Keeley, 11 years old, with perfect deadlift form
I’ve heard what seems like a 1000 myths and misconceptions about CrossFit and I’d like to take the time to go over a couple of the most common ones and put this debate to bed.
1. “CrossFit exercises are insane and too hard.” and “I’m too old/young to do it” - False. While there are some “firebreathers” and “mutants” out there and the crossfit.com main site can be a little intimidating with their pictures and workouts (heck, I’m a little guilty of that, too) one of the the most awesome things about CrossFit is all of the exercises are infinitely scalable. What does this mean, you ask? It means that you only do what you can do. We will NEVER put you in a position in which you are in danger of hurting yourself. For instance in tonight’s WOD, the prescribed weight was 135# for men, 95# for women. NO ONE except one guy did the prescribed weight. Everyone else scaled the weight down to a safe and manageable one. We train everyone from kids to grandparents at HIT CrossFit because we make the WOD fit to you and vice versa. This makes it safe for all ages. We expect you to work out as hard as you SAFELY can and we’ll push you to be your best but never at the expense of your health.
2. ”CrossFit is too expensive” – false. Yes, our monthly rates are usually somewhat higher than a Globo gym like Golds, Peak or SportsClub. But what are you getting? At HIT, you’re getting a trainer to put you through a workout EVERYTIME you walk in the door. A real live personal trainer that has been certified to teach you how to lift properly and safely as well as get the most out of you to be your very best. Most personal trainers charge by the hour. At the Globo gyms, this is in addition to your membership fees, so that cheap $45.00 fee can turn into a $150.00+ monthly charge real quick. And Globo gyms make their money off of their personal trainers and the protein shakes and stuff they sell while you’re there. You may get off cheap with $150.00 by the time it’s all said and done. There’s none of that crap at HIT. You get a personal trainer included in your monthly fee and we don’t push supplements on anyone as a general rule. We believe that you can get what you need in your diet and we’ll even teach you how, included.
3. “I need to get in shape before I join” – false. You join a gym or fitness program to lose weight and get in shape. We know what it takes to reach your goals, we do this for a living. We can tell you how to safely lose weight and build muscle. That’s what we do and why you join up in the 1st place.
4. “I don’t have time to exercise”- false. We as Americans waste more than 2 – 4 hours a day watching TV and on average more than 30 minutes a day waiting on someone to serve us food and on hold. Now if you spent 2 hours in a “cardio theatre” watching a movie while you rode a bike or walked or played on an elliptical, then yes, you don’t have the time to devote to that type of exercise. I get tickled at these “fitness gimmicks”. We can get you in and out in less than an hour. Who doesn’t have time to better themselves if it only takes an hour?
5. “I’ll just do this at home with a video/ internet site/ on my own”- statistically speaking, false. The success rate with these types of programs is a dismal 15%. If no one is holding you accountable, you tend to let stuff that isn’t comfortable, like exercise, fall to the wayside. I applaud those that can stick with it and some of the programs out there are on the right track but still fall way short of what a structured, dependable program can offer. Most of us need that extra pressure to stick with an exercise program, be it a workout partner, a scheduled class time where you are expected to be there, an appointment to keep or a group of people to workout with. It’s ACCOUNTABILITY. That’s what works.
I hope that this clears up some of the most common misconceptions. I’ll address more at a later time. If you have any problems with what I’ve written, post a comment and let me know. Otherwise, get your rear end into the gym, be it HIT CrossFit, another CrossFit Affiliate or a structured exercise program that gets results. See you at the gym!
Todays WODS
For strength:
5/5/5 Hang snatch grip high pull
5/5/5 Wide stance back box squat
rest 5 minutes
METCON
Tabata for 3 minutes each exercise (:20 on/ :10 off):
HSPU
Dips
OHS with pvc pipe
Ring rows
Pull ups with rings
Todays WOD and results
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Everyone seems to have dialed in to the strength training wods! We are hitting PR after PR while keeping lean and fit. The reasoning behind this type of wod combinations is simple: you lift heavy weight at lower reps you gain strength and muscle mass; lifting or moving at high reps, lower weight while getting the heart rate elevated burns calories, assists in lean muscle development and uses body fat as a fuel source. You get bigger, faster and stronger. And lifting heavy is FUN!
