Didn’t he define crossfit as more work in less time? So, progress would mean getting “fitter”. For the average person that shouldn’t be that hard to do in 3 hours per week.
Unless you’re training for the games. Those people do two a days easy.
If all you want to do is get a little fitter (which in itself is hard to define as it means different things for different people) then I would think there are more simple and less expensive ways to do it. However if all CF does is get more people especially women interested in lifting weights is any form then it is not a bad thing.
my only experience with crossfit was at a school event, it was 90% hot girls. So i mean crossfit seems pretty cool to me
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Doing that could be a part of a Crossfit program, but doing that exclusively isn’t Crossfit. Just like heavy squats or distance running can be a part of a Crossfit program but doing one of those things exclusively isn’t Crossfit. My long post above with the bullet points explains this in more detail.
So it’s important to keep in mind that for someone subscribing to the Crossfit philosophy, the goal isn’t to get a bigger deadlift or a bigger snatch. From the Crossfit perspective, the goal is to improve at everything. From a sports science fundamentals standpoint, we know that we can improve performance via two avenues:
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Specific Physical Preparedness- specifically practicing the movements and bioenergetic traits that directly support a singular activity. This is great for monostructural pursuits such as powerlifting, weightlifting, running, etc where the only goal is to be really good at one specific thing. Crossfit as a rule rejects specialization because the implication is that competence in other domains of fitness is being sacrificed in order to obtain greater mastery of a single domain. For example, champion marathoners are generally sacrificing strength capacity for endurance and champion powerlifters are generally sacrificing aerobic capacity for strength.
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General Physical Preparedness- building capacity across a broad and diverse set of physical attributes. This is only starting to catch on in the West, where early specialization has been the trend for years, but it’s been long accepted by sports scientists that a broader base of general physical capacity over the long term yields higher potential performance across whichever specific domain an athlete pursues. Physiological attributes don’t exist in a vacuum and seemingly unrelated traits actually support development and performance in each other. For example, it’s well established that improved aerobic capacity supports recovery between bouts of resistance training and allows for more sustained levels of power output across bouts. Similarly, it’s also well established that improving muscular strength allows endurance athletes to run longer with more efficiency and less systemic fatigue.
So, knowing this as well as keeping in mind the foundational definition of functional movement that I posted above (high power, universal motor recruitment patterns, core to extremity, etc), it becomes easy to see that the program itself is intended to maximize dynamic correspondence (the “carry-over” effect in lay terms) between training efforts. A crossfitter doesn’t necessarily improve their deadlift by simply becoming better at deadlifting, but rather by improving a broad range of physiological attributes, some of which will ultimately facilitate improved performance in the deadlift. In a sense, the idea is that a rising tide lifts all vessels.
All of that being said, GPP can only take you so far, and for athletes competing in specialized sports, specialization eventually becomes a necessity. However, most don’t reach that point and many who specialize too early are handicapping their long term development.
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Thankyou for taking the time to type such a considered and full response. I really like the rising tide example which is easy to understand.
Sure, the ability to lift weights, stretch, play sports, and get some cardiovascular exercise outside of the Crossfit model has been available for decades. However, traditional fitness paradigms have thus far failed to consistently and efffectively deliver results across broad swaths of the population because of inconsistent messaging, commercial idiocy, and the more lucrative nature of repeatedly selling new magic potions and quick fixes vs delivering a single simple and effective solution like what Glassman prescribed in “World Class Fitness in 100 Words”:
“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc., hard and fast. Five or six days per week, mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.”
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I think a lot of the the resistance to CrossFit is the same as the resistance to SS - there seems to be a lot of dogma that begins to look like people drinking the Kool Aid. Add cult like figures - Rip and Glassman - and you begin to see shades of Jamestown. Certainly less insidious, but the shadow is there.
I reckon those drinking the Kool Aid don’t care what the “outsiders” think.
Personally, I subscribe to the idea that any “box” that would accept me isn’t worth joining.
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I think it’s more accurate that the resistance to Crossfit is a result of dogma on the other side. People don’t like Crossfit because it doesn’t look like what they think fitness ought to look like. As I’ve tried to demonstrate in this thread, the definition of Crossfit is purposefully broad and it’s ill-defined beyond some basic core principles. Something so purposefully vague by definition can’t be dogmatic.
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Keep in mind also that I’m not here trying to convert anyone.
Crossfit has been great for me from health, performance, and social vantage points. I want to share that positive experience with you guys and help clear up the common misconceptions that exist in the internet’s echo chamber, but if you don’t want to do Crossfit, I don’t give a shit. I like onions and green pepper on my pizza, but if you don’t, it’s no skin off my back.
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I don’t want to clog this thread up a ton, but if you guys still have questions about the overall philosophy, my personal training, etc and want to start a separate thread in the Bigger, Stronger, Leaner forum, I’d be more than happy to respond and answer questions as long as I don’t have to wade through a bunch of trolling in order to do so.
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I do appreciate the contribution, but still feel it’s dogmatic. But, I guess, in a sense, any program is, Westside, 5/3/1, etc… It’s probably me and what I bring to it.
I don’t get the sense that you are trying to convert anyone, but you certainly do believe in it. Since this discussion has been solely about CrossFit, we lack insight on your approach to other aspects of training, only getting your take on the subject at hand, hence no real context.
I will probably never do CrossFit, it just doesn’t fit me personally. It might in the future, and I wouldn’t be opposed to trying it (I did SS after all) if my training needs change, but I don’t see that happening. Again, just my own personal take on things.
So, to reiterate, thanks for sharing your insight.
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I’ve never had anything against CrossFit per se, more with the people performing it. Kind of like the Patriots, great team, hate the fan base lol. After reading through all of this and getting a better insight to what it’s all about and how it’s performed it has made me interested in trying it. I think the cost though is going to be my limiting factor.
Hopefully I’ve done a good job of conveying this, but cost doesn’t need to be a factor. You don’t need to join a Crossfit gym to subscribe to the Crossfit philosophy.
Do you have a space to squat, deadlift, press, etc with barbells and dumbbells? Do you have a place to do pull ups and dips? Do you have access to a rowing machine, air or spin bike, and a place to run?
If so, congratulations, you’ve got all you need to practice the Crossfit approach to training in your own personal way.
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Lift. Use primarily big compound movements that fulfill the criteria mentioned under my earlier definition of “functional movements”. Sometimes do them for low reps with heavy weights, sometimes moderate reps with moderate weights, sometimes light weights for high reps, and sometimes even heavy weights for high reps.
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Build your energy systems. Don’t neglect any of the three motors (oxidative, glycolytic, phosphagen). You’re only as strong as your weakest link so vary the duration of your efforts from seconds to minutes to hours.
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Learn to manipulate your body in space. Practice the fundamentals of gymnastics. Pulls, presses, planches, handstands, pistols, pirouettes, etc. Get good at all of it.
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Eat meat, vegetables, nut and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that support activity but not extra bodufat. Drink mostly water when you’re thirsty. Also, take some fish oil.
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Lastly, use all of that fitness for something other than getting more fitness. Go play sports, run with your dog, run around in nature, chase your kids around. Fitness is supposed to enhance your quality of life. If you don’t get out and use it then you’re just making deposits in an account that you’ll never withdraw from.
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I made a new thread so that this hijack can continue elsewhere. Feel free to ask whatever after the jump, I’ll answer as I can.
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It’s been two years since I built my garage gym and 2 years since setting foot inside a commercial gym.
Best shape of my life, look better than ever before and pain/injury free.
I can make plenty of correlations, but what I have learned I will confess for sake of the original topic:
I used to be dominated by ego in the gym, causing me to use weight loads that were too heavy, exercise selections that I was most comfortable with, not what I needed most, and was surrounded by ‘assisted’ lifters that over time would create unhealthy comparisons leading to some muscle dysmorphia issues.
I confess that lifting alone, isolated without mirrors etc has been the best thing for me physically and mentally and I doubt I can ever use a commercial gym again.
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Truthfully, I think the forums here can have that effect too.
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It depends on your mindset and attitude. It’s the same thing reading about and hanging around self-made rich people.
If you’re having a bad day it’s like: “damn I’ll never achieve 1/10th what he did. He’s just light years ahead, might as well quit now.”
While the more healthy approach would be: “what Can I learn from his success and duplicate myself.”
Success leaves clues. You can be disheartened by it or add it to your arsenal.
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I almost signed up but then saw this. Does beer or vodka count, it is mostly water!!
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And no sugar! What am I supposed to do with the Easter candy?
I will have to scale nearly every workout I’d I decide to join the movement. I don’t think my shoulders (which are loose and subject to subluxations) can handle the gymnastics stuff and I’m too weak for a lot of the other! 
Who wants to see a 6’5" guy do an unassisted handstand push up? I do! I just wish it was me lol
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