I read an article today titled "Why I don't do CrossFit" that I thought I would address here. In the article, Erin Simmons speaks to the dangers of CrossFit. By and large, some of what she says is correct. There are some fundamental holes in her assessment of the CrossFit methodology though, and I will attempt to provide an alternative perspective throughout the course of this article. Before we start, let me be clear by stating that I used to do CrossFit, but have since decided to specialize in the olympic lifts. My specialization has not detracted from my love for the sport though.
Let me begin where Miss Simmons ends- "There is a sort of 'brainwashing' that occurs from the first time a person steps into a box that creates an 'us vs. them' mentality. Boxes have attempted to combat the bad reputation of CrossFit by saying that other gyms do bad stuff but their gym is different, their coaches know good form, and their gym focuses on safety. This is simply not true, and every single thing that I've posted in this article refers to every single gym that follows CrossFit. There are no exceptions, if you're following the WODs, it's not good for you, it's not safe, and you're putting your health in danger. Take it for what it's worth, but please believe that your box is not different, no matter what your coach says."
Well, there are several things wrong with this. I won't speak for other boxes, because I am not a coach of another box. I have a Bachelor's of Science in Applied Exercise Physiology from Texas A&M University, I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the N.S.C.A, I am a certified USAW Club coach, and soon will be a Level 2 Senior National Coach. I spent a year coaching at the University of Houston, where I worked with primarily the football and track team. During that year, I had the privilege of coaching several high-level athletes, including a first round draft pick, the 2012 National Indoor 400m dash champion, and over a dozen all-americans. If all that were not enough, I sought to further my education of the CrossFit methodology by taking the Crossfit Level 1 course and CrossFit gymnastics course. I'd like to think that qualifies me to teach a few folks how to move. At my box, we run 12 week strength cycles (we've done the Hatch Cycle before) designed to increase overall strength, layered with progressive conditioning pieces (WOD's). All of our programming is online and made available to the public.
Are there gyms that do not promote safety and have no sense of programming? Absolutely! I've been to them! But to say that all gyms are bad is not only naive, but outright foolish and disrespectful of the men and women who have devoted their lives to the assessment of movement. Don't believe me? Read this article that I posted for our box back in January, after attending the CrossFit gymnastics course.
I am no fool, and I fully believe that CrossFit HQ has some issues they need to address to better the CrossFit name. Anyone who watched or participated in Open Workout 14.3 knows what I'm talking about. Here are a few.
1. High volume olympic lifts and plyometric work- these movements are high skill, and should be treated with more respect rather than bastardized "for time". Yes, they fulfill the principle of moving "large loads long distances in short times," but there is more than one way to skin a cat. Keep these movements in the skill department, not conditioning.
2. Kipping/butterfly movements- these allow athletes who do not have a requisite level of strength, scapular mobility and control, and body awareness to perform high skill movements that often put them in a compromised position where the likelihood of injury is increased.
3. Lack of programming knowledge- "random" and "constantly varied" are two very different things. Random leads to initial gains, and not much more. Constantly varied is deliberate, planned, and trackable. Think conjugate method...
4. Hero WODs- a terribly stupid idea for a terribly good cause. Can't we think of another way to remember the fallen? Something that doesn't involve destroying your body?
The list could go on, but you get the point. It seems to me that Miss Simmons got a bad taste in her mouth from her first few CrossFit experiences, which were valid, but tainted by red flag after red flag.
Red Flag #1- "... I got there and there were people attempting muscle-ups. No one was succeeding..."-
Probably because they were not strong enough/coordinated enough to do a muscle up! Duh! They should not be attempting a high-skill, dynamic movement on a dynamic plane without first demonstrating a high level of body-control, skill, and strength. This should have been stopped and addressed by a coach.
Red Flag #2- "The workout was going to do deadlifts, which I had never done... I got less than five minutes worth of instruction before weight was piled on. Afterward, I got five minutes of instruction on 'kipping pull ups' and kettle bell swings before I was given a 35# bell..."
Well, you probably should have been a grown-up and said "no" or walked out the door. Clearly, this was not a smart, professional, well run gym. At most gyms, potential clients must first complete a 2 week on-ramp program of some sort, in which they are instructed, corrected, and required to demonstrate skills before moving on to more advanced skills. The box you visited apparently did not. After spending time in the world of collegiate athletics, I know that form was often compromised. I watched athletes use atrocious form on the olympic lifts, squats, and really everything they could get away with, and it always made me cringe. When I asked coaches why they didn't back off the weight and allow their athletes to develop proper movement mechanics, I was told "they didn't have time to teach them" and "as long as they kept getting stronger and winning ballgames it didn't matter."
As a side note, I wonder how anyone who spent 4 years in collegiate athletics, and another 4 years in high school athletics, had never done a dead-lift. As one of the core and fundamental strength building exercises, it is a staple in many strength programs. Perhaps Miss Simmons should first inquire about her previous programming before ridiculing the programming of others.
Red Flag #3- "Then the timer started. I was constantly yelled at to go faster, to take shortcuts, and to do movements from which previous injuries precluded me..."
I feel like I don't need to say much about this one. Clearly, this coach/box was below standards. The sad thing is, many are. Coaches, be knowledgable about what you are coaching, and safe in your implementation of prescribed movements.
Throughout the rest of the article, Miss Simmons continues to speak to the lowliness of CrossFit and its coaches, as well as the sophistication of the strength and conditioning world. She reminds us that CrossFit coaches can get certified in a weekend, yet I would remind you that certification does not a coach make. Coaching is an art. It is the ability to look at an individual, assess their movement, and communicate to them in a way that gets them to move their body the way you want it to move. Every collegiate strength and conditioning coach that I've ever met thinks that they know how to teach the olympic lifts because they got their USAW L1 one weekend. Seriously? The most technical movement in all of sport, and you're going to learn how to teach it in 2 days? It's laughable. Yet they teach hundreds of incoming freshmen each year, often wrongly. What's sad is that many of the coaches cannot properly perform an olympic lift themselves. The point is that all coaches, both S&C and CrossFit, are called to a high standard of knowing what they are talking about before subjecting their athletes to certain movements.
Miss Simmons reminds us that "not a single [collegiate strength and conditioning coach] recommends CrossFit. Not a single one of them has ever given me workouts that look like CrossFit WODs..." To this, I say yes, and amen. You are an athlete at the end of the spectrum. You are at the top of your respective sport, and to that end your needs are different than that of the average Joe. For you to do a CrossFit workout would likely detract from your sport-specific gains. What you must remember is that the vast majority of CrossFit clients are not collegiate athletes. They are soccer moms, bankers, lawyers, doctors, students, teachers, regular old 9-5ers looking to increase their GPP (general physical preparedness.) They don't need the specification of an elite athlete. They just want to shed a few pounds of fat, and gain a few pounds of muscle. To the client who has been a couch potato since 1995 when he graduated high school, CrossFit is a way of introducing basic strength, gymnastic, and conditioning. The result? Leaner bodies, lower blood pressures, increased VO2 maxes, and (oh my gosh) a new group of like-minded friends.
The debate about the efficacy of CrossFit has raged on for years now, and I truly do see both sides of it. The numbers don't lie: shoulder injuries have gone up, as well as (I would assume) backs and other joints. I don't deny that many of these are attributed to CrossFit, or rather an under-prepared client attempting a high-skill/high-weight maneuver under the supervision of an under-prepared coach. Here's my beef with people saying that CrossFit is dangerous, and and therefore people shouldn't do it: it is based upon the premise that anything worth doing must be safe. Truthfully, I find it a bit humorous that we spend so much time talking about rhabdo, torn shoulders, and slipped disks from CrossFit. Why? Because how many concussions does football produce each year? Yet little kids keep strapping the helmets on! How many torn ACLs does soccer produce each year? Yet people don't hesitate to strap on the shin guards. How many deaths do cars produce each year? Yet I bet you don't hesitate to get behind the wheel. Why? Because we determine that the risk is worth the reward. I'm not going to sit here and lie, my whole body hurts right now. My shoulder is tweaky, my lower back is pumped up, my knees hurt, and my shins are all torn up. And I love it. I realize that not everyone does, but I do. I would rather be banged up, bruised, limping, achy, and borderline miserable than a couch potato. When I lift, I feel alive. I have fun! The pain is worth it to me. To some, it's not, and that's okay- you don't have to spend 2 hours in the gym pounding your body each day! CrossFit is unendingly scaleable! But each individual has to decide for themselves where the line is. When someone walks in a CrossFit gym and does 21-15-9 of pull ups and thrusters, they are assuming a risk. What they are also doing is saying "hey, I know my hands are going to tear, my shoulders are going to hurt, and I may puke, but it's worth it."
To some, the risk is not worth the reward, and to the athlete who is not as gung-ho about it, I say scale! Do lighter weight, lower reps, different movements, ect. Athletes need to remember that their coach is not a dictator- they can say no. Coaches should always have an athletes safety and best interest at heart. My athletes with previous injuries do different movements! My friend Steve, who herniated a disk several years ago, does walking dumbbell lunges on days where we squat. You learn to adapt, and to work around things!
What would be best, and most beneficial, would be for both sides to glean from one another. Rather than ridiculing CrossFit and it's coaches, what if the S&C community taught boxes how to properly program and implement? What if, rather than ridicule collegiate athletes for not squatting to proper depth, knowledgeable CrossFit coaches engaged in healthy dialogue with S&C coaches about the benefits and utility of the Olympic Style Squat? The most foolish man of all is the man that thinks he has it all figured out, and everyone else is wrong. If both sides would put down their swords, they might just learn a thing or two from each other.
Blessings.
Great blog Haden!
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