MuscleDog.com - Connecting you to a better body!

If you’ve had a pulse within the last decade, chances are you’ve heard of CrossFit. Throw every trite label you want at it to try to marginalize it—wave, fad, trend, etc.—but CrossFit is not going away like its countless forgotten forbears have. Not only has CrossFit become a multi-million-dollar industry, it has become so firmly entrenched in our society that its very name has become a verb. So, do you CrossFit? If not, should you? Read on to find out whether CrossFit is right for you.

 

Forge Elite Fitness

 

Nowhere other than a CrossFit gym will you see a soccer mom sweating it out alongside a Navy Seal. In fact, relying on exercises and workout programs that can be modified to accommodate virtually every fitness level imaginable has become one of CrossFit’s most ringing endorsements.

 

Also, CrossFit’s unique cycling of specific WODs (Workouts of the Day), allow CrossFitters the opportunity to test and measure their progress over time. For example, one WOD, called “Grace,” has the athlete perform 30 clean and jerks with 135 pounds (95 pounds for women) as fast as possible. So, if you completed Grace in 6:32 in May and 5:21 in December, then you know you’ve made significant personal progress; regardless of whatever time the super-cut specimen of the human species next to you posts, you can be proud of yourself for having shaved more than two seconds off of every single clean and jerk.

 

My personal favorite thing about CrossFit is the high-energy camaraderie in the gym. I’ve been in several CrossFit gyms, from California to Ohio, and all of them—literally, every single one of them—was filled with people who truly wanted to see each other succeed. They were all incredibly supportive of each other and rooted each other on through grueling workouts. Everyone was just as excited about Ms. Soccer Mom’s completing Grace in 12 minutes as they were about Mr. Navy Seal’s completing the same workout in three minutes. I am thoroughly convinced that the CrossFit culture breeds such amazing sportsmanship.

 

Every Silver Lining Has Its Cloud

 

While CrossFit is great for its upbeat, whole-body, intense workouts and training environments, those dynamic, intense workouts might not be for everybody. My biggest concern is that performing any exercise as quickly as possible can lead to poor technique and subsequent injury. For example, for someone with great lifting technique, performing 30 clean and jerks against the clock can simultaneously give you the cardio workout of your life while working your glutes, arms, and core so hard you’ll consider installing a wheelchair ramp to your front door the next day. If, however, you don’t have the greatest technique, you’re just begging for a back or shoulder injury.

 

Further, if you have certain exercise goals in mind, CrossFit might not be for you. Because CrossFit focuses on building a well-rounded athlete, competitive weightlifters, powerlifters, bodybuilders, and the like tend to shy away from incorporating significant amounts of CrossFit material into their workouts. Endurance and aerobic conditioning are of very little use to us. On the opposite end of the spectrum, long-distance runners also utilize the CrossFit mentality sparingly, because squatting 300 pounds just doesn’t help cut down marathon times.

 

If you would like to consider trying your hand at CrossFit, I suggest you go for it. The worst that can happen is you try it out for a few weeks and realize your old workout routines work better for you. But, approach this fitness system just as you would any other exercise program: maintain proper technique at all times, listen to your body’s signals of “bad pain” (injuries) vs. “good pain” (muscle soreness), and continually monitor your progress to see whether you’re getting the results you want.

 

Rachel Crass – Born into a weightlifting family, Rachel learned the value of fitness and nutrition early on. She has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Colorado and is a 4-time member of USA’s Jr. World Weightlifting Team. She continues to balance motherhood, work and weightlifting in her drive to make the 2012 US Olympic Weightlifting Team. Rachel can be reached at r_crass@yahoo.com.