By now, everyone who follows the fitness industry has heard of CrossFit. Its popular, it has exciting workouts, and its very competitive. So competitive, in fact, that there are even CrossFit competitions held across the country where gurus subscribing to these workouts can lay out all their testosterone and go head-to-head in a ridiculous 3-day long battle. Whether you love it or hate it, CrossFit has reached a critical mass, and it won’t be going away anytime soon. The problem is I’m in the Hate It camp.
Let me get the 1 thing I like about CrossFit out of the way: it has inspired many to take working out more seriously. And I know first hand how monotonous an exercise routine can get, and CrossFit has found a way to keep people excited about their workouts. Now that that’s out of the way, allow me to give my problems with this exercise…uh…company? Organization? Group? Whatever they call themselves, I have found 5 major problems with CrossFit that the general public has not seemed to recognize. Without further ado, here we go (in no particular order).
1. CrossFit is not for athletes. All a CrossFit workout will do is make you better at a CrossFit workout. Take for example the power clean. This is a power movement, meaning it must be performed at high speeds, which is why (for the most part) no well-educated strength coach will have his athletes perform more than 6 reps per set on this lift. In CrossFit workouts, you may do as many as 25 reps per set on power clean. Yes, this will get you tired, and yes, this will get you in better aerobic shape–but is that the purpose of power clean? Absolutely not! Cleans build explosive power from the ground up which directly correlates to jumping ability and sprinting speed. In no way should cleans be used for aerobic improvement because the lower back will tire out, thus causing an injury. Additionally, to do 25 reps on a power clean means you will have virtually no weight on the bar. This is my first reason why CrossFit is crap.
2. CrossFit teaches pull-ups wrong. Are you kidding me? The easiest lift known to man (in technique at least). All you have to do is pull yourself up. If you can’t, you have a spotter help you until you are strong enough to do them on your own. How could someone possibly screw that up? Well, CrossFit found a way by including the “kip” in many of their pull-up workouts. The kip has lifters swing forward and then use their momentum to pull themselves over the bar. Then they will quickly drop themselves, swing forward again, and repeat. Notice a pattern here? Momentum doesn’t build muscle, controlled movements do. In addition to using momentum, this quick-drop-from-the-top practice takes out the eccentric aspect of a muscle contraction (which is actually a stronger contraction than a concentric). This is actually the first thing I noticed about CrossFit and the second reason why I claim that CrossFit is indeed crap.
3. CrossFit is not based on science, but randomly put together. I understand muscle confusion. I understand cross training. But I don’t understand what CrossFit is based on. I have read one workout that puts together 6 exercises. The participant chooses 2 of them to perform back to back. Then rests 4 HOURS, comes back and does another 2, rests 4 more hours, and completes the last 2. What in the world? I’m no genius, but I have been around many great strength coaches, college professors, physical therapists, and exercise physiologists. I’m quite certain you’ll never find support for this type of training in any published research. And yet, another reason why CrossFit is crap.
4. CrossFit uses visually appealing lifts with physically sub par results. This statement is based off of only one picture on the CrossFit website, which shows a man deadlifting a telephone pole. While this looks cool, he picks the telephone pole up on one end rather than in the middle. This means that he is actually lifting about 1/3 of the telephone pole’s weight. Looks awesome. But its pointless. This also, is why Crossfit is crap.
5. CrossFit sells a brand name rather than a genuine workout. On this statement, I am open to other opinions because I realize that its pretty hard to develop new lifts. With some exception, there is a lift for virtually every movement the body can do. If I were to take lifts such as power clean, deadlift, and pull-ups, randomly through sets and reps together and call it a Macssistance workout, what have I really done that someone else has not done before? This is precisely what CrossFit does. Rather than expand on the fitness industry, they take what has been done for years, slap a CrossFit label on it, and convince the public its the most intense way to train. Not all of this is their fault, as thousands of people have chosen to make CrossFit popular. However, when you are a leader in the field, it is your responsibility to pave the way for new ideas that are scientifcally founded and anatomically sound. CrossFit has failed to do so. So thanks for showing the world lifts we already knew. Once again, a reason why CrossFit is crap.
I’ll admit that I’m a harsh critic. Most people in this field are. But I have a genuine problem with organizations and people who convince their public how great their product is by way of emotion, visual appeal, and celebrity endorsement, but without the support of research-based backing. Again, if you are no longer playing sports and you genuinely enjoy CrossFit, by all means keep doing it. It will burn calories and build some muscle, but it will not make you a better athlete.
Overall, its crap.
Published under: Endurance Training, Sports TrainingTags: crossfit • fitness fads
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This post was written on the Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 7:41 am and categorized under Endurance Training, Sports Training. You can follow the ongoing discussion by subscribing to the RSS 2.0. You can leave a reply, or Trackback.
http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200811/hell-on-earth-fitness-plan-2.html
Launched in July of 2008, eh? With such a massive output of material of such high quality (as demonstrated above), it’s a shame you’ve been so effectivley ignored by the fitness blogosphere. This post may turn out to be the perfect solution to your anonymity issue (was that you who posted on the Crossfit Main Page comments section? Shrewd.)
Welcome to the wild, wild West of fitness commentary, Sir. Fasten you seatbelt…
Macssistance is crap!! ive been doing crossfit for 3 months and I can tell you with no doubt that I’m in better shape than i previously was with strength training. Crossfit is based on CONSTANTLY VARIED FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENTS AT A HIGH INTENSITY! Talk to any coach or trainer and they will tell you that that is the key to fitness. Crossfit has been around for a while and has proven results. Champion MMA fighters train with it, I know personally that the United States Marine Corps has incorporated Crossfit workouts into their fitness regime. Crossfit is a great program. You wouldn’t know fitness if it was doing Burpees right in front of you!!
I completely disagree. Are you or have you ever been an athlete at even the high school level? It does not seem so…
I am currently in my fourth year of collegiate football, and I have been doing “traditional” weight training since I was about 15. I found CrossFit about 5 months ago, and I haven’t looked back since. I have seen incredible results, as well as increased athletic performance while using these workouts precisely.
My team is also implementing these workouts, since our coaches can see the great benefit of getting aerobic training and strength training simontaneously. Apparently you don’t think that matters.
Before you chastise something this harshly, have a base to stand on.
-Bryan
“Momentum doesn’t build muscle, controlled movements do.”
this sentence and this sentence alone made me stop reading this. building muscle and being fit are completely different topics. You’re simply proving that Crossfit isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine. But, the fact of the matter is, if I had to pick a guy to win in a fight, I’m taking the guy that can power clean 135# 30 times in 4 minutes over the guy who can power clean 245# once.
Fine, I glanced at the rest of this too. Sure, the chance of anyone “inventing” a new lift is pretty slim. But who’s to say that Crossfit’s application of those movements isn’t effective? If becoming faster, stronger, more agile, and more coordinated all while increasing cardiovascular and respiratory capacity aren’t desirable attributes for athletes, then I guess I can toss out the last 20 years that I’ve been striving to be a good hockey player. I guess I was looking for the wrong things. I should have been looking to build muscle, lose agility, speed, and sacrifice endurance for strength and the ability to pull my body up from a dead hang using only my upper body….that rapid extension of the hips has no place in real life movements–except for running, jumping, throwing, punching, etc. Actually, I think it might.
If you want to call something crap, I suggest you at least understand it first. Saying that you read about one workout where someone power clean and jerks something 25 times is not enough to base a sound argument on. And, you seem to be so set on this argument, I would have expected that you at least know what you’re talking about with regards to Crossfit. Remember, it’s “broad, general, and inclusive”. The specialty is “not specializing”. So, we still have the days where we do 7 power cleans for maximum weight. We also have the days where we run 10k. And there are days where we sprint 400 meters, do pullups (regardless of what you say about them, someone who kips can do far more work in far less time than someone who is using controlled movements to build muscle) and probably do some push presses with medium weight.
I apologize for rambling here, but it bothers me when people trash things like this. And not because I think that everyone should be doing Crossfit. Like I said, it’s not for everyone. I am a trainer, and I’ve learned that. The part that bothers me the most is your lack of understanding of the program.
Good day, sir. (although, with such a horribly drafted argument, I’m beginning to think that this had to be written by a female)
Seriously? Crap. Thats the best you got? “Without the support of research-based backing?” Are you kidding? Crossfit is about results and results period. As an ex pro athlete, a soldier in the special operations community, and a special agent with a law enforcement agency, fitness is one of my top priorities, it has to be. And it has to work in varying situations across broad modal domains. Crossfit has been the only system that has done that for me. Enough said.
Daniel,
I’ve read negative opinions of CrossFit before and as a CrossFitter I enjoy them because they’re usually well thought out and intelligent. Some are very entertaining as well.
Your blog post on CrossFit was none of those things. Clearly it showed you don’t know what you’re talking about.
First, the motto is “Forging Elite FITNESS” not “Forging Elite Athletes”.
Second, CrossFit is being used by professional athletes in football, baseball, ice hockey and mixed martial arts. There’s probably more that I don’t know of.
Third, more and more of the military specifically the Special Operations Community is using CrossFit. How many are getting “Macssistance”?
This doesn’t include the thousands of “regular” people who are achieving an elite level of fitness just to be better at life.
While CrossFit is not designed to make athletes better at the specific skills of their sport it does enhance the athletes general physical preparedness.
High rep cleans as well as squats and deadlifts have been used for decades, safely and effectively. It’s difficult and that’s why it isn’t more poplular. The fact that it is difficult doesn’t mean it’s unsafe. It does require proper training and heart.
Your quote regarding four hours between workouts was based on a competition–not a workout. One event followed another event with four hours in between. This concept of spacing events during a competition shouldn’t be foreign to you or difficult to understand. You either didn’t really look into this or the truth isn’t important to you. Either way, you completely mischaracterized something you didn’t research at all.
I don’t know what picture you are referring to regarding the telephone pole lift, but it’s silly to comment on a picture with out having any context at all. It would be like me calling you a moron based on one blog post.
What is a genuine workout? How do define that?
I hope I was able to shed some light. Thanks for the attention to CrossFit. Good luck in all your endeavors.
This is one of the most inaccurate, mindless and nonsensical fitness articles i have ever written. I play PROFESSIONAL soccer for a European club, which could be regarded as some of the most intense competition on the planet. CrossFit has greatly transformed not only my physique but my fitness level and work capacity.
I bet you have never done a CrossFit workout and you COULD NEVER do one even if you tried.
Just shut your mouth, you big couch potato fag boy.
All I see are a lot of words and very little if any research.
Example: in point #3 the “4 hour break workout” isn’t just any workout. Those were the 3 workout for Day 1 of the Crossfit Games, which is 2 day not 3.
You say “I’m no genius, but I have been around many great strength coaches, college professors, physical therapists, and exercise physiologists.”
Consensus is not science, results are, learn the difference then have an opinion.
Crossfit uses both the kipping pullup and the “standard” but for different metabolic effects. Your goal decides your exercise. Educate yourself on the uses and utiliy of both then have an opinion.
The “guy lifting the telephone pole” picture, that guy is a marine trainer who typical derides Crossfit while doing the “fancy” lifts with bad form and gonig around injuring people.
Education and knowledge is key, do due diligence. Don’t talk out of your A.
Good day sir,
My name is David Boyle I’m a Staff Sergeant in the US Marines. I believe that CrossFit is not the end all to save all. No program is. However it is pretty darn close. Let’s look at the Marines under my charge. They are stronger in the deadlift, clean, squat, press, and run faster than they did before doing CrossFit. They actually shoot better too? Crazy..? You cannot argue that GPP (general physical preparation) does not play a roll in marksmanship. Their Combat Fitness Test have improved along with their Physical Fitness Test scores. We run nothing over 2 miles…and that is when we do the workout “Murph”. However our 5k times are going down. Their GPP has skyrocketed. This is solid evidence. Not assumptions. My Marines don’t say “we think we’re in shape” They know they’re in shape because of numbers. Call is what it is…but we call it elite fitness. We are not blind followers. We cannot afford to follow a program that does not produce. CrossFit has produced results that cannot be ignored.
This is why we CrossFit.
Respectfully,
Staff Sergeant Boyle.
Let’s see. You now work at a country club after working at U of Arkansas. Couldn’t hack in the real stregth and conditioning field of D1 athletics and now you’re selling your great training method to a bunch of spoiled rich people. There are lots of different ways of fitness. We just choose the more difficult brand at crossfit. I’m sure all your clients work really hard on their cardio machines and pretty training center.
His point of Crossfit helping you get better at certain workouts it accurate. His lack of understanding comes when he does not think crossfit workouts will help anyone become a better athlete.
Anytime you can acquire a physical ability or a new physical limit, your athletic performance can’t help but increase.
Crossfit does not claim to improve your technique but your ability to perform faster, harder and longer.
Personally I use Crossfit to help my MMA game. The author of that article is wrong because CF has helped me become a better athlete.
You’re a douche! CrossFit is the future of fitness.
Daniel,
You are doing an enormous disservice to the CSCS certification, the University of Arkansas, and even country clubs with this ridiculous rant.
Please don’t be surprised if you aren’t taken seriously by the Crossfit community. (If this is not a joke… Carl, is this you?). No really, maybe you need to take some writing classes, do some research papers… you know, practice gathering facts and making a strong presentation of those facts. Unfortunately, you’ve failed to do that here.
Bahahahaha
I think that you don’t know what you’re talking about. What? Couldn’t handle the workouts?
Daniel
I think that you should do a lot more research. It’s painfully obvious that you haven’t made an attempt to research CrossFit’s theories, methodologies, and concepts.
How bout you research a little bit about what you are talking about before you blindly preach it to the masses that may or may not follow your website.
you work at a country club and your job consists of making fat people feel like they are losing weight i.e. adding muscle mass so they don’t look like they slam quarter pounders in front of Oprah all you are is the spatula that smooths out the cottage cheese on the asses of its owners
It’s obvious to me that you don’t know much about exercise or CrossFit for that matter. I’d be surprised if you had a sport, other than standing in front of a mirror and admiring yourself. Your critique is so far off-base that I hardly think it warrants a response. Unfortunatley, I can’t help myself.
“CrossFit is not for athletes” - There are countless Olympic and professional athletes doing CrossFit and raving about the results. I have met a few of them over the years and I’d love to see you stand face to face with them and make some of your ignorant claims to them directly.
“CrossFit teaches pull-ups wrong” - CrossFit uses several different types of pull-ups. The kip is a variation and one of many different types of pull-ups. Do your research.
“CrossFit is not based on science, but randomly put together” - Again, dead wrong. Go to a level 1 cert and then tell me there is no science behind CrossFit. The beauty of CrossFit is it doesn’t have a closed-minded attitude, such as your own, on new concepts and utilizes the best functional movements from Olympic/weight lifting, gymnastics and monostructural types of training. Please show me a program that is that diverse and delivers the same results.
“CrossFit uses visually appealing lifts with physically sub par results” - This makes me laugh. Visually appealing would be something like lateral raises or bicep curls….something I’m certain you teach your clients on a regular basis. “Sub par results” would also indicate that people aren’t making huge strides in their overall health from doing CrossFit. I challenge you to talk to someone fully engaged in CrossFit and find out what their results have been.
“CrossFit sells a brand name rather than a genuine workout” - CrossFit doesn’t sell anything…it’s free to anyone with access to the internet. CrossFit teaches an approach to fitness and lifelong health and it’s available on the web for everyone to see. How much are you charging for your program?
I think it’s comical that you hide behind a shitty little website a rant about things you know nothing about…including fitness. Why don’t you attend a couple CrossFit classes and maybe expand your knowledge on the concepts and methodology before you make yourself looks like a complete moron once again.
Overall- your research, understanding, and arguments are crap.
Interesting blog. Just a few quick points, where is the word ‘athlete’ in the phrase ‘forging elite fitness’ notice the difference between fitness and athlete, if you look at crossfit’s definition of fitness, you’ll find that their workouts do improve your fitness by great amounts.
Is the push jerk a cheating military press? No, they’re two different movements, with different intentions. I could say the military press is bad for improving explosive power, but that is not what it’s trying to do, is it?
Finally, as many sports require intense bursts of effort, followed by inactivity, then another intense burst, how would you recommend training for that? High rep power cleans sound pretty good to me.
Thanks for your comments guys! I appreciate your weighing in on the post, and I’m glad you’re reading. While I respectfully disagree with many of the statements made, I did find great truth in some. And Sergeant Boyle, thanks so much for your service to our country.
I was absolutely wrong on the “Forging Elite Athletes” line. Thanks for keeping me in check. Yes, CrossFit’s motto is “Forging Elite Fitness,” and I have changed that in the post. And B2, you bring up a great point that I missed about the kip. This does make pull-ups more of a power movement, and thus, I respect its purpose after thinking of it like that. I still am not sold on it because of the lack of eccentric contraction. What makes me ok with exercises like the push jerk missing out on the eccentric phase is that push jerks do allow you to continually add weight, whereas pull-ups with a kip would be difficult to add weight without racking yourself. Thanks again guys.
Try crossfit… then you might have more personal experience to make an informed judgement.
I wasn’t sure about it to start with… then I did it. I’ve not been this fit in my life - Army pt didn’t do it, thats IS for sure.
CrossFit was originally created with the use of one of my gymnastics drills and conditioning books as a reference. They used gymnastics drills and conditioning to help people gain strength and get in shape in addition to other bodyweight exercises in the beginning. Now CrossFit has become a world wide phenomena and they use a variety of exercises from bodyweight exercises to power lifting exercises.
You really must come down to New Jersey CrossFit / The Training Room in Avon, NJ. People are getting into amazing shape every day at that facility. The classes and personal training are outstanding. The owners have several fitness related certifications including the CSCS certification. They really do have vast knowledge of fitness and they create safe and effective workouts. I have seen horrible trainers in health clubs with no experience other than a certification that they spent one day getting from organization that are not always respected. The health clubs hire sales people, send them for fitness certifications, and then allow them to train every member the exact same way, hypertrophy workouts. That is not what the weight loss client needs. Visit http://www.newjerseycrossfit.com to see safe and effective workouts.
“CrossFit is not for athletes.” — If you’re referring to your former football and basketball players then you might be partially correct because CrossFit is not about improving sport specific performance directly. Listen or watch any of Coach Glassman’s lectures and you will hear him say that CrossFit is about “developing a work capacity that would lend itself generally well, not ideally, to any and all activities.” In other words, CF is about improving one’s general physical preparedness (GPP). Ironically, improving one’s GPP also improves one’s SPP (For more info regarding GPP’s impact on SPP, check out the CF mainpage from April 21, 2009).
“CrossFit teaches pull-ups wrong.” — The kipping pull-up, while the default CF pull-up, is but one variant of the pull-up that CF uses and promotes. You also say, “pull-ups with a kip would be difficult to add weight without racking yourself.” Ever tried a weighted vest or a dumbbell between the feet?
“CrossFit is not based on science, but randomly put together.” Isn’t science simply testing a hypothesis? And, isn’t testing a hypothesis about receiving and documenting measurable, observable, and repeatable results? Well, if you haven’t already, check out the CF.com comments section or forum sometime (or any of the affiliates’ blogs) and witness for yourself the measurable, observable, and repeated results of CF. What kind of scientific data are you looking for?
“CrossFit uses visually appealing lifts with physically sub par results. This statement is based off of only one picture on the CrossFit website . . . .” — First, I’m glad you at least admit that this statement is based on 1, that’s right ONE, picture, but I can’t believe you go on to make a broad, sweeping generalization from it. Second, although I’m not sure what picture exactly you’re referring to, based on your description it sounds very much like someone training for or participating in the Highland Games event of caber toss. Ever thought about that? Not so pointless is it?
“CrossFit sells a brand name rather than a genuine workout. . . . If I were to take lifts such as power clean, deadlift, and pull-ups, randomly through sets and reps together and call it a Macssistance workout, what have I really done that someone else has not done before? This is precisely what CrossFit does. Rather than expand on the fitness industry, they take what has been done for years, slap a CrossFit label on it, and convince the public its the most intense way to train.” — First, isn’t this exactly what D1 Sportstraining does? Secondly, if things like power cleans, deadlifts and pull-ups work, why reinvent the wheel? Would you rather we do handstand push-ups while balancing one hand on a physio ball and one hand on a kettlebell? Did you ever think that a major problem with the fitness industry might be its incessant desire to find something new? If the exercises people have been doing successfully for hundreds of years work, why change them?
Now, just a few more odds and ends:
“So thanks for showing the world lifts we already knew.” — I repeat everything I just said in the previous paragraph, but add what new lift have you developed?
You say the following at various points:
“I’m quite certain you’ll never find support for this type of training in any published research.”
and then
“Rather than expand on the fitness industry, they take what has been done for years . . . .”
and
“However, when you are a leader in the field, it is your responsibility to pave the way for new ideas that are scientifcally founded and anatomically sound. CrossFit has failed to do so.”
Do you really fail to see the contradictions? First you rip CF because it fails to align with the current “scientfic” research, but then you rip it because it hasn’t developed anything new. You also talk about understanding muscle confusion and cross training, but not understanding CF. Did it ever occur to you that CF, as a leader in the fitness industry, is paving the way with new ideas? Not necessarily new movements–as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it–but a new methodology and a new way of thinking about how to combine those movements; and, if so, that this new way of thinking might not align with the previous scientific research. Isn’t that what developing something new is all about?
Also, from day 1, Coach Glassman has said that if someone comes to him and shows him measurable, observable, repeatable data that a different training program produces better results he will endorse it. So, I ask you: have you developed something better and can you prove it through measurable, observable, repeatable data?
Finally, why not give yourself 30 days and try CrossFit? Honestly. Are you training for a specific event or sport? If not, you have nothing to lose. Give yourself 30 days to read through the wealth of free information available in the CF journal, follow the mainpage programming (scaled to your abilities), and then come back and give your opinion.
Your ramblings are so pedantic and obviously flawed, in addition to being poorly researched, that I can’t believe I’m even dignifying them with a response. Nonetheless, I will choose the one which most closely resembles a developed argument:
“Take for example the power clean. This is a power movement, meaning it must be performed at high speeds, which is why no well-educated strength coach will have his athletes perform more than 6 reps at a time on this lift.”
Yes, you must be right. Performing these lifts at high intensity and exhaustion is pointless, because in athletics and the real world it is never important to produce explosive power and stability once you’re tired.
Enjoy the country club.
Hey Macsissyassistant,
Your an amateur. Get yourself some real world experience, then think about talking. Also, here is an idea, come up with some information to back up your statements. You mention that science, strength coaches, college professors, physical therapists, and exercise physiologists will not back this. What science??? What coaches??? What professors???… Give us some real proof man. A blanket statement doesn’t prove anythng. C’mon
I would like to say, I am new to Crossfit. Prior to Crossfit I was going to the gym and seeing a trainer 2 times per week for approx 1 yr, plus i was doing classes, going on the treadmill etc.. I have now been training using only Crossfit over the past four months of Crossfit - two months of which I was training only 3 days per week with sessions ranging from about 10-20 mins). My diet hasnt changed dramatically (i still eat take away occasionally and have ice cream for dessert if i feel like it) - BUT my body and my fitness has taken a dramatic turn. I am an average person (170cm/63kg) and prior to Xfit,I looked healthy and was going to the gym BUT i still couldnt run 500m in one go or even do a push up on my knees. In the last 4 months, I have lost 17.2cm from around my body, toned up incredibly and lost 5% of my body fat. I now have muscles in my arms/back/shoulders/calves/stomach that I had never seen before. I can now do push ups, heavy lifting, pull ups (assisted with bands), dips and so many more exciting things that i couldnt do before. I can also run 1km without a hassle (may not seem like much but this is a huge improvement for me). I completely give Crossfit and my Crossfit coaches the credit for all the changes. Crossfit has changed my fitness and my life so much better. Not only does a Crossfit environment offer you fitness but you also have a great support network and encouragement from every Crossfitter out there.
This worked out well for you. Greg Glassman is a genius. He has always advocated take what works, discard the rest. What works for an athlete will not come on the main site, it is up to them or their training coach to set up their programming. I have great success with athletes doing Crossfit. Performance in a variety of athletes has gone up since incorporating Crossfit into their programs. However, I don’t use the same programming for a linebacker as a wrestler or volleyball player. The Jefferson quote about keeping your mouth shut if people think you are stupid before opening your mouth and removing all doubt came to mind. I’ve done S/C programs for 20+ years, constantly and currently compete in numerous sports, and have never done anything that has made as strong, fast, fit, etc.
[…] 5 Reasons Why CrossFit is Crap 07 / 1 / 09 […]
Hello Dan,
I own a CrossFit affiliate in Ormond Beach Florida. I’m a 45 year-old female, worked in the medical field for over 20 years. I received a back injury while moving a very large patient and lived with excruciating, an 8 on a 1-10 scale, back pain for years. I thank God I found Greg Glassman and CrossFit. Both literally gave me my life back. Today I am totally pain free, stronger, longer, leaner, faster and more functional than I have EVER been in my life.I didn’t get that working out at sub VO2max on a treadmill in an air conditioned gym at my local country club.As far as being science based, I’m a science major. The metabolic and physiological science behind CrossFit…and the fact it’s very quantitative and designed heavily on basic physics principles is what attracted me to CrossFit in the first place. If you are truly interested in becoming a better trainer and helping your clients, you may subscribe to the CrossFit Journal by visiting http://www.crossfit.com
Good post on why crossfit is not beneficial to an athlete, especially the part about the bastardization of the olympic lifts.
I tried it for a while and saw pros and cons to the program. Cons outweighed the pros however. My strength decreased drastically. I experienced more pain in my joints than all my years of lifting beforehand. My run time improved, but I wasn’t willing to sacrafice overall strength, health and a pain-free life for a better run time. Who the hell needs to run more than 50 meters at a time anyway? I eventually ditched crossfit for a more old school, well rounded programs.
I do believe people can benefit from crossfit. As the original poster said, it can keep things exciting, especially for the folks who have had trouble staying committed to training before. I do think people, like my couch potato brother for example, would benefit from the program because it could possibly keep him motivated, keep him moving and finish a workout in 20 minutes.
People like this are probably the ones who would see the most benefit. For people who are already in good, strong, athletic shape, I would suggest to them not to waste their time with a crossfit program based on my experience.
[…] 5 reasons why crossfit is crap Read some of the comments […]
First off, you really should research a topic BEFORE you try to discredit it (being a leader in the field expected you to know that). You claim Crossfit does not have researched based backing, kind of like your blog post.
I am a veteran SWAT officer and we are required to maintain a high level of physical fitness (tested quarterly). In my time as a SWAT officer I have never seen the results I have gotten from Crossfit. My fitness test scores all went up, my GPP is outstanding and I have less joint than I had from the “traditional” lifting and running.
Can you explain how my 1RM bench press went up 10lbs to a personal best for me, from one PT test to the next, when I did bench press exactly zero times during that period.
Can you explain how my 1.5 mile time improved by over 1 minute when I had only been doing 400 or 800 meter sprints.
These should be easy for you to explain with all of your years of experience and since you are a “leader” in the field as you have proclaimed yourself.
If you think Crossfit does “visually appealing lifts with physically sub par results”, take your likely callus free hands and bring up youtube. Look for videos of workouts like “Transformers” or “King Kong” and see if you consider this sub par.
Not doing anything original, doing what has already been done. I guess you only teach brand new exercise movements that you can only find at your country club exercise room. Give me a break, I did not know the only way a program could be effective was if it had all new and original movements.
I must also point out that you stating you have been around many great strength coaches, college professors, physical therapists and exercise physiologists. If that is true you must have heard of legendary coaches Mark Rippetoe and Mike Burgener. You cannot question they are legendary in the field of strength training and Olympic lifting. They have been deeply involved in the Crossfit movement for years. There must be something to it if they are willing to devote as much time as they have to furthering the growth of Crossfit. You also may not have heard the name Lon Kilgore. In case you haven’t, he happens to be a college professor AND an exercise physiologist. He is also sold on the Crossfit philosophy and all three professionals I have mentioned have written countless articles on Crossfit and done tremendous amounts of RESEARCH on the topic to support their belief it is an excellent system. Sounds like you should re-evaluate who you dub as being “great”.
Like was mentioned in other posts, Crossfit is not for everyone but it has made me fitter and an overall better athlete. Crossfit does not try to convince people their “product” is the great, the workout does it for them. No one convinced me Crossfit was great, I finished my first workout in September of last year and knew immediately it was the best thing I had ever done(I have been doing it ever since). What have you done besides this lame attempt to draw attention to yourself by attacking the workout program of whole lot highly fit people.
The last thing I will say is this: nothing in this post conveys the opinion that you are a terrible trainer (don’t jump to conclusions, you may be), the only the I am doing is trying to further prove you don’t know CRAP about Crossfit.
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I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS EACH OF YOUR POINTS INDIVIDUALLY. POINT ONE BEING CROSSFIT IS NOT FOR ATHLETES:
I AM A TEN YEAR VETERAN POLICE OFFICER WHO HAS SERVED ON THE SWAT TEAM AND AS A MOTORCYCLE OFFICER. AM I A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE? NO, BUT MY JOB REQUIRES ATHLETIC ABILITY NONETHELESS. I DISCOVERED CROSSFIT APPROXIMATELY 14 MONTHS AGO AND HAVE SEEN DRAMATIC RESULTS IN BOTH MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND JUST LIFE IN GENERAL. CROSSFIT WORKOUTS INCORPORATE OLYMPIC LIFTS, GYMNASTICS MOVEMENTS, RUNNING AND METABOLIC CONDITIONING, ALL OF WHICH HAVE INCREASED MY ATHLETIC ABILITY BOTH ON AND OFF THE JOB. I HAVE LOST 20 LBS. WHILE INCREASING MY 1RM DEADLIFT TO OVER 460 LBS. I ALSO RECENTLY RAN A HALF-MARATHON JUST TO SEE IF I COULD. MY ONLY TRAINING FOR THE HALF-MARATHON YOU ASK? CROSSFIT WORKOUTS 4 TIME A WEEK. WATCH A CROSSFITTER PERFORM 30 MUSCLE-UPS FOR TIME AND THEN TELL ME HE/SHE IS NOT AN ATHLETE. TO ME AN ATHLETE IS SOMEONE WHO TRAINS TO BE BETTER AT LIFE.
POINT TWO: CROSSFIT TEACHES PULLUPS WRONG. I WOULD CAUTION YOU TO DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE YOU JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. CROSSFIT INCORPORATES MANY VERSIONS OF THE STANDARD PULLUP, INCLUDING KIPPING PULLUPS, BUTTERFLY PULLUPS, DEAD HANG PULLUPS, L-PULLUPS AND WEIGHTED PULLUPS. WHEN I STARTED CROSSFIT I COULD DO MAYBE THREE STANDARD PULLUPS AND NOW, THROUGH THE CONSTANTLY VARIED PULLUP MOTIONS INCORPORATED IN CROSSFIT WORKOUTS, I CAN PERFORM OVER 100 PULLUPS IN A WORKOUT. HOW CAN THOSE KINDS OF RESULTS BE “WRONG”?
POINT THREE: CROSSFIT IS NOT BASED ON SCIENCE, BUT RANDOMLY PUT TOGETHER. DO NOT CONFUSE CONSTANTLY VARIED WITH RANDOMLY PUT TOGETHER. THERE IS A METHOD TO THE MADNESS. BY THE WAY, I HAVE DONE HUNDREDS OF CROSSFIT WORKOUTS AND SCOURED THE ARCHIVES OF COUNTLESS AFFILIATE WEBSITES AND HAVE NEVER SEEN A WORKOUT THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU REFERENCE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE YOU FOUND IT SO I CAN RESEARCH IT MYSELF AND BE BETTER ABLE TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU. AND FOR THE RECORD, THE CROSSFIT GAMES WILL BE HELD IN AROMAS, CALIFORNIA JULY 2010. IT HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE PROVING GROUNDS. IF YOU THINK YOUR APPROACH IS BETTER, PROVE IT. RESULTS CAN NOT BE IGNORED, SHOW UP AND BEAT DOWN ALL THE “NON-ATHLETES” WITH YOUR TRAINING AND THE WORLD WILL TAKE NOTE.
POINT FOUR: VISUALLY APPEALING LIFTS AND SUB-PAR RESULTS. I REALLY DON’T FEEL THE NEED TO ISSUE A REBUTTAL TO THIS CLAIM, SINCE YOU OBVIOUSLY PUT NO THOUGHT INTO IT, BUT I WILL. TO BASE AN OPINION ON ONE PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT SPEAKS TO YOUR CLOSE-MINDEDNESS. THE OLYMPIC LIFTS IN CROSSFIT ARE NOTHIG NEW, BUT ARE USED IN NEW WAYS AT TIMES. AGAIN: CONSTANTLY VARIED. CROSSFIT HAS ENABLED ME TO PERFORM 30 REPS OF 135 CLEAN AND JERK IN JUST OVER 3 MINUTES AND AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED DEADLIFT 460 LBS. IF THAT IS SUB-PAR, I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO BETTER. AGAINS RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. AND THE COPS/SWAT OPERATORS I TRAIN WITH ARE ANYTHING BUT SUB-PAR.
POINT FIVE: CROSSFIT SELLS A BRAND NAME RATHER THAN A GENUINE WORKOUT. HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE CROSSFIT WEBSITE? LAST TIME I CHECKED IT WAS FREE, AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN. CHECK OUT REPUTABLE AFFILIATE WEBSITES SUCH AS CROSSFIT ONEWORLD, DIABLO CROSSFIT, CROSSFIT BOSTON, CROSSFIT CENTURION, ETC, ETC, ETC. THEY ALL POST DAILY “FREE” WORKOUTS ON THEIR SITES. CROSSFIT IS FREE, YOU EITHER DRINK THE KOOL-AID OR YOU DON’T. CROSSFIT IS BECOMING HUGE. THE IDEA HAS BECOME THE INSTITUTION. THE MOVEMENT IS TOO BIG TO BE IGNORED AND THE HATERS SPIT THEIR DISSENTING VENOM WITHOUT OFFERING ANY REAL ALTERNATIVE. IF YOUR PROGRAM IS BETTER, PROVE IT. POST YOUR WORKOUT FOR FREE ON YOUR SITE AND BUILD A GRASS ROOTS MOVEMENT THAT PRODUCES REAL WORLD RESULTS AND REAL WORLD ATHLETES. AND HOPEFULLY WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE “PROVING GROUNDS” IN JULY.
Just wondering why my comments weren’t posted? Did you review it and see that you were wrong regarding everything you said about crossfit? I find it interesting that I take the time to post an indepth and thought-provoking response to your butchered attempt to dismiss crossfit only to find that it is being “reviewed” prior to posting and was subsequently never posted. I’m not the only person this has happened to. You only hear what you want to hear and post what benefits you. If you want comments, don’t censor them.
Please post a picture of you lifting an entire telephone pole.
When is this going to end all this mine is better than your is ridiculous. It seems you can’t do anything these days without someone saying it’s no good for you. I don’t like Cultfit either as it’s this type of training has been around for years and a good salesman (Glassman) has package it up and sold it to the MMA/ Navl seal wannabes but at least it’s getting them off there ass and doing something. It good to see people excited about fitness even if it is a clever marking ploy (wish I thought of it).