have the internetzzz, but i'm ever so lazy)?

There is a huge variety of Crossfit gyms out there, so the quality of your experience will depend on the coaches more than the brand. Some boxes are very gung ho and some are basically Strength and Conditioning Gyms using CF to attract a bigger audience. My gym started as CF box six years ago and over the last 18 months has completed rebranded as a non CF Strength and Conditioning Gym although they are still an affiliated box for now. They wanted to focus much more on PT and movement quality rather than the circuits style CF workouts - horses for courses really. Some prefer it, some left and went to different local CF boxes as they prefer a more pure CF experience.

The only risk with CF is if you start lifting heavy weights (for you) then if you sacrifice movement quality for speed or ego you are at a higher risk of injury (than say poor movement quality without heavy weights). So poor movement quality in Yoga is less likely to injure yourself than poor movement quality on a double BW deadlift. Nothing very new there though.

A friend does it and loves it. She thinks it's good as it's a relatively well rounded workout with all over strength and a bit of cardio. She did say you have to be careful with the trainer, find one who cares more about technique and less about how much you can lift.

My only concern in using it as training for a cycling event is that it can add bulk which you don't want. I perform much better than I'm light, core work is good but anything that adds much muscle to my upper body doesn't help at all. I'd argue there are better ways to train for big cycling events, a programme of running and core work being the obvious option. Running in winter is good fun too, more so than cycling I'd suggest.

My only concern in using it as training for a cycling event is that it can add bulk which you don’t want.

Bulk is all about diet not weights lifted. If you stay calorie neutral  you won't put a gram on.

(it’s also cheaper than a gym membership!).

Is it not just circuit training by another name?

Essentially yes, although the range of exercises is much wider than normal circuit training. It takes the normal circuits stuff eg press ups, squat thrust etc and adds basic gymnastic moves, olympic lifting, power lifting, running, cycling, rowing and a few other bits and bobs.

Also, circuits tend to be body weight based whereas CF uses barbells for a lot of exercises.

not round here it isn’t! £60/month or £50 if you sign up for a year.

Cheap! Mine is now £180/month on a one year contract!

Although I'm still grand fathered at £77/month...

I've been doing 1 session a week for the last 6 months or so. I use it to compliment my running. Its basically circuit training with weights. I enjoy it and can imagine it can become very addictive.

Bulk is all about diet not weights lifted. If you stay calorie neutral  you won’t put a gram on.

Well, yes and no. Whilst you're correct, if you're going to train you want to see and effect from it and part of that means eating right to allow that. All I'm suggesting is that you're going to train you may as well make it as relevant as possible for the event you're training for. I'm not sure Cross Fit is the way for a cycling event.

Cheap! Mine is now £180/month on a one year contract!

My sister does it and it's been transformative, she never did any sport and is now in great shape, extremely strong. As long as you can get in a box not run by an ignorant Ted then I don't see the problem.

What is a bit iffy is the competitions they do, IMHO. Pushing really hard, technique out the window, at your limit attempting off-shape lifts - that seems like an injury in the post. Obv you don't have to do these and could just train.

i tried it, thought it was brilliant but i kept on getting injured and time off the bike. I ws doing it to get fitter on the bike and they didnt seem to like that. crossfit family first or not at all apparently. So i packed it in.

miss it but bloody expensive

but is that more or less than the gym round the corner?

I think it's probably the most expensive gym in Cambridge or possibly second to David Lloyd which has indoor tennis courts etc. I am genuinely amazed people join and pay that, I wouldn't.

My sister does it and it’s been transformative, she never did any sport and is now in great shape, extremely strong.

Yep, there are some very impressive women in our gym, a few with over BW snatch - something I never managed. Probably half the women or more have multiple strict pull ups nailed.

I started it this autumn. I haven't told anyone though, so I guess that means I don't actually do it?

I'm also not a vegan, so i'm really not playing the game properly 🙂

I had some reservations about it, and the the whole technique out of the window mentality for basically smashing yourself into the ground as quick as possible & into a solid injury. To put my mind at rest though, the one I go to does actually have some very good coaches & they watch in the workouts like hawks to stop poor technique.

The reason why i started it was, I hate riding in the cold, dark & wet, and I really hate turbo training. I've had a lot of biking injuries over the last few years so wanted to get a bit fitter & ideally a lot stronger over winter.

Don't and nor do I plan to ever compete, i'm just there for the above. As someone else alluded to, maybe that doesn't make me a true 'crossfit fam' (probably why they don't talk to me too!) and i'm certainly not decked head to toe in Reebok kit...

The range of workouts is vast, and the strength work is certainly helping already. I enjoy the cardio based WOD's (****y term for the class) as I tend to do very well at these (even the animals suck at tough cardio sessions) but I suck at pretty much everything else. I suck a little bit less now than when I started though.

there are some very impressive women in our gym, a few with over BW snatch

fnar fnar

Avoid is my advice.

I'm a qualified PT & some of the techniques I've seen taught & on display in different boxes has been horrific!

Quite complex moves which you are then expected to beast yourself at, whilst beasting yourself doing other things is only going to result in injury...

Yes, I'm sure some are better than others but in IMHO it's a potentially dangerous way of trying to get fit/stay in shape. There are better & safer options available. I do what's called a PHA session (Peripheral Heart Action), it may look like a Crossfit session or circuit session but the weights are lower, reps higher & the moves fairly simple so the chance of injury is minimised.

https://www.realbuzz.com/articles-interests/fitness/article/what-is-pha-training/

I've been doing CrossFit for the past 6 years and love it. Going 3 - 4 times a week and it made a massive difference to my general fitness. For me the most enjoyable part is sharing the pain with other people. It's a much more social way of getting fit and has all sorts of people from complete beginners to sculpted powerhouses. I'm somewhere in the middle. It's expensive and does depend a lot on the coaches but if you get a good 'box' then it's very effective and no more dangerous than anything other physical activity. I am paying way above what I would pay for a normal gym membership but I think it is worth it.

Try it out for a month or two and see what you think. All workouts/movements are scaled to the individual (e.g. after 6 years I still have to scale the weights back a bit and struggle with some movements compared to others).

I’m a qualified PT

So are all the CF coaches.

 some of the techniques I’ve seen taught & on display in different boxes has been horrific!

Basically there are good coaches and bad coaches, but you'll see good and bad in every gym up and down the country.

I think we agree footflaps so I'm not sure what your point is?

Avoid is my advice.

I'd say this is his point, avoid it because you've seen some bad technique? You could say that about any form of exercise really.

I've seen quite a lot of bad technique & mostly in CF - on paper it sounds great but what execution I've seen of it doesn't impress me at all & I've tried 3 or 4 over the years in the UK & abroad. Admittedly I haven't been in a gym for nigh on 5yrs now as I've a home setup.

But, yeah avoid is my advice.....I think there are better & safer ways of getting fit than CF.

You pays your money - but you're not having mine!

I get the impression it's more about the craic/social side & the variety of the workouts which can be very important, especially if you don't have the discipline/motivation to train on your own. Obviously there are safer/cheaper/better ways to get fit!

I get the impression from the handful of people I know who've dabbled, that it's a borderline cult 🙂  It seems like a mass market evolution of the sort of stuff that MarK Twight's Gym Jones focussed on. Personally I avoid it because I am aware I have just the right sort of obsessive, semi-addictive, focussed personality to become hopelessly hooked and spend the rest of my life in a small industrial unit doing multiple muscle-ups and not quite managing a one-arm pull-up. I'd just go and try a session and see what you think tbh. It does look more engaging that conventional gyms anyway.

I’d say this is his point, avoid it because you’ve seen some bad technique? You could say that about any form of exercise really.

Yep, that was my point. Nothing specific about CF and bad coaching. Plenty of bad PTs out there who will break you with Military Fitness / Kettlebells etc.

that it’s a borderline cult

Yes, some people do seem to become obsessed with it, but I suspect they'd just get obsessed with whatever other sport they'd chosen had it not been CF.

Been doing a Strength & Conditioning class run by, and aimed at, bikers for a few years now. Lots of flexibility, movement and over time (and depending on the time of year as well) increasing amounts of weight.

The coaches were very sniffy about cross-fit and the potential for injuries and were also very pedantic about technique and starting the weights off low.

I too was nervous about bulking up from the weights. As it happens, my bodyweight hasn't changed at all, but I'm a hell of a lot stronger and a good chunk leaner as a result. Basically the advice was to keep doing plenty of cardio (ie ride yer bike) and that would dominate the use of fuel, rather than building muscle bulk.

I agree that it turns into a good craic if you have a bunch of like-minded idiots to share the experience with. Less so if you just turn up on your own, move heavy things around, foxtrot oscar...

Less so if you just turn up on your own, move heavy things around, foxtrot oscar…

This is basically what I do, I train there 5-6 days a week but just do my own stuff....

Not all Crossfit coaches are qualified PTs; I'm a CF Level 1 coach and not a PT.

Yes, there is a chance that, if you lift too much with incorrect technique, you could get injured. The same with the gymnastic exercises, or the cardio exercises. Technique will depend on class size and the quality of the coach, so the best way to see if it is for you, is to go to a session and see.

Look for something with a smaller class size (I never coached above 12 in a class and preferred 10) and a box that has a good mix of skills. Sometimes you can find a place that is too weights focussed, or more tilted towards cardio.

that it’s a borderline cult

Aye, there seems to be very few at my local ones that just dabble, it's all or nothing.

Not all Crossfit coaches are qualified PTs; I’m a CF Level 1 coach and not a PT.

There are no proper (legally required) standards for PTing in the UK so who is to say that one qualification is any better than another? There's also no requirement for CPD unless you're trying to stay UKSCA accredited, so no guarantee anyone with a PT qualification is actually any good. I agree CF L1 is a pretty low bar, but I've met plenty of L2/L3 PTs who know jack shit as well, so I'm not sure that's any better in practice. One of the coaches at our gym just left Premier where he taught L2/L3 for the last 10 years and he's not exactly complementary about a lot of his ex-students nor the course material.

I think the generic problem is lots of people are attracted to PT because they are naturally good at sport which doesn't mean they're any good coaching people who aren't naturally good at sport.

Cult, yep, you'll be on a strict Paleo diet inside your first week 😉

Like cycling there are always new kids on the block, fat bikes, enduro, gravel bikes etc. They are nothing new, a slight variant on an already explored path. CrossFit is like this. New and exciting buzz words attached to an already tried formula.  In this case a well thought out compound movement circuit class with some bikes and rope work thrown in to add to the spice. Box evangelists will find my diluted view abhorrent. Give it a go, you have nothing to loose. There won't be anything you have never seen/done prior, so don't be afraid of terminology like WOD or AMRAP. They are just accronyms for things you will be sure to recognise.

I went to a taster session and enjoyed it but the instructor couldn't demo half of the lifts as he had knackered his shoulder... lifting.

I lost a bit of confidence in him after that and haven't been back.

I went to a taster session and enjoyed it but the instructor couldn’t demo half of the lifts as he had knackered his shoulder… lifting.

To be fair though any one who challenges themselves in sport will get injuries. If you keep pushing yourself it's just what happens. NB CF looks pretty gentle compared to gymnastics in terms of career injuries. My gymnastics coach had her career ended when she broke the end of her humerus off and they said she's never handstand again. Another coach I follow on FB has a nice post...

not crossfit *the brand* but i do take a PT lead crossfit style class

I enjoy it , i can see and feel the benifits of it exercising muscles that my cycling and running doesnt use and while ive always been aware of general body conditioning being the best defence against injury im as guilty as the next guy of not doing enough of it.

It takes an hour pre sunday ride in the same woods we ride in and theres a group of us do it before we ride.

While it may not directly benifit my cycling more than cycling its working muscles i don't regularly use in cycling and thus will address imbalance issues etc.

I think it's excellent, expensive and a bit culty, but resistance circuits are just great for really good functional fitness.

I've coached Olympic lifting for CF'ers - learning these lifts takes time and dedication and lots of reps with light weights, which is not as much fun as tearing around a box for time...

Did someone say 'functional'?

CrossFit is a sport, not an s&c methodology.

CrossFit is a sport, not an s&c methodology.

If you read Glassman's CF guides there is a whole methodology to CF, quite well thought out. It's just let down by a lot of crap coaches and being popular it's the 'thing to hate'.

Only if you take it seriously and disappear up its own arse. Other wise it's just s&c by another name with a score.

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">In much the same way that cycling outside of a race is a hobby ....and in race it's a sport .</span>

I didn’t realise it would be so divisive! I thought it was just going to a gym with a bit more purpose than “moving heavy things”.

Signed up for my free intro session so I will report back!

Footflaps has is about right - you get good & bad coaches in every sphere of "PT".

My biggest issue with CF is I think unless you're actually training for some of the olympic lift style moves specifically, then why are you doing it? There are safer & easier ways to work those muscles that don't carry a. the inherent risk of performing these moves & then b. doing them in a highly fatigued state.

I'd like to be able to do it but perhaps too many years getting beasted in the services has left me with too many niggling injuries. That & some of the horrors I've seen in boxes...

I think if you can find a good & safe box it's probably a lot of fun - just lay off the kool aid!

The KoolAid is part of the fun.

I mean, we're probably all just as bad, our KoolAid just comes with 2 wheels.

If you enjoy it, I predict a skin fade, beard, full sleeve tat & multiple pairs of Reebok Nano's before the year is out. Plus a bag of random gym equipment 🙂

No wonder i'm treated like a lepper in my MTB kit & running shoes!

Meh, we took all sorts in, even the lycra brigade! Mind you, I do have many pairs of Nanos, they are just soooo comfy. Sadly, I use a pair as office shoes. And I have a beard. And a bag of random gym equipment. Shit.

Anyway, try it. I stayed with it because it is nice to train in an environment where there are other people that are trying to improve and who will encourage you. The other gym was very much like being in your own little island. People would take an iPad to the running machines and then spend 30 minutes walking and reading. I think I died a little inside after seeing that.

Hey I curse not having a decent pair of shoes every time I see rope climbs in the workout (sorry, WOD).

sportsshoes.com is your friend... I got my last pairs of Innov8 gym shoes from there. And my lifters. Dammit, and my running shoes.

I have too many sports shoes.

If you are in your teens and have good range of movement/flexibility go for it, life teaches you stuff.

If not deadlift, squat, pullups, dips and overhead press in the 4-6 rep range with plenty of rest between sets if you just want strength without adding any significant muscle mass, then balls out everything you've got for 1000m on the concept2.

I can also recommend yoga, if i could only choose one this would be it.

Olympic lifts are very technical, fried my brain when i did them.                                                                                Crossfit pullups are a joke, strict from deadhang with core engaged or just don't bother.

 Crossfit pullups are a joke

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Crossfit pullups are a joke

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I just googled this. Oh my good god

Everyone harps on about this and is one of the main aspects of crossfit that people like to slag off. What is the issue? A 'kipping' pull up is not performed for strength, it's performed for efficiency. If you want to build strength you do a strict pull up but if you want to perform 10 as quickly as possible it's far better to kip them, What is the problem?

Crossfit pullups are a joke

This comes up every time there is a thread about CF and I think most people just don't understand what the difference is. In a workout like Murph, where one small part is 100 pullups for time wearing a 10kg weight vest, there's no point doing strict form dead hang pull ups, which most CFers can do quite easily. The really good guys will have the butterfly kip down to a T, which is really impressive to watch. They will also be able to do strict pull ups with 20kg weight vest on without any problem. The point of the workout is to be challenging aerobically as well as requiring upper body strength.

Personally, I'm more impressed by a good butterfly kip than a dead hand pull up - it's way harder to learn as well.

Update: had my free trial session the other night.

My lasting impression is that the environment there is very welcoming (especially to those who are new to lifting/gym work) and incredibly friendly compared to every other gym I have ever been in. The coach was very clued up and watched everyone’s technique very carefully,  only allowing weight to be increased if he was satisfied with form, and insistent on greater recovery time with more weight.

I’m not going to compete with anyone but myself, and I think one or two varied sessions a week won’t do me any harm socially or strength wise over the winter. Come spring I will decide whether to carry on, or do more riding as the weather improves.

My lasting impression is that the environment there is very welcoming (especially to those who are new to lifting/gym work) and incredibly friendly compared to every other gym I have ever been in.

This is a big difference with CF style gyms. I pretty much know every member of my box by name, and them me; whereas at a generic gym I wouldn't recognise 90% of the members, and only have spoken to a handful. All the coaches know every member by name and always say hello etc and ask after people. A very different environment.

Yep tend to do it 2/3 times week, and have done for 20 years, but avoid Fridays as I like to cycle Saturday. But went last night as I had a pretty intense work day and was too tired to cycle today in the morning.

Might be age though.