flashlight and sidewalk
LTH - that will require some reflection...thanks that was a great post.
**Ask me about streaking**
Hip Redux
We have something called the "Charleston Distance Run" in my area every Labor Day weekend. It's hot and hilly and it's 15 miles long. It's a beast of a race. Without fail, the Crossfit guys line up near the front and take off like bats out of hell. Without fail, they fade horribly because their endurance sucks and their lack of experience in running shows up in their inability to pace themselves accurately for a difficult 15 mile race. They do great until they find out that doing a bunch of jumps over obstacles doesn't train one to run up hills as well as, gasp, running up hills.
I saw that first hand!! Plus, the heat last year hurt a lot of people.
But yeah... lots of fading flowers at the front.
Chief Unicorn Officer
YOFG - O.M.G. I had to stop watching. I CAN'T.
I am kind of a lifting purist and I agree with LTH and PGD on this one. Crossfit sucks, in my opinion. Like LTH's article says, it trains you to get good at Crossfit and pretty much nothing else. I don't think it has a whole lot of value as far as lifting "to help stay injury free" which is one reason many runners lift weights. Crossfit is lifting to do stupid amounts of weight with the worst form possible which is a surefire way to get injured. Sure, maybe you won't get injured RUNNING, but you will get injured crossfitting. My father is a powerlifter (ranked 7th in the WORLD at one point) and I have always, always, always been taught that proper form is key to 1) executing the lift properly, 2) improving, and 3) staying injury free. When I started lifting at age 14, I never used any machines. It was all free weights, all the time. It was heavier weights and very low reps (which is still how I lift to this day--I'll be damned if someone tells me "but distance runners need to build endurance with more reps and lower weight!!!!" NO YOU DON'T. My times don't lie, amirite???). Anyway...the form used by Crossfitters...NO, NO, NO. Just lift regular weights. Learn how to do the proper form for Olympic lifts or compound lifts. DEADLIFTS ARE YOUR FRIEND. Ask Lydiard. :-D
Some of the local Crossfitters do a race once in awhile, one of the more popular ones for them in this one mile completely uphill climb. This past year they were all grunting and chest bumping and acting like buffoons on the starting line. None of them finished in the top half of the finishers. A group of them also did a local half marathon, except they didn't actually do the half marathon, they jumped in around mile 8, blew by people who were really starting to feel the effects of a hard, long run, high fiving each other and yapping. And then they dropped out shortly before the finish line. I don't know if they're just assholes or if they thought they were being motivational, but even if they had good intentions they came off like total asshats.
Anyway, that's my vent. I'm glad we had this thread, Crossfit was always one of my favorite topics in the old BF on RWOL.
Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54
Tell us how you really feel, MJ5. lol
Love it!
I went from...
Thinking crossfit was a cult and a bad idea and no interest in joining a gym,
Then I found out I could get reimbursed for gym membership through my health insurance,
To researching local gyms,
To finding a crossfit gym was the nearest gym,
To convincing myself crossfit was the answer to all my problems,
Back to...
thinking crossfit is a cult and a bad idea and no interest in joining a gym
All in one day.
I'm glad you all got to join me on this little journey.
Ahh... that's more like it. This forum didn't seem like home until we had a crossfit thread. The 4253 crossfit threads on the RW forum were always fun.
I think what raises people's ire about Crossfit, and not about Pilates or some other renaming of ancient exercises, is the cult-like enthusiasm, the "OMG no one has ever thought of this before and this is the only way to get fit", and the superiority (e.g., they pronounce the best cross-fitter "the fittest person on earth"). You can argue about the exercises and that a kip-up isn't a pull-up (and a jerk is not a press and a lunge is not a squat and an ape is not a monkey), but all the exercises I've seen are pretty traditional.
It's not exactly athletic training, but my son is a college decathlete (I manage to drop that into most posts) and just about every crossfit exercise is something he's done in training. He never does high reps, however. Everything is explosive.
I think it looks pretty cool. If I ever get in good enough shape that I think I could do it without killing myself, I might try it. I'd never heard of it until I saw the championships on TV a couple years ago. I guess the local gyms (don't they have a cutesy lingo for gym and everything else?), start with really really light weights and progress from there. So maybe I could start. A friend, who does not look at all fit, is a certified crossfitter and just moved to the middle east to start a crossfit gym.
The crossfit true believers will say that all runners are fat, weak, and get stress fractures all the time. Can't we all just get along?
If what you want to accomplish is overall fitness, then do some pushups, some pullups, and some abdominal exercises along with at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity 5 days per week.
What you say here is the equivalent of someone saying that if what you want to accomplish is overall running fitness, then jog 10-20 miles a week. Yeah, by some definition, that would get you running fitness. But it's not a totally adequate statement.
<<insert bragging about how fit i am and a bunch of other stuff no one cares about here>>
Pigtail Connoisseur
The number one reason people who don't know shit about lifting, the body, or life should be teaching any type of exercise. Plus they use some sort of rubber 10 pound weights instead of real wheels. Candyasses.
The number one reason people who don't know shit about lifting, the body, or life should be teaching any type of exercise.
Plus they use some sort of rubber 10 pound weights instead of real wheels. Candyasses.
I don't think our high school PE class looked that disorganized on gym days with a substitute teacher. Wow...
Something witty
Beer-and-waffle Powered
You should stand on the line next year and say very loudly "If anyone in a CrossFit shirt can beat me, I'll buy them a beer". Optionally you could make the challenge more hilarious by adding "And if I beat them then they owe me <something old people buy... you don't even have to need it, just something to piss 'em off>."
In the words of my late-coach : Just hang in there, relax... and at the end of a race anyone you see.....just pass them
Best laugh of this thread yet...Adam Mc referring to LTH as "old people".
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot
Did anyone catch the Chris Kluwe response to the article? Vulgar? Yes. Freaking hilarious? Yup.
They'll tell you that failure is not an option. That's ridiculous. Failure is always an option. It is the easiest and most readily available option. It's your choice though.
haha, check and check. Although that vid of the cross-fit people lifting weights was pretty bad.
delicate flower
Also funny is Chris Kluwe identifying himself as an "NFL player." Dude's a PUNTER. I guess technically he's an NFL player, but there is a reason there are no punters in the Hall of Fame. (only one place kicker too, and they actually score points)
<3
You'll have to look long and hard to find a pic of anyone doing Crossfit with a spotter.
And I am old bozy.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).