I DO NOT Hate CrossFit.

I just hate ON CrossFit, cause it’s just too easy…

Before the handstand pushup/ double unders/ kipping pullup/ wall ball, nut huggers set out to crucify me let me heap some praise.

There are In fact there some things that ANY ONE who is in this business should thank CrossFit for.

#1. More People are Doing Worthwhile Things in the Gym

A lot of people have gotten away from the old back and bi’s, chest and tri’s body-builder workouts and machine circuits.

That’s something strength and conditioning luminaries like Mark Rippetoe, Louie Simmons, Mike Boyle and Charlie Francis were not able to do.

CrossFit made Squats, Deadlifts, Pullups and Cleans cool again…

As much as it pains me deep down in my soul Greg Glassman accomplished this and should be congratulated and thanked for it.

#2. Camaraderie…..

The only people who have had anything on the camaraderie you find in just about any CrossFit box are on a short list:

A. Used to reside in Jonestown

B. Waiting for Comet HaleBop….

CrossFitters buy in and go balls out then post incessantly about it on Facebook…..even if it is a really sh@tty squat that they think is good cause the strongest guy at their box, and who calls their gym a box? I mean seriously a box?…squats 405 and they think that’s really incredibly strong but in reality it’s only strong guy at regular gym strong and not strong gym STRONG.

Just saying…..they drink the Kool-Aid.

All 800 flavors….

#3. CrossFit has a Focus on Real Hard Work…

These guys and gals put in serious work.

Hell, half the time they make every conceivable attempt to kill themselves.

Creds: trainatedge.com

Who in their right mind would do Fran?

That sh@t is fudged up crazy.

But these folks do, willingly, and that says something.

When it comes down to it, regardless of what anyone says, CrossFit has brought serious/ hard training to the masses and is probably the best things that has happened to physical culture in the United States in the last 100 years.

It deserves to be praised for this.

But…..but……but….

Being the best of the worst isn’t saying much…

Truth: CrossFit (as a training methodology) SUCKS……

 It’s an Illogical, Scientifically Inefficient/ Haphazard/ Limiting Approach..

Point #1: Different people have different Physiological Profiles:

The Athlete, by Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein. 

How could the same program create the same outcomes with such varied people?

CrossFit claims it “creates” generalists…..

“We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.”-What is CrossFit

How can everyone become a “generalist” when given the same program?

How does the same program address the needs/ strengths and weaknesses of ALL it’s athletes?

Some people are “anaerobic” athletes and burn hot and fast while others are “aerobic” athletes and burn low and long.

The predominant energy system used during an activity is dependent on the intensity and duration of the exercise and….. the part that everyone forgets about……..

THE PERSON PERFORMING THE EXERCISE!

If you’re goal is to make everyone a generalist you better understand individual physiological profiles and create CUSTOM/ INDIVIDUALIZED programs based on the strengths/ weaknesses and needs of that PERSON.

Only after you account for the individual differences can you actually (honestly) develop someones weaknesses and make them a generalist or a specialist or anything for that matter.

CrossFit HQ admits, CrossFit doesn’t do this. Everyone does the same, “scaled” for their ability, workout.

Simply throwing a bunch of random exercises in a random order on a whiteboard and having everyone doing exactly the same thing won’t accomplish this task.

Fact is, you don’t know what the hell you’re going to get as an outcome….except tired.

“Random Training Leads to Random Results”- Joel Jameison

Point #2: The Interference Effect

Concurrent Parallel Training: That’s the “science y” name that describes the type of training CrossFit employs.

Essentially it means we’re training multiple physiological qualities at once (within the same training session or day).

This isn’t anything new…….

In fact it’s been tried before and it was thrown onto the dustbin of history.

Why?

The really short version:

It works at first, with beginners and those with low athletic qualifications.

Then progress stops and further training (in this style) will eventually lead to regression.

The body has a limited amount of adaptive resources and concurrent parallel training stresses both Strength/ Power/ Hypertrophy adaptations and Endurance adaptations leaving both to compete for scarce adaptive resources which allows neither to adapt fully (optimally) to the stress placed upon them.

The Nerd Speak is found here: The Molecular Bases of Training Adaptation- Coffey and Hawley

 

Basically, you put in a lot of hard work and get on a fraction of the possible benefit.

“The conundrum of variable results arising from concurrent training research is not surprising, given the complexity of gene expression and signalling that accompanies endurance and resistance training. Indeed it is reasonable to suggest that the specific adaptations to the divergent exercise modes appear to be incompatible, at least at the cellular molecular level.”

Obviously, when training for performance, this will lead to poor outcomes and this has been known for a loooong time:

Slides are from a Vladimir Issurin lecture you can get by clicking on the slide.

So if we know that “simultaneous development of many abilities decreases effectiveness of training” why the hell are we doing it, then claiming it’s the best “most efficient” way to train?

CrossFit is A Sport

Instead of using bats, sticks, pucks and balls as modalities CrossFit uses barbells, kettlebells and sandbags.

And like all other sports it’s clear that if you want to excel at CrossFit you need a sound training program that is customized to take advantage of YOU as and individual, capitalize on your strengths and build your weaknesses.

Simply finding random ways to drive yourself into the ground day after day isn’t a program.

It’s akin to a football team scrimmaging everyday leading up to gameday.

It doesn’t build the team, fix their weaknesses and improve the overall product.

At best you’ll just be left with more of the same.

So how’d we get here?

Marketing

If there is one thing CrossFit is great at its Marketing.

Simply put, you were sold a feeling…..

You got off the treadmill and stepped away from the Smith Machine and actually felt like a viable athletic person again or for the first time in your life…and there were other people there to share in this transformation and cheer you on and you had a common bond with them…..

Basically, you found a TEAM you could belong to…an actual team, not like the “team” at work, which is really just the people the boss happened to hire and stick together.

And that’s Fu@king awesome.

If something is soooo awesome and I feel so good about it, it can’t be bad…. right?

Instead of thinking about, asking questions about and researching what you were doing you probably just went along with what the “coach” said.

They’re the expert right?

They said CrossFit is a form of “Conjugate Periodization” and it’s based in sound science….except CrossFit and what’s been termed “Conjugate Periodization” don’t look anything like each other.

And that’s the major problem.

The “Coach” Himself/ Herself Didn’t Actually Know any Better.

This industry is RAMPANT with B.S. artists and No -Nothings.

Just a fact…

This has as much to do with CrossFit as it does with ALL areas of the industry.

And taking a weekend certification probably isn’t going to change this..

Whatever becomes hot at the moment is accepted in mass, no questions asked, no critical thought applied.

CrossFit Was/ Is That Thing.

Hell yeah, being able to deadlift is better way more awesome and usable than a seated biceps curl for 99% of the population.

But that doesn’t mean we should do a random weight for a random number of sets after or before other random exercises, or even a deadlift for that matter….

Hell, can you even teach said deadlift?

Yes, I know bad technique is everywhere. But here’s the difference:

Bad technique on the machine circuit or doing tricpes kickbacks = sore elbow

Bad deadlift technique performed rapidly or with near max loads to failure or under fatigue = trip to the E.R.

The reality is the level of knowledge, as with the vast majority of “fitness professionals”, in general, just wasn’t/ isn’t up to par with what’s needed when you’re using many of the popular CrossFit modalities.

Context Matters

Box Jumps?

How about 50 box jumps after a half mile run and 20 Kettlebell swings?

That should make you puke…..or tear your Achilles.

Exercises have a purpose.

How you load them matters, why you do something matters.

Things like high rep Olympic lifts and Jumps are perfect examples of using the exercises incorrectly.

Sure you might build some “work capacity” and endurance from doing these for reps but you could also do a million other exercises and get the same physiological response with a fraction of the potential and actual cost to the body.

When CrossFitters do things like this and then go with the line, “It’s about building efficiency”, it’s logically inconsistent.

Using exercises in the least efficient context possible can’t be about anything other than being inefficient.

Exercises, the intensity performed at, the volume applied and the subsequent and preceding workloads MATTER…

The first question(s) when creating any program should be:

“What does this person need?” and “How do I expect these modalities to affect the individual?”

And the last when it’s created is:

“What can I cut out?”

The goal of EVERY program written should be:

“The purpose of athletic training is to achieve the highest possible sports result (for a given individual). Training is efficient if this result is achieved with a minimal expenditure of time and energy.” Thomas Kurz

Random exercises on a whiteboard can’t answer these questions and achieve this outcome.

The Common Defense

There is one defense that is used most often, and in and of itself, cannot be refuted.

“CrossFit got me in the best shape of my life”

For the average person, this is irrefutable evidence that CrossFit holds the keys to immortality fitness achievement.

But the question asked shouldn’t be;

“What got you in the best shape you’ve ever been in?”

Because this question is simply a measure of what you’ve achieved, not of your potential for achievement.

Here’s the ugly truth you may not want to accept:

Maybe you were never in all that good of shape before?

Maybe you were weak?

Maybe you were slow?

Fat?

Ugly?

Smelly?

Had nail fungus?

CrossFit may have improved some of these but the real question is:

How Much was Left on the Table?

Many people think just because they “worked hard” or “have never work harder” they’re results are the highest they could have possibly achieved.

This just isn’t the case.

The guy who digs a ditch with a shovel and the guy who digs the same size ditch with a Backhoe both had the same results but one worked MUCH harder.

Remember:

“The purpose of athletic training is to achieve the highest possible sports result (for a given individual). Training is efficient if this result is achieved with a minimal expenditure of time and energy.” Thomas Kurz

So the real judge of a program should be nothing less than:

“Did my program deliver optimal results?”

The Winds of Change

Thankfully, a few people who got into CrossFit were either open minded enough to start questioning things or started competing in non CrossFit sports that CrossFit borrows from like Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting.

Once they started looking beyond CrossFit HQ and the CrossFit Journal (which isn’t really a Journal, those have a peer review process and publish original research) for they’re information.

Maybe they looked and saw:

• The best athletes in the world don’t do random workouts.
• They got a lot better at first and then hit a massive plateu.
• While stronger than the “average” guy or girl they were not that strong in the scheme of things.
• The best athletes at the CrossFit games were not doing CrossFit workouts to prepare.
• Not everyone should be doing the same workout regardless of physical limits and goals.
• Planning, managing the stress on the body, is the key to long-term sustained progress.

Whatever it is things are starting to change.

The Slippery Slope of Novelty WOD’s in CrossFit– Patrick McCarty

“We, as a collective, knew little about long-term advanced planning or periodization. We believed that constantly varied meant, “make it up as you go along.” And make it up we did. The programming process started to look like a case of “how much can you pulverize your clients.”

The CrossFit L1 Cert Doesn’t Make You A Coach– McCarty

“You watch a student failing a clean repeatedly, but you’re just not sure how to help them fix it because you can’t spot what they are doing wrong. The bottom line is that you are no more qualified to coach on the Monday after your cert than you were going in.”

A Different Version of CrossFit: How I Made My Training Sustainable and Injury Free– Andy Petranek

“one little nagging issue at a time, scattered all over my body, each seemingly unrelated to the other, for a couple years. Until I started to actually look at things. Maybe a different version of the CrossFit Kool-Aid was something to consider? A version that allowed me to enjoy a body and a life free of injury for many, many years to come. Maybe slamming myself against the wall as hard as I could day in and day out, putting in a maximal effort in every workout, while “fun” (in a CrossFit sort of way), wasn’t something that was sustainable for my body in the long run.”

Why I Quit CrossFit– Jason Kessler

“My second year in CrossFit was my first as an injured CrossFitter. It was something I had seen a lot in the gym, injury; I’d never really acknowledged just how often it was happening. When I say that everyone gets hurt doing CrossFit, I mean it. Not everyone gets injured to the point where he has to get knee surgery, but I did.”

Where CrossFit Fails: Training Vs. Testing- Tom Seryak

“This is CrossFit. This is overdosing on the drug of exercise intensity and with it comes significantly elevated risk of injury and inevitable adverse health effects. It may not happen overnight, but chasing increased work capacity through max intensity exercise leads to only one place. It’s possible to maximize health and performance benefits, while assuming minimal risk of injury, but not when exercise is turned into a competition. One cannot argue the stress response curve.

If CrossFit wants to gain the respect of the rest of the fitness industry, or more importantly, keep its adherents safe and healthy, it is going to have to make a distinction between CrossFit the sport and CrossFit the training program. As long as CrossFit workouts are being performed as competitive, scored events in training, the risk of injury and eventual health decline will remain imminent. Changing the CrossFit prescription to make it safer, healthier, and more effective in the long-term is simple, but it’s not easy. The first step is realizing that more isn’t better; better is better. Too much of a good thing, is not a good thing.”

The Map of Athletic Performance– Rob Miller

“Eight years ago I was introduced to CrossFit and fell under the illusion that I had found a magic bullet for my training. I was wrong. Throughout my career as a climber, I had experienced some noticeable results from running, and even surfing, but like I said earlier, those results were not repeatable and would eventually begin to take away from my climbing. Entering into a gym environment was an entirely new thing for me; working in a generalized training program such as CrossFit was even more unusual. The initial gains I achieved were exciting, but that improvement only lasted a few months.I spent the next few years both chasing and defending the idea that CrossFit was an effective program for anyone, elite athlete or housewife, even though the same thing I had experienced with previous training methods was happening again. This ultimately became a conflict of interest while being paid to travel the country teaching CrossFit Certifications and owning an affiliate gym. In retrospect, the value of my association with CrossFit derives primarily from my introduction to multi-joint barbell movements and the experts I met that taught them. The full potential of the barbell, however, wasn’t realized until these recent post-CrossFit years.

Results are miraculously explained in CrossFit with the “black box theory.” No one knows why (the Box, after all, is Black), but their deadlifts keep going up. No one knows why but their “Fran” times keep going down. Even accomplished athletes such as myself (and there will be others) have extolled the virtues of CrossFit while never really understanding what about CrossFit was responsible for those changes. After many hours in the gym and after many certifications, both as participant and paid instructor, it was only after walking away that I really understood some essential elements of training that had been lost on me because of all the hype.”

Why I Resigned my Affiliation With CrossFit– John Sheaffer

“Their people make progress as any human will when taken out of their normal habitat for a while. The fat people lose a few pounds and inches, the weak males that can’t press 75lb become weak males that can’t press 100lb. The women lose their dreaded tits and asses that they all despise. They get “progress” out of these individuals on a short term basis not because of their phenomenal coaching prowess, but because a chimpanzee could elicit positive adaptation out of an untrained couch potato for a few weeks (and would undoubtedly be stronger).”

There is no doubt that this is a HUGE step in the right direction.

But if you notice there is a common theme here and it goes something like this:

Experience + Education = Moving away from CrossFit as a methodology.

Which leads me to:

Shameless Hypocrisy

“At my CrossFit box and we don’t have everyone do the same workout, and we do assessments and we don’t do high rep Olympic lifts and we plan and periodize workouts etc. etc. etc.”

And that’s great, and if that’s the way it goes at your gym, you have good coaches and a good program you should be pysched….

But it’s NOT CROSSFIT…….by definition, as provided by CrossFit…

“We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs.” –What is CrossFit

and if that’s the case your coaches should have the integrity to take the CrossFit sign down and re-brand the place.

There are lots of good places out there hanging CrossFit signs out to draw people in and make a buck off the CrossFit name.

As a proud capitalist, I like making money and don’t begrudge people who do. In fact I say, good for them, I hope I’m that successful some day.

But when good “coaches” hang the CrossFit banner out and don’t use the CrossFit methods (as if there is a method to the madness) it’s BS and you’re no less the Charlatan than the guy who tells everyone CrossFit is the best program for anyone….

At least he’s willfully ignorant, your just a blatant liar and more so, you’re holding the industry back.

We need good places with good coaches providing people with a place to train and improve and remain injury free in the process.

We need the general public to understand that training is a process and programming based off of scientific principles is the foundation to the process ….

We need people to realize you don’t have to be beaten to a pulp and injured to achieve your goals.

If those of us who know better continue to promote CrossFit as a training program even when we know it’s limitations and we don’t use the methods we’re doing nothing more than harming the industry we work in.