Crossfit

pugmom79 · Sep 3, 2014

I have been doing it non stop for several months and love it. I know rhabdo is associated with it and I was waiting til it was brought up :). In my experience, if you are at a good box and your coach works with you to scale workouts, you will be fine. It is very doable but it is intense. There are times I thought I could do more weight, and my coach refused to let me.

No one in my box has ever had rhabdo. IMO if people have gotten it at a box, you should look elsewhere. Even when you want to push yourself way past your limits your coach should have the knowledge and sense to say no. A good coach will encourage you to improve- but not hurt yourself.

Moving past all that... I think it's one if the best workout experiences I have ever had. The community is amazing. I am often the last one finished and everyone will cheer for you. I couldn't do a push-up 6 months ago and I was able to finally do my first non modified one the other day. I have been fit in the past but even then I couldn't do a push up. The great feeling is realizing you did something you never thought possible and sharing it with an awesome community of people. I love it. Glad there are others out there too:)

crossfitnurse · Sep 4, 2014

Yup - there are a meds that can make is easier for rhabdo to happen. If I'm not mistaken, -statins are one of them. Hopefully the coach has you fill out an intro sheet where you list your medications you currently take (if you want to share that info) and they can see if it's a threat or not.

Unfortunately, not all coaches do that and it's easy to get your cert to actually open a gym and be a coach.

But risk vs. Reward, gotta decide if it's for you.

crossfitnurse · Sep 4, 2014

One more thing - it's usually those who WERE very athletic in the past, then years later decide to push themselves to the limits again (after a long break of no high intensity exercise) that get rhabdo.

Usually ex-military, etc who have the "mindset" to do so.

Not always the case, but usually that's who gets it.

appystep · Sep 8, 2014

I've been doing crossfit since April of this year and LOVE it!

pugmom79 · Sep 9, 2014

Awesome!!

Mysteriousdarkness · Sep 17, 2014

I and my boyfriend LOVE Crossfit. I don't do it as much as he does because I spend my time doing martial arts instead, but he practically lives at the box. Everyone who doesn't do Crossfit brings up rhabdo as an issue- Crossfit does not have a monopoly on rhabdo- it can be caused by pretty much any intense exercise. And it's totally preventable and avoidable with common sense and good nutrition/hydration/ looking after your body.

There are good coaches and bad coaches in any sport- yes there are Crossfit boxes where the people and coaches push themselves/ others far beyond limits that are safe for that person, but they do not reflect the true nature of good Crossfit. A good coach knows what their clients can do, and how far to push them- and a good Crossfitter knows when and how to listen to their body. We learn the difference between muscle soreness from use and muscle pain from injury, we learn to listen when our body is saying "ok I'm tired but I can keep going" and when it's saying "stop right now".

my Crossfit box is a wonderful place. Everyone cheers for everyone else, the first ones to finish all gather around to cheer on the slower ones. I still remember the day I climbed the rope after weeks of trying- and everyone cheered so loud!!! I love the feeling of pure power and strength- like I may be only a short, thin woman but check out this bar that I can lift, check out the first un-assisted strict pull-up I did. Checkout what I can do that I never thought I could do. That's what Crossfit is all about, thats why people are addicted and crazed about it- it's a sport that revolves around challenging yourself and what you thought was possible every single day, and realising that you are stronger than you thought, and that There is endless possibility.

To put the idea of "crazy intense Crossfit" in perspective- I have medical problems that make full WODs hard for me, but I love exercise and Crossfit (and martial arts), so I communicate with my coaches/ teachers and let them know how far I can push myself. All WODs can be scaled- there is no need to force yourself to RX a WOD only to end up injured and sick, they can be shortened, fewer rounds, lighter weights, less reps. The trick with any sport or exercise is to listen to your body!! Good cross fitters listen. And they rarely rarely get hurt or sick. If I, as someone with medical illnesses, can listen to my body and communicate with my coaches to ensure I get fit and strong while remaining safe and injury-free, than anyone can. Don't blame the sport for what a couple of silly people do.

I love Crossfit!!! (And martial arts- because if I don't add that then I'm disloyal to my main gym, aren't i)

BlueRN95 · Sep 17, 2014

I love crossfit also and I blame myself for injuring and herniating two discs. I wanted to lift heavier than my friend and I shouldn't have!! I wish I can go back to it, once I fully recover.

Alicat1451 · Feb 6, 2015

I think it's definitely true about coaches pushing you. I've been doing Crossfit for about a month now and the coaches spend so much time going over basics and how to scale the workout that I've never felt like I was being pushed beyond my limit. I just finished the basic training course, where the first half hour of the class is strictly technique (and injury prevention) on a certain move. And then the WOD is scaled to what you can handle. Our classes have 2-4 people in them, so it's really individualized. I'm a little nervous to move on to the regular workouts, but I feel like I'm ready!