Crossfit is exercise. Done in a group. And the workouts are always different.
That’s it.
It’s not the pinnacle of fitness, and it’s not dark magic. It’s just exercise.
Ask 100 different people and you’ll probably get 100 different answers, including but not limited too:
“Crossfit is the best way of getting in shape”
“Crossfit is the best way of getting a shoulder injury”
Crossfit does a lot of things right.
- They promote getting strong in exercises that use multiples joints and muscles.
- They train both using tons of different techniques: Gymnastics, powerlifting, running, bodyweight exercises, olympic lifting, and yoga.
- Most of the workouts, done together, give people a sense of community, which makes it more likely that they come back.
- Crossfit gyms are called ‘boxes’, which are generally open warehouse type formats filled with simple equipment, and sweaty good looking people.
Crossfit also has it’s downsides.
- Becoming a level 1 crossfit coach takes only a weekend. Which means that you could have a coach with 25 years of experience, or you could have some 19 year old try-hard yelling at you.
- Crossfit workouts often will push people into exercises that they aren’t physically ready to do.
- Workouts done for time or a score, can lead to sloppy form instead of a focus on quality.
For these reasons, it’s very important to do two things if you’re thinking about giving Crossfit a try.
- Pick the right Coach – Select a gym that has a coach that you trust, and you know cares about you. It’s worth driving 45 minutes past 12 other boxes to get to the best gym.
- Know when to say No – Crossfit, like ALL other exercise is self paced. If the workout of the day (WOD) says to overhead press, but your shoulders don’t work, say “No”.
This is probably also Crossfit
