Let's Talk: How to improve CrossFit

[bowlie]

Since the main forum can be slow at times I thought I'd try to start some threads to drum up some (interesting? informative? fun?) conversation. For my first try I thought I'd go with the low-hanging fruit: CrossFit. Everyone has something to say about CrossFit! Here is my question:

Question:
Assuming that CrossFit is here to stay, what changes (if any) would you make to improve it? Either at a company-wide level or at the local gym level. Would you keep and/or change the CrossFit Games?

Here are some articles about CrossFit to get you thinking:

CrossFit: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly - Mark Rippetoe

In Defense of CrossFit - Chris Shugart

A Review of Crossfit - The Sweat Pit

Adaptation: Period, Persistence, and Prioritization - Major Damon Wells (via StartingStrength.com)

Discuss.

I think the premise of the sport is flawed, and it cannot be made good as a result.

 

[karnifx]

I don't think you read or understood my post properly. The sentence that containing the word evil was in a quote, describing a belief that I said I wasn't comfortable with. I was saying that I personally find it hard to hate on the Crossfit Games when I love Strongman so much.

I would suggest more attention to reading and less attention to seizing opportunities to demonstrate your flashy vocabulary. And, as a side point, more care with that vocabulary- "misnomer" is usually applied to names and terms (nouns) not adjectives.

Excuse me? You're not understanding what I said man, your use of the word "evil" and saying the only reason you couldn't call it that was blah blah hoooey hooey *fart sounds*. How is that not the same as saying it's completely doo doo?

I don't like the use of the word "evil" in any context as a descriptor, especially when it's used by uneducated people who have no idea wtf they're saying...

No, there's nothing wrong with the way I've used my wording and I don't take chances to use fancy linguistics for fun, it's only conserved for people with an obvious case of "stick up rectum", like you.

 

[Poatan Power]

I went to 209 Crossfit in Stockton, CA twice and honestly had a blast even though it isn't my cup of tea. The instructors were checking good form and demonstrating it, making sure nobody was ego lifting and emphasized safety as equally important as everything else.

Still can't quite get over the kipping pull ups. I would nix that.

 

[Poatan Power]

There is zero government regulation in physical training, so i guess awareness of the importance of having qualified coaches and suing those that do false claims?

Pointless to go to college and study sport science, spending years of hard work in education when random idiot can just open a crossFIT gym and start selling their product with zero education.

Having a degree =/= knowledge.

 

[miaou]

Still can't quite get over the kipping pull ups. I would nix that.

Kipping pull-ups are fine as long as you have adequate strength, proper movement mechanics and your connective tissue is properly conditioned.

 

[MandirigmaFit]

Eliminate, or adjust, the level 1 cert.

 

[trainharder]

I don't think there's anything to fix in Crossfit. I think fully understanding what CrossFIT is, and is NOT, is the key. Of course some Olypmic, or pro athlete is not going to take much training advice from CrossFIT. That assertion that CrossFIT would be successful in training IE NFL players is ridiculous. Much the same as NFL strength programs would not be optimal to a striving CrossFIT competitor. Take a look at guys like Donny Shankle, he has a main goal Oly Lifting. Being in the Olympics. He'll lecture crossfitians, and probably do a WOD here and there but his cornerstone of training would never be Crossfit.

As a spectator I find the games to be boring, as are cross fit competitions. I cannot for the life me bring myself to be that interested watching someone working out. I understand what they're doing and I suppose it's impressive but it's nothing like watching Oly lifting or the great strength feats of Strongman or Powerlifting comps.

As mentioned about Outlaw Crossfit and other brands out there. They're pulling away from Glassmans programming and developing their own stock. They're taking advice from trainers from all across the spectrum. Some gyms have good trainers with more knowledge than a 2 day class. Some hire schmucks with 0 experience and level a 1 certificate. You know what kind of Crossfit gym you're in within the first 5min of being there. That would be my fix: the level 1 class needs to be harder, modified, or removed in-lieu of something else.

I follow Mountain Athlete/Military Athlete programming. I am certain Rob Shaul has taken some things from Crossfit and incorporated those into his programming. So some of it definitely suits my needs. Which are climbing, moving out with weight, being explosive, and mostly being durable.

Amen to Military Athlete.

 

[Andrew D]

As some people have mentioned, there are some excellent coaches putting out great daily programming to follow right now, and many of the crossfit gyms are starting to adjust their programming to follow suit.

Some examples to check out are places like outlaw way/power/barbell, New England crossfit's competitorswod, crossfit invictus has 3 levels of smarter programming, crossfit football, OPT has 3 levels as well

 

[magick]

Check this out:

http://kevinogar.com/

It's the website of the Crossfit coach and athlete Kevin Ogar, who was paralyzed Jan 11 this year during competition as he did snatches for time and dropped the bar on his neck. It's a tribute to him and an effort to help him fundraise (selling t-shirts, etc.) to do rehab and such. Quite touching, actually.

...oh, and they named a WOD after him. It's called "Ogar":

OGAR
14 minutes AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible):
3 reps snatch with 135 pounds
1 muscle up
12 wallballs, 20# 10'

So Crossfit's response to an athlete and coach being paralyzed by a stupidly-performed fatigued Oly fit for time is to create a WOD in which you do the same fucking thing that paralyzed him.

Crossfit is stupid at its core.

Crossfit is unfixable.

Fuck Crossfit.

This.

It is their mentality that I find more disturbing more than anything else.

And is it that mentality that makes them Crossfit.

If you remove that mentality, then you're doing nothing more than complexes, circuit-training, and supersets.

 

[Tosa]

Kipping pull-ups are fine as long as you have adequate strength, proper movement mechanics and your connective tissue is properly conditioned.

The problem here is people conflating kipping pull-ups with the abominations crossfit teaches.

 

[Noblet10]

Take the doing exercises for time, high rep olympic and power lifting, kipping movements, and put some method to progressively overload the training. That would make CrossFit an acceptable form of training. Oh wait..... Then it wouldn't be CrossFit at all.


CrossFit is fundamentally flawed to begin. To make it an acceptable form of training, you'd pretty much have to take everything away from it that makes it CrossFit and not another form of strength and conditioning.

 

[DrBdan]

The problem here is people conflating kipping pull-ups with the abominations crossfit teaches.

Is there any good reason to do kipping pull-ups at all as part of a S&C program? Do they have a power generation component like push press vs strict press?

 

[Tosa]

Is there any good reason to do kipping pull-ups at all as part of a S&C program? Do they have a power generation component like push press vs strict press?

I don't think most people have a need for training pull-ups explosively. More so, kipping would be a way to do more reps - for example, maybe on the last set of pull-ups I allow some kipping to get in some extra reps. Aside from that, learning to kip would be useful if someone had an interest in learning some gymnastic skills.

 

[Oblivian]

Kipping isn't really that unnatural as you will see people unintentionally doing it on their last couple reps. Kipping for an entire set looks ridiculous though.

 

[DrBdan]

Kipping isn't really that unnatural as you will see people unintentionally doing it on their last couple reps. Kipping for an entire set looks ridiculous though.

The only thing more ridiculous looking than kipping pull-ups are butterfly pull-ups.

vs.

 

[ThinkGreen]

No more high rep snatches, cleans and deadlifts.

 

[Tosa]

The important part - the part crossfit misses entirely - is controlling the descent and avoiding horizontal movement. It's when it becomes that spastic circular flailing that shoulder injuries happen.

 

[golvmopp]

By removing everything that makes crossfit unique or "crossfit" you get either circuit training or traditional strength and conditioning. Example: Outlaw crossfit did have (have not checked in a while) training that was very close to traditional S&C, with a heavy emphasis on the quick lifts. Their people seemed to do pretty well at the games.

This.

Crossfit for all intents and purposes is, in its original mentality and form, an unsalvageable piece of shit. What few "crossfitters" that do get results are following a protocol so far removed from the original blueprint its no longer Crossfit, but well-proven S&C.

 

[magick]

Is there any good reason to do kipping pull-ups at all as part of a S&C program? Do they have a power generation component like push press vs strict press?

My understanding is that a proper kipping pull-up is no longer an actual pull-up but rather a full-body exercise.

What they're good for, I don't really know, power generation like you said I guess? I'd imagine a lot of good body coordination is required to do good kipping pull-ups too.

I think proper kipping pull-ups look awesome though.

 

[Babba]

kipping pull up is worthless garbage. there is nothing to be gained plymotric in the lower body from doing the kipping movement, nothing in the core for stability,endurance or power output, nothing in upper body in terms of endurance or strength. it's crap.

do regular pullups