Experience with Crossfit?

[SpiralGalaxy]

Hello! I've found a Crossfit gym near my work that seems to have a lot of things that I like: good website, wide variety of class times, etc. I've never done high-intensity, heavy-lift workouts before, but I think it's something that could really pay off. I'm a bit hesitant about a few things, though:

1) Price--is it worth the extra money?

2) Form--do they really teach you to do the lifts properly, or do they push you to do things faster even if it's sloppy? I *definitely* don't want to injure myself.

3) Competitiveness--I generally compete with myself to do things a bit better each time, but I'm worried about feeling like a wimp in a group environment.

For people who have tried Crossfit gyms, what's your experience been like? Any sort of feedback would be appreciated, thanks!

[Knightwatch]

1. Depends on what you do with it. If you're going 4 times a week or more, and you get a lot of attention from the coaches, its like having a personal trainers with you all the time. That would cost a lot of money. Sometimes it's getting downright difficult to find gyms with platforms and bumper plates and an atmosphere that lets you drop weights and whatnot. That alone might be worth the cost for some people. Some thrive on the social community inherent in it. All depends on what you value. (besides, we all joke that we're too tired each night after the workout to go out and do much, so you save money there. )

2. Any decent affiliate will push form, first. Most gyms these days have an introduction program or on-ramp that you need to complete before you can take part in the regular WODs, just to ensure you know the lifts. And all of them will have you scale the workouts to your abilities. Say you're doing Grace, 30 Clean and Jerks with 135 for time. They may have you do 115, or 95, or 65, or just the bar if needs be, to let you keep up the pace but complete it with good form. My gym would rather you left heavy and go slower, building pace over time than stay light and whip around like a hysterical monkey. Others may want to push the fast pace, and build up the load over time. Nobody will tell you that you should go all out on both if you're truly not feeling it. If they do, they're what's giving CF a bad name today and you shouldn't give them your business.

3. There's an element of competitiveness to it, no doubt, but its friendly. The community aspect far outweighs the competitive one, in my experience. Your Crossfit gym will likely be the only place you'll go where pets and kids are running around playing with each other. You fellow athletes might call you up if you miss a couple WODs to figure out where you've been. Most have holiday parties and summer cookouts and stuff.

I've loved Crossfit. The community as a whole has folks that take it a little too far, but that's like anything. The standard rank and file are a great community, and you'll absolutely get some good workouts in, in general fitness is your goal.

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

My cube mate was trying to get me to do it for a long time.

1) My biggest drawback was the price. My gym is 20% the cost or something like that and they post the daily workouts on the website. I plan to eventually start doing the Crossfit stuff at my gym once I get further along with my lifting.

2) My understanding of Crossfit is that form isn't all that important. If you have to get a weight overhead, do it in any way possible. One of the criticisms I've read is that people get injured pretty often doing it. This is the biggest reason why I want to get pretty fit on my own before trying it, otherwise I'd be doing it now. One of my huge goals is 20 muscle ups.

3) This is probably one of the biggest benefits of Crossfit. Everyone is at a different level and helps each other out and urge each other on. You compete with yourself with huge support from everyone else.

Remember, this is all from talking to my cube mate, reading of the website, and the research I've done on it. I have not done Crossfit and you'll probably get more accurate advice from those who have. Despite the negatives above, I still think if you can train yourself to complete those daily workouts, they are complete enough to make you the fittest you will ever be in your life.

[Guest Carjack]

1. I always hear CrossFit gyms are 150 dollars a month. That's ridiculous unless you get a trainer who's USAW certified, RKC, CSCS, a gymnast or a powerlifter. If you have a house to keep the stuff, buy your own bar, bumper plates and squat cage, or go to a cheaper gym that has those things.

2. CrossFit is a franchise. There's no way to tell how good they are until you've watched some classes. If they make you do kipping pull ups and anaerobic cardio circuits three times a week before you can even deadlift 300 or run around the block three times, stay far far away for fear of the injury and underperformance that follows in their wake.

Some CrossFit boxes are glorified power and Olympic lifting gyms. If this is the case, go there.

[js290]

http://www.board.crossfit.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

[BumplerPlate]

1) Price--is it worth the extra money?

Honestly, that depends on the gym. How experience and expertise do the coaches have? I have heard of people getting crossfit certified and then opening their own gym a month later. Usually CF gyms have a free intro class so you can go check them out and ask about certifications, personal experience etc., etc. I would check out several boxes as well since all gyms have a different feel. Do I think it's worth it? Yes. I love my community and have some stellar coaches.

2) Form--do they really teach you to do the lifts properly, or do they push you to do things faster even if it's sloppy? I *definitely* don't want to injure myself.

Once again, it depends on the gym!

3) Competitiveness--I generally compete with myself to do things a bit better each time, but I'm worried about feeling like a wimp in a group environment.

There are people at all levels of fitness at my box and everyone is extremely supportive. It might seem intimidating at first, but once you're working out with a class you will see that everyone just wants the best for each other be it a PR lift or a faster Helen time. The competitive aspect is always there but it's fun. Some of my best friends are the ladies I "compete" against everyday!

[nightlight]

1) for me it is. I live in NYC and pay $200/mo. I do at least 3 wods per week and 2 strength (Wendler) sessions at a minimum.

2) as most others here are saying, it depends. my box is great about form, and impressing that good form is important. not all boxes are like that. one good way to check is to see what kind of "on ramp" program they have. if it's none, that's bad. if it's a couple of weeks of 2 or 3x per week of foundations, it's great. you should also try a regular WOD (they always give you a free one first) and see how the coach interacts with the other athletes.

3)it depends on the box. my box is really friendly. there's no real competitiveness between athletes. we all push each other to be at their best, even the games level athletes are humble. we've got people of all shapes and sizes. as long as you give it your all, and are friendly, you should be welcomed with open (but sweaty) arms.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Your mileage may vary, but the responses above are very accurate.

[SpiralGalaxy]

That's a great range of responses, thanks everyone! I'll probably try an on-ramp type program and see if they CF box near work has the right vibe/experience/form coaching for me.

[CultFit]

Link is (NSFW): *language*

I'm on the fence with this and could either talk you out of it or into it...Carjack makes an excellent point: "Some CrossFit boxes are glorified power and Olympic lifting gyms. If this is the case, go there."

If it's a dollars or sense thing, Price is not always indicative of quality...

If you listen to Robb with an open mind he makes quite a few points that may help you in your decision.

Me, personally if you twisted my arm now...Save your money and outfit your home if you can. A simple kettleball, a nice hill for sprints and an open/dedicated mind will serve you well. Most importantly if you do join a "box"...Stay healthy and avoid injury!

[Guest Carjack]