LET'S TALK CROSSFIT

I have been doing Crossfit since April of 2011. As one of my coaches often reminds me, I'm still a baby Crossfitter.

My fascination with human movement started when I was just 8 years old. Growing up in a religious household, I was forbidden from listening to secular music, but outside of my home I sought every opportunity possible to watch and listen to hip hop videos and music and imitate the dance steps popular at the time. As I grew older and entered middle and high school, I continued to dance and added basketball and track & field to my favorite list of physical pastimes. In 1996, I enrolled at Temple University as a dance major. Two years later I became a certified personal fitness trainer and group fitness instructor. When I graduated, I went on to dance and choreograph professionally before stepping into the world of fitness and figure competitions from 2001-2007. During this time, I also started boxing, and I became a Pennsylvania State Golden Gloves in 2008.

I am not new to fitness. My body has done and can do a lot of different thing but as i get older the reality is i enjoy competing . I have done it all my life. In my search for a new activity i stumbled upon crossfit . I briefly  heard thing about it in 2008 from a fellow trainer , but because he just wasn't the brightest guy the way he articulated what it was made me turn away ." so yeah div you should try this crossfit stuff, you'll do 50 pull ups as fast as you can "...WTF!!! Why in gods name would i want to that .

So fast forward 2011 i roll into a crossfit tribe on a Sunday the girls are working ...i just remember sitting there like WTF ...To be honest i wasn't sure what happened. i remember coming home telling my partner , "its was so dam fast it was like a workout blur"hahaha

I was intrigued so  i go back and decide I'm not going to anything that makes me super nervous or uncomfortable. I noticed right away there were a lot of exercises that required a lot shoulder mobility that i didn't have . Boxing made my shoulders really  tight so i could do the wrong thing  and be numb for a week .So i committed and  start to go 3-4 times a week , and i noticed something . There were major gaps in my fitness. I noticed with the gymnastics movement strength at the top not at the bottom . Then with the Olympic lifts  i noticed i was strong enough to things up but not get them through a full range of motion.
Oh my god I suck ! I was not good at all ....with that said I was in !!!!!

All my life all those sports no one ever made me do a real clean and jerk. All those years no one ever forced me to squat below parallel.For years most female athletes can relate depending on your coach all you did was calisthenic they never or rarely made you do strength conditioning like our male counterparts. I was strong but the strength was not through full range and that where the injuries occurred. Interestingly enough as dancer i did it every day for 15 years and it never hurt me.

I know crossfit gets a bad rap.  lets be honest there are gyms all over the world where if you walk in on any given day there at least 10 people doing bad technique. Seriously .So for people to generalize and say across the board that crossfitterrs have shitty technique is an unfair claim. Like many other fitness modalities when it is new and people see it works( though i believe if you commit to anything whole hearted it will work) , they do their version of it. In their mind they are doing butterfly pull ups like Rich Froning .In their mind they can do a heavy ass grace like Rob Orlando but truth is like with anything it takes time and proper skill to develop good technique. Are there bad crossfit coaches out there? absolutely!, but there are no more of them than there are bad trainers at the globo. When aerobics first came out it was so hardcore at the time everyone did everything high impact and got hurt. They thought more was better. When bodybuilding became popular same thing happened , people when nuts on the weights and the time spent in the gym and got hurt. So whats happening in crossfit people want to have a sub 2 min Fran time when the are not doing clean reps and what happens ,they get hurt.You look at the top crossfitters and see these amazing bodies but  keep in mind they eat fairly clean .What works for one athlete doe not necessarily work for the other but diet is a big part of them being able to compete at the level they do . And working out  intelligently .Not senseless movement just because .


So what does this mean ? You have to find a box where people are getting results and not getting hurt.
Pride makes it hard, cause you wanna do all the crazy long insane workout but i learned very early if i have to scale, i do . Every WOD is not the games . If you goal is to get to the games or be competitive you need clean efficient movement, if you want to be in the best shape of your life you need to do clean efficient functional movement  . Look at all the top competitors they are damn near flawless . Everyone has there own style and way of doing things , no two people train alike .

So in reference to crossfit not being safe i say it the movement is functional ,it is  proper coaching and scaling that keep people safe.Crossfit is not for everybody. Everybody doesn't want to do Olympic lifts and gymnastics moves. Everyone does not want people yelling aka motivating them as crossfitters do :) I feel it has put the fun back in exercise and created a heavy resurgence in Olympic lifting and gymnastics. I have even see the effects of it in the globo . The concept of cross training now has a whole new  meaning. I've watched it evolve over the last 15 years.

I watched the days of 1hr of cardio and hour of weight change to  interval cardio sessions  and total body workout , change to what i see now short intense workouts . Functional compound movements  with the results being everyone getting more bang for their buck as I tell my clients:)

So is a crossfit a sport?
To that i say bodybuilding is a sport and they lift weights for a desired physical result .
jogging around the track is exercise , racing your friend becomes sport. Sport I believe is defined by competition, not by how cool your injuries are. Hell archery is a sport, whats that happens tendinitis. Doing heavy deadlifts in the gym is exercise but doing it to lift more than the next man is sport.  At least with crossfit , there a physical result , functional results and winning is cut and dry. If i finish faster and do more reps than you I won , there is no question about it and no ones opinions matter .

So when you go to your box day in and day out you work out  to get in the best shape you can. Or if you are challenging yourself to be better than the day before. When the Crossfit Open comes up and your goal is to lift more weight and do more reps than the next person you are now involved in a sport.
I enjoy the workouts and camaraderie but i definitely here for the sport.
I believe crossfit is it solid program but its not for everybody but can be scaled for anybody.

I do crossfit and now my jeans don't fit !

"I do crossfit and now my jeans don't fit"

So it's a comment I have heard  in many of the boxes that I frequent. I've also seen this in news feeds on twitter, facebook, and various blogs.So this is just my take on the issue.

Crossfit is about fitness not physical aesthetic . It's about function and the bodies ability to do it all:)So most programing it's created for the masses of a the box ,not individual.

So sometimes what happens is people get in the best shape of their life but look the same. Like any fitness regiment you can not reap the benefits without proper nutrition.
Yes, you can you lift heavy and get lean . But poor nutrition will kill any and all results.

There is a lot of responsibility left on the athlete/client.You have to take control of your fitness.Crossfit is small group training. If what the group is doing does not work for you seek out answers from your coaches to guide you in the right direction.

Being a personal trainer for 15 years I can tell you that some people get amazing results from a group situation and others don't. If your goal is to enhance your fitness then general programing will work for you. If your goal is  (a look) you may want to tailor the programing to fit your needs. Consider doing some  private sessions with your coach, do your research and ask questions.

This is in no way bashing crossfit. Everyone knows the kool-aid is in my veins. This is just my opinion. I definitely want to be the best athlete I can be.But ...... I Crossfit to look good naked :) All jokes aside just be clear on your goals #Get after it. Officially open for discussion.