I’ve decided that for the next 2-3 months, starting Monday, I will be doing the Crossfit WOD. This is just an experiment to see how it stacks up against what I’ve been doing (full-body traditional weight training 3 days per week, little cardio).
I know the general attitude regarding Crossfit on this site but I’ve always been impressed by the videos on their site and I just want to see what it’s about.
I’ll be using some of their recommended substitutions when I lack the equipment (for instance, high-rep high pulls instead of rowing) and I’ll be scaling back the poundages on some lifts if needed (OH squat, since I’ve never done them seriously).
Any additional workouts I do will be with the purpose of bettering my WODs, so it may mean gymnastics-type work, interval training, etc., but I don’t intend on adding any extra weights work except maybe OH squats to work on form.
I’m building some makeshift rings today if I can find a place to hang them, and I’ll be finding out where my 400m and 800m marks will be in my apartment complex for the runs. I don’t have a bike yet so until I get one (if I do) I’ll be running a “comparable time interval” as recommended on their site. I’ll just have to guess how long it would take.
I’ll be recording my WODs and any additional workouts in this thread.
Hey, good luck with this, ive always thought that it would be interesting to give Crossfit a try, it definitly looks like it would be a learning experience.
How are you going about making your rings, ive been interesting in doing some ring training, but broke college student that i am, id be very interested to see how youre making them.
I’ve always wondered what the effects of CrossFit would be for someone who has been training consistently with good results using more conventional methods. It seems like the people they have on their site who rave about incredible results are usually people who seem to have never lifted seriously before trying CrossFit (at least on the whole).
I’ve talked to some of my friends who swear it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but every time I see the people on the website doing “broomstick squats” and the like, I get turned off. Keep us apprised of your results, and don’t get brainwashed.
[quote]WS4JB wrote:
Hey, good luck with this, ive always thought that it would be interesting to give Crossfit a try, it definitly looks like it would be a learning experience.
How are you going about making your rings, ive been interesting in doing some ring training, but broke college student that i am, id be very interested to see how youre making them.
–WS4[/quote]
Still kind of throwing ideas around in my head. Something like this:
I’ve been supplementing the lifting programs I design for my athletes with crossfit for a couple years now. Sometimes it’s one day a week, and as we transition to off-season it gets ramped up.
If you want to have real world strength and stamina, crossfit will rock. If you’re looking for bodybuilding and bigger musacles, don’t expect to get them from crossfit.
[quote]csuson wrote:
I’ve talked to some of my friends who swear it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but every time I see the people on the website doing “broomstick squats” and the like, I get turned off. Keep us apprised of your results, and don’t get brainwashed. [/quote]
The broomstick stuff is for technique. Dan John recommends it too. I did the OHS workout yesterday with a broomstick just to try to get the movement down.
[quote]OneEye wrote:
csuson wrote:
I’ve talked to some of my friends who swear it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but every time I see the people on the website doing “broomstick squats” and the like, I get turned off. Keep us apprised of your results, and don’t get brainwashed.
The broomstick stuff is for technique. Dan John recommends it too. I did the OHS workout yesterday with a broomstick just to try to get the movement down.[/quote]
My bad. That makes much more sense, I don’t know what I was thinking. Look forward to hearing the results.
I have been using Crossfit for the past two years, with a few deviations. I’m a Marine, and military is one of the target audiences for Crossfit. I think the crossfit critics (including TC) on this site miss the point and tend to focus on the sometimes idiot remarks of Crossfit’s creator, Greg Glassman.
In my opinion there isn’t much better for combat conditioning, despite the fanatical attitudes of some of the people associated with crossfit. I have been posting the workouts and my results on my personal blog here on T-Nation for a while. I tend to deviate from the WOD every couple of weeks. You all are welcome to check it out, I use the blog as a supplement to my workout journal, but it might be useful to someone.
Good luck with the WOD’s, I think you will find them challenging and fun.
[quote]MurrDawg wrote:
Ill definitely be keeping with this thread…great idea! Think you could post before and after pictures and stats?[/quote]
Eh…it’s possible. I’m more concerned with performance so I may not post pics, but I do plan on keeping track of my bodyfat. I’ll put some numbers up later, I have to go to work soon.
I went ahead and started today. I subbed regular dips for ring dips, and used 95 lbs for hang power cleans instead of 135 lb full cleans. I haven’t done any oly variations in a long time so I’m starting slowly for that kind of thing. Today’s WOD was:
“Elizabeth”
21-15-9 reps of:
Clean 135 pounds
Ring dips
I was done in 7:34. Huge forearm pump and very winded. Heart rate was very high.
[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
From the pictures on the site, they all look…well, skinny. That alone keeps me away…[/quote]
Yep. I generally train like the people I want to look like. Basic “7 Habits” stuff. Find successful people and model yourselfs after them. I’m not sure when this principle was lost on the world…
Daaauuuumn