Choices

[TraceurX]

Something awesome just happened. The other day I went down to my local Crossfit gym and completed the baseline workout (4:51) and now I have a choice to make:

To crossfit or not to crossfit?

What attracted me to the program was the variety of the workouts. I like the way it is contently changing and helps you become prepared for anything.

So I ask the community: should I join the crossfit gym or keep doing what I am doing and find an actual program (right now is what I call the dark times because I have just been jumping from one workout to another with no plan, but I can fix that)

EDIT: I know I ask a lot of questions, and I know that it seems like I'm jumping around a lot in terms of programs, but I'm just trying to find something that sticks and that I can do. Crossfit is one such option because I feel that all I have to do is show up and do my best,but there are other options out there. I just need to find the right one.

[TraceurX]

I would like to have an over all approch to fitness. My goals are really, just to be prepared for anything

[BubbaJames]

for just overall fitness, i think crossfit would be good. whatever you enjoy and get into is the best thing for you though.

[bursthaggis]

Whenever I think of how I should I train, I think to myself: "which training would be most beneficial to me in the inevitable zombie apocalypse?". Endurance/Strength/Power in a 40/30/30 ratio is my best bet.

[Knightwatch]

One thing is for sure, I wish I could have afforded Crossfit at 14. I can barely afford it now working 60 hours a week with a professional discount.

Here. Buy this. Read it. It sounds like you need a general grounding in what fitness actually means, and how to pursue different goals.

http://www.amazon.com/Fit-Dr-Lon-Kilgore/dp/0615497063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315434502&sr=8-1

It's a very, very, very good book, and now ranks up there with Starting Strength in books that I think should be in every fitness enthusiast's library.

And finally, consider this: you want to be ready for anything? What, exactly, are you planning on facing? I'm serious. I don't know your life story. Maybe you're a street urchin in 1920's London and really need a broad skillset to earn your keep with the gang and survive. But since you're talking about the luxury of taking CF classes at 14, I somewhat doubt it.

Being "ready for anything" is a myth. But that's neither here nor there. Assuming you mean, "generally awesome at a lot of things and able to adapt to stuff", you've got time to get there. Soldiers need to be "ready for anything". Cops need to be "ready for anything". Firefighters need to be "ready for anything". Batman needs to be "ready for anything". At your age, you very likely have the luxury of focusing on one or two things at once and getting good at them over a long period of time. Then one day, without really consciously knowing it ever happened, you'll be ready for far more things than those around you.

Basic cornerstones of being "fit", is strength, endurance, and mobility/agility. Based on your name, I assume you like parkour or whatever. Fine. Go do that. There's your agility, and likely a good bit of your endurance, and a certain kind of strength. So what does that leave you with? Absolute strength/power, and longer-term, less sprint based endurance. Easy fix for those? A basic barbell strength program, and either jogging or long walks/hiking. If you're into parkour, use those long walks to explore or scout out your next...whatever it's called. Flipping wall, or whatever the heck it is you look for to do that stuff.

Ultimately though, just pick something. Go do it. If it doesn't work, fine, do something else. If you choose Crossfit, awesome, but I don't think it's going to give you that much you couldn't do on your own for much cheaper. And I say this as a CF devotee. But if you want to do it, do it. But if it doesn't magically make you a badass superagent in a month, don't be surprised.

It sounds like you're looking for a fast track or a magic pill. There isn't any. THERE IS NO PERFECT PROGRAM. Ironically, this Crossfit video makes that very point.

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGMxawFwLW8

[Pat G]

You're looking for advice in the right places. As per the guys above, ground yourself in one thing for a good period of time (months to years).

Carjack's link has a bunch of tips you can follow to set up yourself for Whatever it is you want to do:

Clean up the diet. Everyone thinks they eat better than they really do. Peri-workout nutrition is top priority.

• Get 8 hours of sleep a night. Humans are the only species that get up when they aren't supposed to and go to bed when they aren't supposed to. You can't perform if you're tired.

• Drink a gallon of water a day. You hear this a hundred times a day, but how many actually do it? Double your water intake and you'll feel better, perform better, and get leaner.

Stick with Crossfit if you can afford it. If you do it right, listen and ask of the Trainers, It'll give you the discipline and the knowledge to jump up to bigger things.

[TraceurX]

I know there is no magic pill. That's not what I'm looking for. What I'm looking for is a workout that is going to kick my ass, and therefore make me want to go back and do it, again and again. I want something that's gonna stick. I like to lift, bodyweight and barbells. I like rockclimbing, out in the world and indoors, but most of all I LOVE to push myself to my limit so that I can look back and say. Look how far I've come

[MMyers]

You can kick your own ass with heavy sets of curlz and b3nchinz back to back, but that doesn't mean it's gonna give you overall fitness and make you be prepared for anything.

Write a list of goals you want to accomplish and post them here... and not just a coverall phrase "Be ready for anything".

Seriously, you're 14. It's great that you want to dive in, but enjoy not having responsibilities while you still can. You're gonna go from school for 5 days a week to 10 hours in a trench laying a 1000 feet of pipe and dragging wire (what I do)/any other job.