A few weeks ago, in THIS Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday post, I linked to a random CrossFit video that was sent my way from another reader. I thought it was funny. I posted it. I moved on with my life.
Maybe a day or two later, someone by the name of Pete made the following comment – apparently he wasn’t too happy with my facetiousness:
“Tony Gentilcore on the crossfit slating bandwagon! You do realise that a lot of your websites traffic comes from people who got into the big lifts after being introduced to Crossfit? I am one of many who did Crossfit, fell in love with the big lifts and moved on. Training large multi-joint movements is hugely popular now, thanks to them. Like I said, I don’t do it, but laugh when I hear it mocked because nobody can ever give a genuine reason as to why it’s shit, and usually collapse on their ass if they try it.”
My response (with Rocky music playing in the background):
For the record, Pete, I’ve also put videos on this site that have shown powerlifters spliting their pants during a meet, guys passing out while deadlifting, and people failing on bench press attempts, etc……so I don’t really feel posting a (funny to me) video on Crossfit is anything to get all huffy about. Funny is funny. Period.
Are there things about CrossFit I disagree with? Absolutely! I’ve personally trained people who were seriously injured following a WOD – in one instance a female client was hospitalized with Rhabdomyolysis for a week – and subsequently started training at my facility instead.
There’s this weird thing called coaching, and we pride ourselves on the fact that we actually teach our clients how to perform movements correctly and not to kill themselves. More to the point, there’s some semblance of individualization with their programming.
For the most part – and there ARE exceptions – CrossFit’s programming is a joke. There’s no rhyme or reason to what they do.
They have awesome attire, though
Do they make people work hard? Yep. But priding yourself on your ability to make people shit their kidneys doesn’t really impress me.
But, that isn’t to say that there aren’t affiliates who do it right. My friend, Jen Sinkler, has written several times on how her affiliate has more of a strength focus, and actually coaches their clients on how to lift properly. Great!
That’s an exception rather than a rule, though. It’s unfortunate, but sadly the truth.
In the end, I’m sorry if you took offense to the video. Get over it.
To his credit, Pete did respond back with: A rational and comprehensive reason as to why Crossfit is no good.
I thought so, too. But lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater here. While there certainly are a host of things about CrossFit that I don’t agree with, to say that it’s entirely “no good” is a bit harsh. They make people work hard, they place an emphasis on compound movements, and you certainly would be hard pressed to find a better environment of teamwork and camaraderie
For a better perspective, though, check out this article.
Inside the Cult of CrossFit – Grant Stoddard
I thought this was an excellent piece of writing that gave some semblance of equal weight to both sides of the coin – although, to be fair, it has a bit more of an anti-CrossFit flavor to it. Read it, and you can decide for yourself.
How to Improve Your Chin-Ups – Charles Poliquin
While I don’t necessarily agree with Coach’s assertion that any trainer who can’t get his female client to perform twelve unassisted chin-ups doesn’t know training, and is therefore a bad trainer – I can’t say that I disagree with the rest of the article. Excellent advice!
Muscle Imbalances Revealed – Upper Body RE-LOADED – Myself, Rick Kaselj, Dean Somerset, and Dr. Jeff Cubos
Unlike The Matrix Re-Loaded, this sequel doesn’t suck. In the few months since we originally released MIRU, we’ve received a ton of positive feedback and we’ve gone a head and added some extra material into the mix.
The coolest addition, though, at least in my eyes, is the fact that MIRU 2.0 is now available in DVD format! What’s more, it’s on sale for the rest of the week at $70 dollars off the original price. No diggidy, no doubt!
Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity, and keep your eyes peeled for an announcement of a possible live event that’s in the works for sometime next summer. OMGOMGOMG!! I peed myself a little, I’m so excited.
And finally, I stole this video from the Weighty Matters blog, and thought I’d share it with the rest of you because I thought it was awesome.
If that doesn’t make you appreciate the smaller things in life, I don’t know what will.
