I was thinking about joinging a Crossfit until I found this.... page 5

[swim2win]

I'm interested in gaining strength to help me get a bit more out of my swim workouts and to be stronger for more enjoyment of some of the other activities my husband and I like to do (rock climbing, hiking around, yoga, being curious...) I swim two to three times per week with a masters group, it’s pretty competitive/intense and I’ve slowly been easing back into it. I’m not in the fastest lane yet, but I’m right next to it. The guys know I’m right on their tails.

Anyway, a couple of folks recommended CF, I’d been doing some reading about it anyway and I liked the "functional strength" angle. They lift actual weights, something I did eons ago and really enjoyed when I swam in college and was into triathlon in my late 20s. It helped. So I wanted to check out our local CF gym, get a feel for the people and the classes, etc. They required me to make an appt. for an "assessment" with a trainer (it was free) which I did.

The trainer gal was super nice and enthusiastic, but I was asking some questions she couldn't answer, which was disappointing. Also disappointing/alarming was that the on-boarding process for "lapsed athletes” (my word for folks who are wayyy out of shape) was pretty rote and didn't seem to allow for a lot of variance in fitness levels. Newbies go through a mandatory foundations session (8 classes) and then get thrown in with the rest of the groups to fend for themselves. Anyway, she ran me through what she called a mini-WOD to assess my fitness. I hadn’t prepped for a workout, but whatever. Sure. Here it is:

500 meter erg sprint
50 squats (deeper than 90 degrees, I had to squat so my butt hit a small medicine ball behind me)
25 push ups (modified, I did them girl-style on my knees, she told me to touch my chest & tummy to the floor on each)
50 sit ups (feet together, knees apart a la “butterfly” pose, had to touch the floor with my hands
1000 meter erg sprint
25 "ring pulls" (modified pullups on a set of rings, a lot like rowers)
500 meter erg sprint

I knew I was out of shape but I almost fainted when I stood up after the last erg sprint. The trainer said "Your cardio conditioning is great, but your lower body strength needs a lot of work". I gave her my best "Yep, that's why I'm here" smile and tried to walk around. I was shaking like a bowl of jello, my heart rate was through the roof, I was dizzy to the point of needing to close my eyes, and I was utterly TOAST. The whole thing only took about 15-20 mins. I was, for lack of better words, shocked and dismayed and beyond uncomfortable to a degree I’d never experienced even at the height of my hardest swimming or tri workouts. It was humbling and upsetting—like I said, I knew I was out of shape and had zero strength—I expected having my ass handed to me with a reasonable amount of “Yup. You need work, you sybarite.” But I was also scared shitless that this was a “mini” WOD. Really???? This felt downright dangerous. I got in the car and had to sit for a minute to clear my head I was so dizzy. I’m still digesting the experience and don’t know how to proceed. I want to get strong, but I don’t think I need to faint or barf to get there.

I'm still really dismayed/upset/shocked by the experience. I have no idea how to proceed because I feel like such a piece of crap after this...physically and mentally.

[Coach Palfrey]

The problem with some Crossfit coaches (and plenty of other coaches too) is that they assume that people with average fitness (by that I mean the 'norm') will be able to adapt to any physiological stress placed upon them. They won't - at least not under the imposed demands of a variable system like Crossfit.

The average adult has, IMO, an appalling state of fitness. This cannot be changed with any amount of coercion and/or shouting.

Should everyone be able to do the skills that Crossfit recommends? Absolutely. But the current state of Crossfit instruction might not be the best way to get there.

[swim2win]

Yeah, it's tough. I'm having an extra hard time because I've recently begun regularly working out in the pool after years of doing nada, am considered to be a very fast swimmer for a gal my age (I'm 38, swimming around a 1:15-1:20 pace per 100 meters on our workout sets, depending). But I know I am not "fit" per se. I'm lucky enough to be comfortable in the water, which makes me "fast", but in reality I'm miserably out of shape. The imbalance between what I can do in the pool out of sheer luck and comfort and my actual functional strength is staggering. I just don't know if CF is the best way for me to narrow that gap. I was/am not impressed by the unsophisticated one-size-fits-all approach. Maybe I could build up to WOD-style workouts with a group of strong folks, but I'm not sure if I want to?

Alternately, I'm not confident that going to a big box local gym is going to offer me anything more customized and specific to my goals of swimming faster & better and gaining back strength to climb alongside my husband. I'm just "stuck" trying to figure out what to do right now. I will, however, keep showing up for masters practice 'cause I love being in the water.

[dana_leigh]

As for you comparing Scientology to the guy the owns Cross Fit. You really need to meet a Scientologist or visit the church and really learn something about. Its easy to attack a group you know nothing about. If you want to know about Scientology talk to someone that "IS A SCIENTOLOGIST". By the way I'm a Scientologist....

lol. nice one

[UK Guy]

Hi Kudos2Fly,
Sorry you took my comparison so personally, however I have had an encounter with Scientology. 20 years ago the owner of a gym where I worked was a scientologist. He tried to get me interested. Said they were always on the look out for intelligent people like me ( ha ha..not sure about that )...he wouldn't let it lie, even when I displayed my lack of belief in Thetans...and all that stuff. I think I gave him my details in the end, to shut him up..and I was young and stupid. A couple of years later, someone from the local branch contacted me...even though i had changed my address and number..that was a bit creepy ( to me ) to say the least.
Just not an organisation I would fancy joining after reading about them and watching documentaries..and neither is Crossfit. Like you implied..each to their own.

[Kudos2Fly]

Hi Kudos2Fly,
Sorry you took my comparison so personally, however I have had an encounter with Scientology. 20 years ago the owner of a gym where I worked was a scientologist. He tried to get me interested. Said they were always on the look out for intelligent people like me ( ha ha..not sure about that )...he wouldn't let it lie, even when I displayed my lack of belief in Thetans...and all that stuff. I think I gave him my details in the end, to shut him up..and I was young and stupid. A couple of years later, someone from the local branch contacted me...even though i had changed my address and number..that was a bit creepy ( to me ) to say the least.
Just not an organisation I would fancy joining after reading about them and watching documentaries..and neither is Crossfit. Like you implied..each to their own.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. But not everyone that is Scientologist is trying to push people into it. I don't do it because i wouldn't want it done to me either. If its not true for you then its not true.

I did look a little bit into Cross Fit today. Not sure I would do it either because it looks like they push the body to hard. Plus they are in Orlando and I'm not I'm going to drive 1 1/2 to their gym.

[missblue]

The problem with some Crossfit coaches (and plenty of other coaches too) is that they assume that people with average fitness (by that I mean the 'norm') will be able to adapt to any physiological stress placed upon them. They won't - at least not under the imposed demands of a variable system like Crossfit.

The average adult has, IMO, an appalling state of fitness. This cannot be changed with any amount of coercion and/or shouting.

Should everyone be able to do the skills that Crossfit recommends? Absolutely. But the current state of Crossfit instruction might not be the best way to get there.

Again, depends on the crossfit box you're going to. My "intake assessment" was nothing like you experienced swim2win, but was a reasonable round of squats, sit ups, push ups, and a short lap at the end. I can't remember how many of each, but I'm sure it was between 10-20, or "as many as you can comfortably do". I was very tired, but not flatlined.

Also, someone mentioned earlier that their crossfit was a "full service facility" in contrast to "just a garage". I'm happy that they are satisfied with their franchise, but don't see a need to "knock" garage gyms. They have a charm of their own--back to basics isn't bad and that's what my box is. We work outside often when weather is good, everyone knows everyone else in the gym and is supportive and friendly, and coaching is very detailed and personal. It depends what you want, what's in your area, and overall quality of experience. It also keeps costs down. My box costs me about forty bucks a month. That's a deal since I go at least three times a week.

[Mellabella]

I've been doing CF for about two months now and it has totally changed the way I think about fitness and working out...for the better. Yes, I was in pretty good shape when I started but there are women in my class who are twice my age and probably 50 pounds overweight. It really is scalable. I'm certainly not the strongest or the fittest in the group but the gains I've made in my fitness level is insanely amazing! This, coming from someone who has been an avid exerciser for years...even done a couple sprint tris. Yes, it's hard. It's so, so hard. It's supposed to be! The community is the most awesome. I've grown to become good friends with a couple other women...we all work, have small kids...we push each other to go up in weights, we tell each other, "c'mon one more round! we got this!", we support each other.....

I think anytime you have a small group of individuals who are tights and perhaps don't follow the "norm", they ALWAYS get a bad rep. I would encourage anyone and everyone to just try it. If you hate it then move one. But, for us that love it, we really and truly love it. It's one of the best things I do for myself and I can say that even though I get my butt out of bed at 4:30 am to do it!

[magnolia1973]

Swim2win, I really enjoyed doing P90X. It will make your stronger, but no one is pushing you and it is easily scalable. It does take some time to get done, but if you only do the weight portions (2 upper body and a leg work out each week), its not time consuming. The other workouts are yoga, a cardio and something else I can't remember.

I'm thinking of trying crossfit, but am low on money and not sure it is worth the money for me.

Also, there is a free primal fitness guide on this website with a nice bodyweight workout that takes me about 20 minutes to run through.

[Apex Predator]

To sum up: The brand "Crossfit" means nothing. It's founder is mentally unstable, every different "box" does whatever the hell it feels like, and if you get unlucky it might kill you. You might get a great instructor, you might not, but in order to determine which one is at a given "box", you'd need a base of knowledge that would be sufficient to put together your own routine.