Joined Crossfit recently - basically to join with a friend who wanted -
a) to look like the guys in the ESPN Xfit games
b) thought it would force him into working out regularly
c) wanted to snap out of a sedentary rut

But we'll be leaving after our obligatory contract period expires, because :
1) Excessive $$ for limited number of available - and crowded - classes.
2) Weird programming: high rep overhead squats on Mon followed by high rep Front Squat & Push Press on Wed.
3) Endless 'events' and 'challenges' that always require more $$ and t-shirt sales. ($120 a month, but a yoga class is $10 more)
4) Crazy-eyed desk jockeys (myself included) all amped up to finish workout before the new, chubby recruits (myself included).
5) 'Coaches' interrupt your 'WOD' to give pointers, but then want you to yell out your time afterwards. WtF?
6) My friend will probably be injured by then - he can't resist trying to get 'respectable' scores - even tho he's new.

It's gym class for adults, with the 'in' crowd clique, who are BFF's with 'coach' , and the wannabe's - who haven't earned their stripes yet and ask 'dumb' questions like "should I be trying to do 100 pull-ups today, when I couldn't do 21-15-9 sets of pull-up two days ago, and I can't actually do 10 consecutive pull-ups to begin with?" and "In what way am I learning to do 100 pull-ups?"

I believe the real appeal is social -- for the singles that want to mingle, it allows you to strut your stuff and leave your name and high score on the whiteboard
- and stripping off your sweaty shirt and throwing down your weights is encouraged.

Regular gyms and personal trainers missed the boat on this craze. It could easily be a specialized gym class with sensible programming.
Who knew there were so many people willing to pay big bucks to work out in run down buildings with only one shower, chipping paint and barely any HVAC, just to feel like elite bad-asses?

I've been a fitness guy for a while now. I'm not the best, but I'm not the worst. I've stood on a few podiums in some regional level comps in a few different fitness domains.

I agree completely that CF can be a bad type of training, depending on the competency of both the client, and the coach. I've been to bad gyms of all types, PL, Oly, CF, endurance, BJJ, MMA, etc. I try it all. I'm not trying to be the best at one type of working out. I'm trying to be as fit as possible. I want to run faster, jump higher, and lift more, and be able to do so for longer than my potential enemy (I'm Army (USASOC/SOCOM). CF done with care, and intelligence can be very, very effective at this. It's not the end all be all of fitness (just like nothing else out there is by itself), but it's pretty good for the beginner, intermediate, and in not too few cases, very high level athletes. There is no yellow brick road to pinnacle fitness, it takes all kinds; and everyone is different.

Please don't look at the crazies in any fitness domain, and think that makes the idea itself crazy. There are flaws, and shortcomings in any single domain if the end goal is what is "perfect" for the proverbial "you." Your training system is not perfect for me, and my training system is not perfect for you. Take the good aspects of all things, and leave the bad by the wayside. Run, swim, lift, do gymnastics; short distances, long distances; work hard some days, easier others; pull, push, jump; work mind, work body; proper work, proper fuel, proper rest.

Just stating a few facts:

1. Crossfit is the lead cause of emergency room visits between 6-9pm everyday across the USA.

2. The average crossfitter lasts 2 years prior to their first surgery.

3. There were 250 Achilles tendon ruptures during the 2011 regionals.

4. Any power exercise done under 90% of your best effort does not elicit improvement in said exercise. SO, reps over 3-5 on Olympic movements is dangerous and lacks attention to details.

5. Hybrid metabolic crosstraining existed before crossfit and has been around since the dawn of man.

and there you have it ladies and worms...TRUTH! Thanks Matt

Don't worry, rockclimberscott is a self confessed Douche so we don't have to pay any attention to what he says!

Hey I have a stalker! Cool! What's a matter CrossDresser...sorry, Crossfitter, did you miss your dose of rhoids and prozac? You sure add a lot of intelligent responses ya douchey douche bag. LMAO

Super intelligent response yourself there scotty. Seems your true personality is finally showing itself. Clearly you are limited to one-liners or insults, I haven't read much of anything else from you so far. Seriously though you do however seem to have an irrational amount of anger towards Crossfit. I cannot imagine what it is and I am sure it is probably too petty or embarrassing for you to publish here. I wonder if you would be so abusive or angry if we were face to face in a Crossfit gym. BTW you posted that you older guys, (incl yourself in that category) are all Douche Bags, so I was only repeating what you said (obviously in an inflammatory way as this is a web comment thread). Way to go rising to the trolls though. ;-)

Just do a search of crossfit and achilles tendon injuries alone and you will be surprised.

Any sport that involves explosive movement, pushing off or jumping is at risk of tendon ruptures... so what olympic sprinting, running, jumping etc is all bad too just because they are at greater risk of tendon problems...it's not just CF

Dude it's herd. Sheep herd.

CrossFit forges elite failure huh? Well I'm going to have to disagree with ya Jerk. I am 31 years old and have been doing CrossFit for 3 years (that's over 6 months byt the way). I am more flexible and stronger than I was when I was 21 and I have been active in sports and excercise since I was little. I am 69 inches tall, 170lbs, Deadlift 510lbs., Back Squat 430lbs., Front Squat 360lbs., Power Clean 275lbs, Snatch 225lbs, 1 mile run 5:37, 400 meter run 56 seconds....I'm not trying to brag or say I am the best b/c I'm not by any means. I'd put a CrossFitter up against any of your so called athletes any day....they will fare poorly against the hopper model.

Alright, first of all I call bullshit on your numbers. Anyone that has a 3x BW deadlift, better have it on video and post a link. So until you do, it just seems like you pulled that digit out of your ass.

Second, if you're boasting about numbers that high, you are not doing CrossFit. You are in the realm of Power/Olympic lifting. So you might as well legitimately join one of those sports and stop giving credit to the dumbshit trend that is CF.
And I can pretty much guarantee most of your workouts are borrowed versions of effective powerlifting programs anyway.

Either way you slice it, it's not CF that made you elite... if you are even "elite" in the first place.

Crossfit is just another fad workout that will one day go away. I'm generally not impressed with the training or the competition as this type of training has and will continue to lead to injuries. The younger people will bitch the most because their egos are not in check and they lack the wisdom and intelligence to understand that this type of unorthodox and often ridiculous order of training is going to jeopardize their future workouts. It's only when these tards are sitting in a hospital bed with a blown knee, back or whatever will they see the error of their ways. Kyle's numbers might be impressive for a time but he will not be able to keep this pace up for very long especially as approaches his prime. But hey, live an learn egomaniac, don't say I didn't tell you so...

CF has been around for 13 years, there are hundreds of boxes opening worldwide each year as well as the affilate competitions and CF games, pretty sure that doesn't constitute as "just a fad". Yes people get injuries, it's a high intensity sport, you don't go to the box to take a leisurely walk, give me one example of a sport that is practiced at the intensity that doesn't have injuries attached to it? For the most part it's just like anything else, it's only as good as the coaches that teach it and the athletes that are learning it. It's like you rockclimberscott, it you don't learn how to rock climb properly, you fall off you die..so I'm failing to see the point you are trying to make here?? have you even tried CF?? I would never pass judgement on something I hadn't even tried..

When I was in high school in the early 90's, I took classes in a martial art run by a man who wanted to make Tae Kwon Do but with more circles, spurred on by his chiropractor. Most of the techniques are ineffective, back injuries were common, and it had a reputation as a black belt mill by the time I quit. They're still going, and there are still schools worldwide.

One of their prime competitors in the area was an American Karate school that taught form over function, including weapons drills that were primarily flashy crap that Wuxia film producers would dismiss as unbelievable in combat. They still exist, are doing booming business, and run a semi-major tournament (where their students win, of course).

Similarly, another art started spreading that's built almost entirely on the founder's lies about Triad involvement, incorporates techniques from multiple branches of Kung Fu and related disciplines, but often in poor reproductions, and readily hands out assistant instructor positions to teenagers who think that the proper way to discipline a ten-year-old who won't work on their punching drill is to sweep them and put a foot on the child's neck. Again, going strong, still spreading.

Moral of the story: Business success does not equal effectiveness or safety, and you don't have to eat the dog-turd cake to know that the person who made it is not a master chef.

Just because you see gains doesn't mean that you're doing the work in the safest, most effective way. That's incredibly faulty reasoning. Certain elements of CrossFit directly contradict the science of exercise backed by mountains of evidence.

HAHAHA MY ASS. All of your numbers are complete bullshit. There is ZERO chance someone 170 could snatch 225, and 1mile 5:30? Dude you have the IQ of a cabbage.

False. a 77kilo (170) man snatching ~102kilos (~225) would be around the same level of the bottom three finishers in the USAW American Open (i.e. lower end of national caliber). There are a number of Cf athletes who are national caliber olympic weightlifters.

Check Catalyst Athletics Weightlifting Levels:
http://www.catalystathletic...

and the 2014 USAW National Totals: https://pdf.yt/d/Ob5VWqk8yl...

Damn did you watch the US Open a couple weeks ago? CrossFitters took home 15 medals. Guess you weren't right bout that one lol.

It was the American Open but I figured since you're so smart you could figure it out. So all US lifters suck now huh? I guess if only everyone could be as good as you. At least I hope no one is as angry as you LOL. You need to get laid man LOL

I love how angry you are on the internet lol. Man that's a lot of time to spend on something and still be irrevalant. You must really suck at it. Maybe you should join a CrossFit box and they can teach you a few things. And I wear that Wap label proud LOL. At least I'm not the guy hiding on the internet calling people names. Actually no one would miss you.

LMAO!!! You must be pleasant to hang out with lol. Actually, I'm Sicilian and that's a myth with no merit...but I wouldn't have a problem with it if it was true. What should we be more like you?!?!? Hey but we would win a keyboard war if we were like you. The 50 something, anonymous weightlifter with no friends LOL. I wish I could say I feel sorry for you...but I don't. Probably beat up as a kid...LOL

Man if didn't read it myself, no one would believe people like you exist. Can't imagine what in life has made you this angry. Regardless of what you think, I'm educated and just as cultured as you are. I lived in Asia and Europe for the past 25 years...including Iceland in the early 90s. And my guess is you aren't Icelandic, because they were some of the best people I ever met. Far from the racist, homophobe you are. My guess would be you're the type that would never say these things to someone's face which makes you less than a man. So hide out in Iceland and talk tuff on the internet. No one is scared of you or jealous of the life you live. You'll die a lonely and angry man even if you think you have friends. Cause while you may be unique in your town, they have no idea who you are or what your about. That's why you hide behind a faceless profile that probably isn't even your real name. Just a waste of life wishing things could have been different.

Okay you knowing Annie and her saying CrossFit isn't much is the most laughable thing you've said so far and that's a feat!!! I did live in Iceland at Keflavik AB with my black wife, and it was one of my best assignments. Thankfully everyone there isn't as racist as you and they had no problem communicating with us on or off base. And yes when I personally talked to the Icelandic contingent at the games this year, they were the exact opposite of you, thank goodness. And I know you're a fraud, because if you weren't you wouldn't be hiding on the internet talking shit. And you called me ignorant for mixing up US and American but you spew lines and lines of hate against everyone and anyone about something you supposedly don't like. Obviously CrossFit makes you feel inferior or you wouldn't spend so much time worrying about it. But just like the rest of the people you hate in the world, we aren't going anywhere. So sit back and get used to it. The rest of your pathetic life will be full of us getting fit and having fun while you sit at home and jerk off at your computer

Wait but you already said I have "nigger" blood in me!!! So how am I not with my people!!! LOL...I don't give a shit you're funny so damn right I'm going to LOL. You're the only thing inferior in this world!!! But if I would have known that's all I needed to get rid of you I would have said that a long time ago!!!

idiot

crossfit is for people that doesn't know how to work out by themselves. If you want to have messed up joints when you get old then by all means continue doing what you do

@Nick "Crossfit is an outstanding fitness philosophy and approach which is significantly more effective than almost any other fitness methodology" - That's the dumbest fucking statement I've ever read, and it instantly nullifies any point you were trying to make or will ever make.

More effective than Oly training methods from Russia and Bulgaria that produce gold medallists?
More effective than linear, progressive overload which helped Ed Coan deadlift a weight that has stood as a record since the late 1980's?
More effective than the high volume training Bob Peoples used to deadlift over 725lbs at 181 in 1949?
More effective than the high volume gymnastics training which has helped China dominate the sport for like, ever?

Right. Take Greg Glassman's cock, and insert it directly up your ass... it seems you've been sucking on it for long enough, so might as well take the next step. It'll be, "more effective".

dear fit jerk (well named apparently)

you've clearly taken too many steroids or you just have small man's little c*ck syndrome. I have politely and constructively disagreed with you using personal experience and reason and you have
a) completely missed the point
b) started swearing
c) loaded up on personal insults and sexual innuendo.

are you 12 years old? why do you feel the need to bring sodomy and oral sex into an argument about a fitness philosophy? You say that I can't be taken seriously because I make a legitimate point but then expect yourself to be taken seriously despite doing nothing but making disgusting comments.

you've humiliated yourself on a public forum, but unfortunately, I think you're too thick and myopic to realise it.

Why isn't it possible for this to be another iteration of the evolution of fitness that started out with a lot of assholes doing shit poorly and has moved into what is now becoming prevalent which is a smarter approach that takes aspects from crossfit and those you mentioned above and melds them much like Rich Froning does. No it isn't for everyone but for those of us that it is for it is possible that it is evolving. Before you blast me step back retort with a half ass logical rebuttal before you start screaming and sound all butthurt again.

You must have Attention Deficit, or something, since you haven't understand what CF's ideas are..

all the examples you gave are for specialized athletes...

No CF coach has ever said that will turn normal people to pro Olylifters, or record holder Deadlifter... nor a Gymnist competitor.... everything is taught to its basics... no be a FITNESS PROGRAM... not a Pro athletes converter...

Cross fit sucks a hairy

Reading the comments here reveals that Crossfit has become a cult of sorts.

A Crossfitter has insane maxes, no doubt. The writer isn't denying this. The fact of the matter is that it is insanely dangerous "training method" with little rhyme or reason. It will destroy the ligaments and joints in your body over the course of time and all that fake spasming on pull-up bars won't really help alleviate it.

The excuse of it "being a sport" is pretty tired because the last time I checked we are calling making left turns for a few hours and playing ping pong a sport as well nowadays. You can get insane maxes by cross training without the idiotic mantras of CF and overpriced T-shirts. You can also get the same results by spending about 5% of the money. The choice is yours. Personally I try to avoid the Kool-aid drinking crowd.

I run a CF gym that you'd probably like, for a few years now, and you'd probably tell me to ditch the CF brand. I'd disagree with that, and I'll say why in a sec.
You make good points. Not everyone needs to snatch (I only teach those willing and able to learn). Haphazard programming with crappy technique is a great way to get seriously hurt, but that is not the essence of CrossFit--it's just "constantly varied functional movement at high intensity." It's strength and conditioning, man--nothing more. Just because there's some silly crap coming down from the top (back flips for time = facepalm) doesn't mean that's what's happening in every or even in most boxes.
High-rep Oly lifts are very easy to screw up, this is true, but so are low-rep Oly lifts. Done right and coached carefully (and at the right loads) it can help technique. But yes, that is easy to do wrong. I never claim that we are "doing gymnastics," but we are doing basic movements from that discipline and (hopefully) using the same technique.
The overall quality of CrossFit coaching is improving--gyms with good coaches/programming are gradually becoming more prevalent, at least in my area. I have faith that eventually the crappy boxes will fail and the good ones, the legitimate strength and conditioning centers under the CrossFit banner, will remain. Either that or we'll change our names and keep doing our thing.
I realize that you're trolling to an extent, and that's cool. Someone needs to have a dissenting opinion, and I won't defend everything about CrossFit even though I've been doing it for five years, am twice as strong as I've ever been, have never gotten badly hurt, and coach dozens of people on a daily basis on how to move better. Just realize that it's like martial arts studios--there are good ones, there are mediocre ones, and there are terrible ones. Caveat emptor, I'm afraid.
Cheers, mate. Keep fighting the good fight of making people better.

I know I am only replying two years later. But I just want to thank you in any case for your positive and honest feedback. CF does have its faults, if done wrong, as any sport. But it is a sport none the less. I have said before that I don't know crossfitters who diss other sports or their participants. I would actually like to see the growth in CF box and member numbers since you posted this. I think it would be a extreme upward curve and not a dying fad as most in this string wants it to be. If you don't like something, good for you. But let others do what they love. One more thing. CF is a combination of different activities. And it is not the first sport, trend etc to do so. Things develop. That is what humans do.

thanks for making your points in an intelligent, civilized manner. I came to the article looking for some stats, info, personal experiences, etc, and seem to have stumbled into a flame war. Sheesh.

Very cool post! I've always been a little wary of Crossfit and you have confirmed my suspicions. I hate all the gimmicky fitness crap! And you described it eloquently.

Yes, he was so eloquent that he sounded like he was roid raging. Very cool post! Fucking idiot.

So you decided to take the high road by calling this person a "Fucking idiot"?? Doesn't make you look any better...