Why I Hate Crossfit

system 2007-11-11 13:54:40 UTC #1

I don't have anything against people who superset snatches with 500 meters on a rowing machine. While I would never subscribe to a program as haphazard and unguided as following their Workout of the Day I do find that their videos have a lot of innovative stuff that can give good ideas to any athlete (and they have a bunch of Mark Rippetoe videos where he talks about Starting Strength).

And if you guys have ever checked out any of these videos you'll notice that lately they've had a lot of cool mashup/remix songs for the workout of the day videos. I joined the forum to ask where they got these songs and I've emailed everyone I can but 1 month later and they've never gotten back to me.

So, anyone who has seen their videos and knows what I'm talking about when I mention the BeastieBoys-LedZeppelin mashup or the 50cent-StayinAlive mashup song could you please tell me what DJ is putting this stuff out?

Where are these guys getting their music?

Electric_E 2007-11-11 16:28:52 UTC #2

if you search for MTV mash up on limewire you will ost likely find them there, but as its naughty to use limewire I strongly suggest you do not do this, im just saying if you did...

Sneaky_weasel 2007-11-11 16:34:20 UTC #3

They're from some underground club in NYC. You can actually download all of the tracks for free here:

http://www.bootieusa.com/bestofbootie2006/

and here:

http://www.bootieusa.com/bestofbootie2005/

beebuddy 2007-11-11 16:58:03 UTC #4

So why do you "hate" crossfit?

system 2007-11-11 17:56:04 UTC #5

Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted. Do you have anything to do with Diesel Weasel?

system 2007-11-11 17:57:44 UTC #6

Because no one in the Crossfit community responded to me. I attribute this to them being a bunch of California and Colorado Granola Eating, Hybrid Driving types who were too busy loving the smell of their own farts and jacking off to their superior training methodology to give a shit about an east-coast outsider like myself.

system 2007-11-11 17:58:47 UTC #7

Oh. And because I refuse to spend time doing cleans with less weight than what I can do for barbell curls.

Jerkwad 2007-11-11 18:03:40 UTC #8

Soooooooo...IOW, you base your point of view on ONE interaction, a couple of South Park quotes and the simple fact that it's just at the height of fashion to smack talk these guys on this site? Nope. Oh, and Ohio = East Coast? Since when? I thought East Coast meant, you know, on the East Coast?

Avocado 2007-11-11 18:25:15 UTC #9

Interesting opinion. From what I read on their site it seems as though the political inkling is more towards the conservative right. I am only saying this of glassman and crossfit as an insitution as opposed to the people who do crossfit. They always have articles supporting the ideology of the cons. right. Not that this is either good or bad, just what I see when i go there. Interesting that they choose to vocalize this on their training website. Shit even TC keeps the straight up politics (minus the tongue-in-cheek variety) off of here.

If i had to guess I would say they drive trucks with "earth fucker 2000" (Luoma, 2006ish) written on them. Also they are all eating on 'the Zone' so i would not put granola over them at all. But you are correct when you say that their videos have tons of great stuff from all kinds of great coaches. I mean no reason not to take all the good stuff like the vids and for MMA conditioning I also train with some of the workouts like 'fight gone bad' etc. Ironically the same coaches also give us the same info over here, mostly better I'd say. We get more Dan John.

I also wonder about high rep O-lifts because of the idea that you might neurally ingrain bad habits if you don't take your time to do every rep as correctly as possible. Have fun w/ the music.

-chris

Sneaky_weasel 2007-11-11 21:22:08 UTC #10

No, I do not have anything to do with him. I was dubbed a "sneaky weasel" way back when I started BJJ at 125 pounds. I was a squirmy little fucker.

For what it's worth, I think the CrossFit methodology is great if strength and size are not your goals. They've made a sport out of GPP, which is great for most of the slobs out there who just need to be doing SOMETHING. I find it's helped my conditioning on the mat considerably, and I genuinely enjoy acquiring new skills. CrossFit pushed me to get coaching on my Oly lifts, and I've since developed competitive aspirations in that sport as well. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

texasguy2 2007-11-11 21:28:17 UTC #11

Ohio is on the East Coast?

And what is wrong with granola?

And jacking off?

Were your questions inflammatory by chance?

Uncle_Gabby 2007-11-11 21:42:26 UTC #12

Right, it's basically all GPP. The problem I have with their philosophy is that they claim to cater to police officers, firefighters, etc. with these totally random workouts because they have to be ready for anything. But firefighters and police officers work isn't really that random. If a police officer has to chase down a suspect, that's sprinting, and some upper body pushing and pulling to help wrestle them down. Firefighters have to wear and carry heavy equipment, so obviously they would want to deadlift to build a strong back, and work on farmers walks for endurance. Why wouldn't they want to use tried and true principles of progression to build strength and muscle? GPP would help, but only used in conjuction with strength and hypertrophy work. The crossfit gurus are just trying to re-invent the wheel for the sake of being original.

Sneaky_weasel 2007-11-11 22:28:39 UTC #13

I think there's a certain psychologically appealing element to it as well, especially for the overwhelmingly type-A personalities that CrossFit seems to cater to. It creates a framework for people to really push themselves--all of the metabolic conditioning work is timed, which makes it very easy to compare past and present performances (if you track the WOD over time, it's not really as random as it seems--workouts reappear quite often to provide benchmarks for progress), and provides a very tangible incentive for people to learn to push through pain. Of course this is also a component of any good strength training regime, but I think CrossFit gets a lot of people who have never trained intelligently before--people doing the typical 3 sets of 10 and treadmill work.

I think that also explains the bizarre cultishness of a lot of Crossfitters--they've never tried any alternatives (or if they have, it's been half-assed or just plain stupid), so of course they're going to be dogmatic about their own training philosophy. I just take it all with a grain of salt, including what I read here. The truth always lies somewhere in the middle.

system 2007-11-11 23:01:43 UTC #14

I just want to get it straight for the record that Crossfit.com is a great resource but I don't like these guys because they didn't respond to my post on their site. I don't have anything against their training methods except that they aren't very good for a specialized athelete.

cb1038 2007-12-08 20:21:34 UTC #15

great for most of the slobs out there who just need to be doing SOMETHING?

ha!

i am an east coast "outsider" and certified trainer with crossfit and i can tell you first hand that this level of training is not for slobs who need to do something. unfortunately this type of training seems to bring out some pretty negative feelings on your behalf.

as per your last post...CF specializes in not specializing and prides itself on high intensity training focused around functional movements. you should give it a go. it's put me in the best shape of my life and i did not start at ground zero.

zephead4747 2007-12-08 21:15:49 UTC #16

"powercleaning with less weight then I can curl"
INTENSE!
Oh yeah, how much can you squat?
You used "functional movements", and "I'm a certified personal trainer" in the same post.... uh oh.

Dr_PowerClean 2007-12-08 18:38:47 UTC #17

This thread caught my eye. I've been out of the game for many years, so it's been fun seeing what's new and popular. One crossfit guy posted on my thread in the over 35 section and he seemed enthusiastic and well-informed. It inspired me to look up more about it. It probably works well for those who enjoy it, but I did get this weird feeling about it being oddly cultish. It was a deja vu feeling...and then I remembered to what.

Back in the seventies, when Arthur Jones invented the Nautilus machines, this was the NEW WAY TO TRAIN which was touted as clearly superior to all other forms of resistance training. I trained at a Nautilus Center, and puked after the first six workouts I went to. The gym owner yelled at me the whole workout while preaching Jones's gospel and showing me Casey Viator's before and after pictures. You just couldn't have a rational conversation with the Nautilus folks back then, it was their way or the highway. One set per machine, to beyond failure with assisted reps.

Nautilus machines DID inspire folks to improve lifting machines for decades to come. But now they take their rightful place in the wide variety of options for training. I assume Crossfit will do the same, in time.
                                  Doc

Thomas_Gabriel 2007-12-08 19:07:51 UTC #18

I trained with a CrossFit group once, and they were all very impressive. Just because they sometimes use light weights for high reps does not mean they were weak. All of them were deadlifting 400+ on the max dead event. They totally wasted me in the endurance events. I was lucky to get 25 reps on their 50 rep exercises. But as far as mass goes, I was by far the biggest one there. You could not tell most of them even worked out, except for their extreme leaness. Guaranteed muscle mass isn't their goal though. They are fitness enthusiasts.

Sneaky_weasel 2007-12-09 00:23:03 UTC #19

cb1038, if I came off as anti-CrossFit in any way, let me be the first to correct you. I absolutely love CF, and have benefited massively from the incorporation of their principles into my training. Nowhere in my post did I insinuate that there was anything wrong with their methodology or premises.

I will stand by my statement, however, that CrossFit is just GPP--the goal is to increase work capacity across a broad variety of modal domains, correct? This makes it perfect for those who want to be "fit" (myself included), but not so perfect for those who want to be gigantic motherfuckers (who comprise a large portion of this site's base).

I will also stand by my statement that MANY CrossFitters, yourself apparently included, seem to believe that their way is the only way, and that their goals should be everyone's goals.

I recall a thread on the CF message boards wherein a poster was asking for help in his quest to convince a powerlifter that he should be doing CF. What gives? IF YOU ARE NOT A SPECIALIZED ATHLETE, or if your sport takes place in the "black hole" between pure aerobic/anaerobic metabolic pathways (to quote Cressey's Off-Season Training Manual), then CF is wonderful, and that has been MY personal experience with it (I do not know where you are reading any sort of negativity towards CF itself in my postings).

I merely object to the rabid defensiveness displayed by many CrossFitters when confronted with other equally valid training methodologies. Savvy?

SomethingReese 2007-12-09 09:40:12 UTC #20

When I was a wrestler I used Crossfit stile training and many many of my friends that are still involved in combat sport utilize this this type of training. My problem with Crossfit is the outrageous claims.