CrossFit: What is your opinion on it?

My opinion is that it's a sport, a competition and it's sponsored by Reebok which I wonder about.

For some reason Crossfit got mixed up with Fitness for Health.

Great article by the way!

Considering all the publicity on it lately thanks to a pretty shameful YouTube video, you're brave to broach the topic!

That being said, what is out there from the company talks about their participants as "athletes," however, the gyms and programs that are promoting and marketing the programs are usually trying to get the average or underactive individual to feel like they are an athlete; which seems to lead to injury or a feeling of failure. I think conceptually it is appealing, hence why so many have jumped on the bandwagon, but as trainers and fitness instructors, we always need to keep the goals of our clients/participants in mind, and always consider the purpose of what we're doing. Not everyone needs speed, power or agility-especially those who are starting from the beginning. For non-athletes, doing a program like this can be quite dangerous, as speed should only come after the form is mastered. I think it's important we educate our clients and our colleagues so that we can keep everyone safe and we can be providing the best fitness education possible that is appropriate to the individual.

I should be more specific, Reebok sponsored the Crossfit Games on TV.

Thanks for all these posts. It seems like anything popular, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. All I see after 6 months is many of these enthousiasts have shoulder & knee overuse injuries. The video reminds me of powerlifting vs. olympic lifting 30 years ago! Powerlifters~get the weight lifted regardless of form. After training proper form with an Olympic competitor (clean & jerk, etc) WHY do people want to do this? Why is the most important question while considering health/fitness over the long haul. As for the limping 1-legged dog in the video? Lumbar injury? ;) Can't imagine these 20 somethings pictured will have a healthy spine if they continue lifting like this.

Great answers and I couldn't agree more!

Torn.

Pros-
Easily marketable. People want the fast track to fitness and crossfit is 10 to 30 minutes tops for most workouts.
Psychology. Every session is a track meet, game day, etc. Easy to get into the mentality of pumping out everything you can.
WOW factor. Putting people through rigorous training means some of them will get to where they want to go. More people churning out means you get more people who get through successfully.

Cons-
Poorly trained certifications. Someone with a weekend seminar cannot properly teach others proper lifting mechanics, let alone the advanced, high weight high intensity power lifting techniques.
Unconditioned clients. Everything has a learning curve, and the body is no different. These people need to slow down, learn the basics and learn how their body moves.

Crossfit can potentially be a great workout. However the protocols are HITT so crossfit is not a "workout" It is a company. Just like Mcdonalds didnt invent the hamburger it is the company people think of when you say fast food hamburger. Now, any workout that does not include the frontal and transverse planes, does not account for individual ability and skill levels, and individual goals can not be considered a program. But they can create very intense and effective one time workouts

I just finished reading an article by Dewey Nielson and I completely agree with his views on Crossfit and mind you there are some very good CF gyms and coaches out there and then again there are not.

"Crossfit is not a thought-out progressive exercise system, it is an extreme sport done with strength training tools. That’s what it is. No different than MMA, motocross, etc. It’s not a system meant to safely improve health, strength or work capacity for general pop or athletes. "

He goes on to say, "what do I mean by a progressive exercise system? Simple. Not everyone is capable or ready for just anything. They must progress into performing specific tasks. Everything should be scaleable. Simple to complex movements. Lighter weight to heavier weight. Slower tempos to faster tempos. Common sense stuff. But this is exactly what Crossfit lacks. There is no progression. Everybody does the same exercise, with the same load, for the same reps with absolutely no respect to form and technique. Get it up with any means necessary. ".

I'm sure we all saw that viral YouTube video!

Read the entire article at http://impact-pt.com/fitness/what-crossfit-is-and-isnt
I think you all will like it!

I thought all of your answers were excellent! I also think when a novice who is new weight lifting hears that their friends are doing this cool workout they want jump on board. What ever technique they learn or they think they are doing right is because they don't know any better. If a novice is learning bad form and technique and the instructor is not there to correct them, then that is not just bad customer service and they give our profession a bad name, especially if they get hurt.

Another form of resistance training. Utilizes different forms of resistance at various high capacities that are most likely not applicable or relative to many individuals functional activities. I consider many of these movement very high risk and although if performed correctly can be beneficial. Although what I have noticed is most do not have the prerequisite strength, stability, alignment to even attempt these movements.

JM