My first thought as I walked into “Brick”, West Hollywood’s premier Crossfit Facility, was “This is every functional trainer’s wet dream.” There are no machines like the smith machine or leg extension; whose only purpose in the fitness realm should be to serve as coat hangers. By the looks of it, this place is a legitimate training facility.
Before
the workout even began, participants started arriving 15 minutes early to start
their foam rolling and movement prep (lunging, bridging and stretching with
bands). What this means is that Crossfit has created an environment that
empowers its clients to apply proper flexibility and mobility techniques as a
part of their warm-up, which is necessary in order to reduce the risk of
injury. Done are the times where running on a treadmill is the proper way to
warm-up prior to weight
lifting.
Brick’s warm-up of the day consisted of a 1000m row, followed by 3
sets of 3 hang cleans and ended with 4 sets of 1 repetition (hang cleans)
utilizing maximum load…which is one heck of a warm-up! The workout of the day,
or “WOD” as
crossfitters like to call it, consisted of 20 rounds of one hang clean into three
front squats, followed by six ‘russian’ kb swings. Mind you, this is considered
a mixed level class, which according to Brick is acceptable for beginners, or those
in recovery and/or therapy. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know many
beginners or those in recovery that are capable of doing Olympic lifts. But I
digress…
The WOD
crushed me. I repeat, crushed me. My hang cleans and front squats were only
loaded with 85lb and my swings with a moderate 16kg (approximately 35lb). This
entire sequence took me about 35 seconds to complete, leaving me with only 25
seconds of recovery before the next round began. Now for those of you who just
found my last two sentences to sound like a foreign language, I need you to pay special
attention. This is because
a majority of crossfitters are comprised of everyday people, not the advanced
athlete or fitness professional who understands the elements of program design,
progression and overload. This is when training like this becomes extremely
dangerous in group settings.
Most
beginners don’t even know how to squat correctly. Forget about loading them
with a barbell, either front loaded or back loaded, and now you’re asking them
to hang clean? How many weeks have these crossfitters been taught the
fundamentals and mechanics of Olympic lifting? Did you know that every collegiate
athlete is taught the proper mechanics of every Olympic lift with a
broomstick/pvc pipe until the movements are flawless? Did you know that this
neurological adaptation can sometimes take up to 12 weeks? What I am trying to
say is Olympic lifting is effective only when done correctly and to learn to do so can take days,
weeks, and sometimes even months.
So, back
to the WOD. During my brief recovery period, I was able to glance about the
room and check out the technique applied to these lifts. Out of the 18 of us
taking the class, four could only perform the movements flawlessly, even when
fatigued. The remainder 14 suffered tremendously from horrible form and
technique. Most of them were simply pushing too much weight and I watched in
horror as their spines and knees buckled under the pressure. But, they kept
going because that is the crossfit mentality: go until you break, puke, or
finish.
Now, I don’t know what’s happened to our industry. When did we decide that working out so hard until we can’t
walk, move our arms, or bleed, defines "a good workout?" That’s
just plain stupidity. A true
athlete works hard so they can reach their athletic potential without breaking because they want to
continue working, pain-free. This is usually achieved with a systematic,
periodized approach to their training program, and is all achieved with the
assistance of a science-based coach.
In by no means am I suggesting that no one do
crossfit. And I would personally like to thank
JP and his staff for making my crossfit experience quite wonderful. If you are
someone who is capable of performing Olympic lifts and high intensity workouts
without issue or injury, than this is the workout for you. If you are a
beginner and desire to train like a skilled crossfitter, hire a private
strength coach (CSCS) or trainer who can get you to that point: don’t start your training program
at crossfit. It’s all about
progression ladies and gentlemen: if you’re end goal is to achieve crossfit
status, take the time to get yourself there. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a
day.
