In Macssistance’s 2 years of existence, the most read and re-read article is by far my “5 Reasons CrossFit is Crap” post. In fact, 700 of you clicked this link its first day on the web. Most of you had nasty things to say. Some of you even had valid points, though most were simply outcries of anger from a sensitive cult that has taken a few too many sips of the CF kool-aid.
Now, before you get mad and start lambasting me with more ridiculous comments, allow me to revisit my post from more than a year ago with some great points I recently picked up from Chris Shugart of www.tmuscle.com. Shugart is a little nicer to CrossFit than I am (and honestly a little more tactful). With that being said, he brought out some quotes that I have not yet come across in my studies of CrossFit proponents and critics. These are 3 men I greatly respect, as does anyone who knows a lick about the strength and conditioning field. I have had the privilege of hearing two of them speak, and I hold very few in higher regards than Alwyn Cosgrove as I have mentioned in previous posts. With that being said, allow me to highlight what Cosgrove and others caution those who are considering subscribing to the CrossFit phenomenon.
Cosgrove: “A recent CrossFit workout was 30 reps of snatches with 135 pounds. A snatch is an explosive exercise designed to train power development. Thirty reps is endurance. You don’t use an explosive exercise to train endurance; there are more effective and safer choices. Another one was 30 muscle-ups. And if you can’t do muscle-ups, do 120 pull-ups and 120 dips. It’s just random; it makes no sense. Two days later the program was five sets of five in the push jerk with max loads. That’s not looking too healthy for the shoulder joint if you just did 120 dips 48 hours ago.”
Mike Boyle: “I think high-rep Olympic lifting is dangerous. Be careful with CrossFit.”
Charles Poliquin: “If you try to do everything in your workout, you get nothing. CrossFit is different, and maybe even fun for some people, but it’s not very effective. No athlete has ever gotten good training like that.”
In many of the responses garnered from my previous CrossFit critique, my CSCS credentials were questioned (feel free to contact the NSCA if you wish), as was my practical knowledge due to an online picture (I never claimed to be a body builder). Feel free to argue my knowledge - I’m well aware that I’m a virtual unknown in this field. But you can’t attach the same sentiment to the likes of Cosgrove, Boyle, or Poliquin. They are experts who’ve literally changed what we know about strength and conditioning - and yet, we have the same opinions of CrossFit.
So enjoy the WOD’s, CFitters. You will be in good shape, have good strength, endurance, blah, blah, blah. But that does not erase the fact that CrossFit has some very ineffective methods, as well as some dangerous approaches.
Published under: Endurance Training, Macssistance Updates, Physique Training, Sports TrainingTags: Alwyn Cosgrove • Charles Poliquin • crossfit • Crossfit is crap • Mike Boyle
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This post was written on the Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 11:50 am and categorized under Endurance Training, Macssistance Updates, Physique Training, Sports Training. You can follow the ongoing discussion by subscribing to the RSS 2.0. You can leave a reply, or Trackback.
My apologies, I do not wish to trample any further over your credentials, or the opinions of respected professionals in the field.
This being said, I do feel that your OPINION is somewhat dogmatic.
CF works for me, and many others I know. It is, in MY personal opinion, the healthiest and most effective fitness “regime” I have ever been a part of. Many of the better run gyms do actually follow a thought out program, and are not as random as it may appear from an outsiders perspective. As for trying “to do everything in your workout”, well, that is sort of a vague statement is it not? Does that refer to mixing strength with met-con, or…what? Where are the specifics?
I have NEVER been as athletically fit as I have been since I began my trek down the CF junkies path. I’m not saying I have the aptitude to go gold at the Olympics, but then, I never did. My training has concentrated on proper form and safe practices from the very beginning, and has continued to do so ever since.
I find it almost funny how hated CrossFit is amongst certain groups in the fitness community, especially given that some of them are the top heavy gorillas I see stomping from weight bench to weight bench at the local Oz Fitness who are causing themselves damage due to their own incorrect training methods.
I am not saying you are a member of the lower primate branch, but I can’t understand why there can’t be room enough in the world for you people to allow for us to be just as hardworking and dedicated.
I have my own physical and mental proof about the effectiveness of my training methods. I have yet to hear from you any conclusive scientific evidence to suggest to me that it is INeffective.
Without any probative information, your opinion does not hold a whole lot of solid meaning to people who have personally experienced the benefits and tracked their progression numerically.
At times, I think it bothers some other professionals that most of us CrossFitters push ourselves to be better for no other reason than we have the drive to. There is not track meet for me, there is no training season. I do it just for myself because I love it.
I respect that it doesn’t work for everyone…but to simply say it doesn’t work is, well, generalized tunnel vision.
Not to be cheesy, but hey, can’t we all just get along?
AJ - I never get offended by comments. One of the jobs of a writer is to bring out emotion, and one of the jobs of a blog is to share ideas. Whether people agree with me or not, this is happening at macssistance.com, so I’m happy
Thank you for taking part in the discussion. Since you asked, I’d like to give you some of the scientific evidence that is out there on some inefficiencies with Crossfit training. We’ll start with high-repetition Olympic lifting.
Olympic lifts are performed to train linear, explosive power. This means movements will be short, quick bursts, with the motor neurons firing at a higher-than-normal rate of speed. The body reacts to the onslaught of exercise by releasing phosphocreatine to engage ATP - which allows our muscles to powerfully contract. After about 7-10 seconds, the body temporarily depletes itself of releasable phosphocreatine. For this reason, experienced strength coaches who teach Olympic lifts usually have their athletes perform no more than 6 reps. If the purpose of Olympic style lifting is to train the body to move more powerfully (quicker, and with high force), then using weight light enough to move 10-25 times is obviously too light, and thus, the Olympic lift is used as a calorie burner rather than a builder of power.
Why is this bad? In a word: dangerous.
When the body fatigues, it produces at an inferior level to what it is truly capable of. Even with extended training, no one is able to sustain true explosive power over a long period of time. Olympic lifts such as the Clean and the Snatch are dangerous to the back, knees, and shoulders when performed past the phase of phosphocreatine release.
I hope this makes sense. However, sense you are obviously a fitness guru, I suggest you read Essentials of Strength and Conditioning Training. This will provide you with a good reference on the differing energy systems, the subsystems within the aerobic and anaerobic systems, and safe, effective ways to train in such a way.
As for the kipping pull-ups, I have no doubt you have gotten stronger at true pull-ups. In all likelihood, I was a little hard on the kip, as it does have its place. I would have no problem with it if performers were taught to let themselves down slowly. Perhaps your Crossfit instructor does teach you to do so. The videos I have seen on Crossfit’s website and on Youtube, however, have lifter’s in a virtual free fall. This is ineffective as it does not allow an eccentric contraction to take place. Eccentric contractions help reduce injuries by strengthening the stabilizing and antagonist muscles of any given movement.
I hope this explains how, from a research-based view, I have some problems with Crossfit. But let me say this: if it gets you in the gym and you enjoy it, keep doing it. But please, be careful, read credible research, such as that found in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research produced by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Sip the Kool-aid, don’t gulp it.
But sure, we can all get along
Thanks again A.J., for reading and commenting. Feel free to do so again.
What Crossfitters misunderstand is that no criticism is made of them doing either GPP, plyo, metcon, power or oly lifting. All of that was around before Glassman came along. As I see it, the criticism of Crossfit is that it pretends that it invented all that stuff.
Clearly, Crossfit is just a gimmick to get people training. More specifically, paying Glassman for a certificate. Good on him. Its the American way.
Unfortunately, the Crossfit WODs are not always that beneficial. The example of Olympic lifting for reps should set off alarm bells to serious trainers. The cookie cutter approach overall is another thing which puts the efficacy of Crossfit as a training system in doubt. How can a 38 year old house wife and an elite athlete perform the same workout and both get a benefit? Crossfit’s answer is “scalability”. But no real guidance is given as to how to “scale” a workout. If it is left up to the individual then they might as well come up with their own workout as well.
The pseudo-science of Crossfit is laughable and all part of the gimmick. I’m surprised Glassman does not come out wearing a white lab-coat carrying a clipboard. Doesn’t anyone wonder why he looks like such a wreck? Okay, I challenge him to any “modality” over any “time domain” to see if his system works. I won’t hold my breath waiting for the reply.
By all means, go ahead and do your Crossfit workouts, but don’t try to tell me that your workout is better than mine or that your workout is somehow “elite” or that you are an “athlete”. You’re just doing calisthenics with your shirt off.
Good point Aussie. I started following the crossfit WODS a few years ago, but I could never be sold completely on them mainly because the chief salesman, has a bit of a gut and a noticeable limp. I figured these workouts didn’t really work for him. Also, the folks that are shown doing the WODS on videos are all 20 somethings who are in pretty good shape already, and are coming from other athletic backgrounds. So, it’s hard to tell how much crossfit actually did for them.
I’m 46, unathletic (several years out of training) and overweight with a chronically dodgy knee and I started Crossfit two months ago.
In that time I’ve lost 14 lbs, toned up considerably and my knee has stopped hurting. I train at a Crossfit ‘box’ so my experience might not be reflective of someone trying to do this stuff on their own.
I think it would be difficult to learn to Clean and Jerk from the internet and I can see a potential for injury in anyone trying to do so.
I think some of your criticisms might be valid but these debates remind me of stuff from the martial arts community on who has the best punching technique or whatever. You can pick holes in absolutely anything if you try. The question is ‘does it work?’ and ‘does it suit you?’
Personally I find the intensity of the workouts much preferable to a conventional gym slog and I enjoy the relatively cheap personal training and social aspect of Crossfit. You talk to people at these classes, which I never did in 20 years of the gym.
This group mentality encourages me to stick with the programme.
Yes, there may be some questions over high rep Olympic lifting but I’m not aware of anyone at my Crossfit gym having suffered injuries. The reverse is true. Many people have found chronic problems getting better.
There’s also a lot of low rep Olympic lifting, which I’ve found very interesting and beneficial. You just won’t get taught that at an average gym.
That said, people will get injured doing Crossfit, as they get injured doing anything.
But how many people cripple themselves in normal gyms? At least Crossfit - if you attend a Crossfit gym - is intensively instructed. Go into LA Fitness, look around at people doing their flyes and curls and wince.
So Crossfit is at least an improvement on the standard model of chain gym - one induction lesson and off you go.
I agree there is pseudo science involved in Crossfit, though that doesn’t mean it has nothing of value to say. And the rest of the fitness industry is hardly a bulls$$t free zone. At least Crossfit is open to questioning its techniques. It is not a fixed system but a work in progress.
It’s also, and this is the key thing, a lot of fun. By changing the workouts all the time it keeps you mentally engaged.
It might not be the best all-round fitness programme I’ve done. I would say that was Judo. It is,however, a very good fitness programme and miles better than anything we have on offer in the UK at the moment.
Mark Barrowcliffe, from the sounds of it you would have benefitted from doing any workout at all. If you just jogged around the park for 40 minutes a day for two months and did push ups and sits ups when you got home, you’d be fitter than if you did nothing.
Crossfit is better than nothing - but that is not much of an achievement.
Crossfit is not worse than people crippling themselves in normal gyms - that’s not much of an achievement either.
Crossfit uses olympic and power lifts which are new to some people and fun. But olympic and power lifting were always there and Crossfit didn’t invent either. Look at the videos of the recent Crossfit Games and see how poorly those competitors perform snatches and presses. What’s the point???
Crossfit planning seems completely random. If it so good, when will we see a sport won by someone who trains completely in Crossfit? Answer: never.
I’ve been following the CrossFit phenomenon ever since a friend got into it a couple of years ago. While he has seen results, I can’t help but notice the drama surrounding workouts: the puking, the collapsing, the sort of reality-show swooning atmosphere, esp. at competitions. Here’s one thing I don’t understand, and it sent up an early red flag: why are the barbell plates more rubber than iron? At first glance, for instance, it might appear that a 135-lb. girl has just squat pressed her body weight 21 times - until she drops the bar and the plates halfway collapse. Is this because weight is thrown around so much, or perhaps they get a break on insurance (?) - or (what first occurred to me) is it a shrewd marketing strategy to show someone lifting what appears to be proportionally impossible amounts of weight?
Opinions?
As a footnote, I dropped by my friend’s CrossFit location a few months ago (briefly, to drop off some work-related stuff) and owner/trainer was late opening up because, according to one of patrons waiting out front, “she got caught up at the chiropractor’s” - and I thought to myself HA, you were right about this stuff being terrible for joints. For all we know, there may be a whole subset of people (CF population) in for a hell of a lot of arthritic problems in the near future…