The Crossfit article in Men's Health....

Some of you have seen this article in Men's Health. I feel the need to comment.

I should preface my remark by saying that I have been a subscriber to MH for most of my adult life. There is some good stuff in there but I do think that much of their "advice" (fashion, dating, and so on) is geared towards benefiting their sponsors. I think the women who pose in their magazines could use a steak or two.

If I am in the checkout lane and the person in front of me is paying with check, then I still will pick up the magazine and browse, however.

Anyway, my specific comments:


1. First three paragraphs of the 1st page. You know, I actually have heard something like that from a few women. Not all women who have taken on Crossfit, but a few. But then one thing that still shocks me on some level as a man about the female gender is how many of you have body/self-acceptance issues, even though intellectually I ought to know better by now. Women who have "perfect" bodies somehow feel that they need to lose 20 pounds. Again, not judging anyone here, just stating my observations. I have also gotten the sense that many women finally feel, after taking on Crossfit, that they truly are beautiful.

Or maybe it is the type of bonds you form with people going through something really intense and worthwhile together. Or it could be both. I did single the female gender out because, in my experience, Becky's sentiment in the article seems to be something that has been expressed more intensely by women.


2. The 8th paragraph of the 1st page. Later in the article, the author (Grant Stoddard) says he weighs 140lbs. That he is able to do 6 rounds of the workout with the 9 225lb deadlifts per round, just starting out as would be required of the workout he mentioned, is actually pretty durn impressive. See, 225/140 is 1.6, and not too many people can do 1.6 times body-weight deadlifts for reps just starting out, nevermind 54 reps in 15 minutes. Tres impressive. So props.


3. The 1st paragraph of the 2nd page. The author described IMO pretty well a big part of the appeal of Crossfit.


4. The 2nd through 5th paragraphs of the 2nd page. I actually laughed reading this. David Pearson actually did an awesome job selling Crossfit. Damn straight. Who the hell wants to be average?? I want to develop my superpowers!


5. The last three paragraphs of the 2nd page. I read some of the stats of the Games competitors. There are few people who weight under 200 pounds and have a 500lb deadlift, 400lb squat, and can run 400m in 55 seconds (typical Games competitor numbers for the males). None of those figures are in and of themselves world-class admittedly, but together in one person is extremely impressive.

Honestly, not everyone in the community agrees with the concept of using high-rep olympic lift movements in a workout. There has been a lot of back-and-forth debate about this. Many affiliates just won't do it.


6. The 6th paragraph of the 3rd page. I say strong is beautiful.


7. The rest of the 3rd page. We have had very few injuries at my box. In fact, the one time that I did injure myself was when I was NOT at the box. I tried a lift that I had no business attempting. My fault and my fault alone.

As far as the whole "don't specialize" thing, a lot of boxes, including ours, are offering more specialized classes in strength and olympic lifting. That does go somewhat against Glassman's purist approach, but it is the trend.

As far as who gets to become an instructor, yes, you do go through the Level 1 Certs, but no, that is not the only requirement in practice for becoming an instructor. A box will not let you teach unless both you are proficient in the movements yourself, AND you show a proficiency in teaching others.

8. The 4th page. No one really wants you to get rhabdo. We just play up how hard it is to scare away the wussies.

Speaking of safety, are you sure Crossfit is ANY more dangerous than other group classes? A long time ago, I took a Pilates class, sort of on a dare. (I made fun of the class to the wrong person.) I was kind of out of shape when I took the class, and I had a hot-shot ego. Anyway, for that hour of class we did tons of crunches and other sorts of core work, and we also did something like 200 triceps extensions with each arm with a very light dumbbell--I forget the exact number but it was a really high rep count. Eventually my left arm locked up and would not do another triceps extension. Anyway, I was in serious pain for a good 4 days after the class. For several days after that class, even laughing really hurt, and my left arm would not extend. It took a good week for me to get over my soreness. (Yeah I know. Guy gets killed by a 5-lb dumbbell, heroic huh. I don't tell this story on a first date.) Now this was MY fault for not realizing my own limits and stopping. I'm an adult here. The instructor's job was to lead the class through their workout which was as advertised, and not babysit some guy coming in with a big ego. My point is that you can injure yourself anywhere. (You can actually injure yourself more working with really light weights, because by the time you can't do another rep with that low low weight, you have well and truly shot your muscles. But I digress....)

I would even go so far to say that in a good Crossfit box, the instructor would have seen what was happening and would have intervened. In fact, you likely would not have been allowed to take a regular class until you got through a series of intro classes. So I would say that you're at least as safe in a good Crossfit class as you are in most any other group class.


9. The last two paragraphs of the 4th page. Take some responsibility here bro. You were the one who, in your own words, pushed yourself. But how often were you coming to class? (Were you overtraining?) Were you taking days off, which is highly recommended early on. Did you listen to your body? Did you get adequate rest? Were you eating well, with adequate protein, calories, and other nutrients?

And since when did anyone ever ask you your fitness goals in Zumba? Or in any other group class for that matter?

My trainers DID ask me my fitness goals, but that was because I talked to them after class. I was proactive. I also asked my classmates for advice.

That said, truth be told, some affiliates ARE better than others. Your experience will differ box to box. Also, every affiliate has its own vibe, and you will just feel that some are a better fit for you than others. Some people do complain about the lack of quality control in Crossfit, but whenever you are dealing with a number of people, that is always going to be an issue. Look at the rest of the fitness industry. Some personal trainers outside of Crossfit are, quite frankly, awesome, and there are some personal trainers (certified or not) who will hurt you. Indeed, some have given clients rhabdo. And yet even still I still think it's a good idea for someone who wants to improve his fitness to seek out a good personal trainer. Consider even say the medical profession. Every doctor/nurse is subjected to an amazing amount of training, but you will have a better experiences with some doctors/nurses than you will with others. If you have a bad experience with one doctor, does that mean that the medical profession as a whole is bad? (Of course it doesn't.)


10. Page 5. I am curious how this story would have ended had the author sought out advice and had seen the results.

As far as the neighbor he ran into, well, yeah. Putting Crossfit on the same level as your marriage is a bit much. Maybe her husband needs to swing his kettlebell a little better perhaps? Or maybe his thrusters aren't deep enough. Or maybe she wishes he would appreciate more about her than just her snatch, and around the house start doing more cleaning and less jerking. Some people can go a little too far with anything though.

But as far as becoming an instructor, when something brings you joy, of course you want to contribute to it. Some people decide to become instructors in surfing, yoga, and other areas of fitness. What's wrong with that?

As far as our box goes, we're totally a cult. We don't have anyone ignoring their kids or spouses or anything, but we do have a bunch of us actually staying after we finish to cheer on the others (because we like each other!) and making friends. We've even been known to meet up as a group a few times for Happy Hour. If that's not bad enough, a few of us have even been known to come in before class for extra strength work. The kicker though, was the one day, when our instructor started talking about nutrition. According to her, it's not enough that we work out hard when we come to the box. She had the nerve to tell us that if we really want to get great results, we need to make sure we get our rest, AND we need eat more vegetables and lean protein, and cut out the processed carbs. Crazy talk!

REALLY, EVERYONE NEEDS TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THEM. Starting this fitness journey at Crossfit has been really rewarding for me so far. After working out in a space that has gymnastic rings, bumper plates (where you can drop the weights on the floor), ropes where you can climb to the ceiling, and soft medicine balls that you throw high against the wall, it would be hard for me to go back to working out in a space that doesn't have these things. IT WORKS FOR ME AND WHAT I WANT AND IT DOESN'T MAKE ME COOLER THAN ANYONE ELSE. Also, the people I work out with are awesome. The workouts push you to the limits. The coaches want to see you achieve your goals and want to push you to your limits SAFELY. Anyway, THAT is what I would advocate to ANYONE looking to start a fitness program--NOT the name on the door (Crossfit or no)--instead, will you find yourself growing, and will it be rewarding enough so that YOU enjoy the journey? THAT IS WHAT MATTERS!

Also, YOU must take responsibility for your fitness. I am strength-biased, so I pick and choose the days to come to class. Some days I come in early and lift weights so I get my strength work in, sometimes in place of the workout. IF IT IS REALLY FEELING WRONG TO YOU, STOP DOING IT. It is up to you to get the difference between a healthy nudge just outside your comfort zone, and something that is only going to hurt you.

My rant for today...