CrossSh1t are bringing back Oly Lifting

fctilidie said:Steve Maxwell wrote a really good article on crossfit (although it does take a while to get into the part about crossfit)

http://www.maxwellsc.com/blog.cfm?blogID=90

Olympic lifting is very technical. The lifts themselves are very specific and not the best way to develop many of the attributes claimed. Olympic lifting specialists are one of the most frequently injured group of athletes.

Steve said:
The winner of the WSM is the best strongman at the time he wins, but only one of the strongest men. Strength is specific. The powerlifting and weightlifting World Chapions could equally claim to be the World' strongest man as could certain heavy events Champions.
Similarly fitness is specific, covers many things and can be defined and tested in many ways. How you define fitness will obviously then affect who is the best.
Crossfit is about all round fitness and by being jacks of all trades is is almost guaranteed that training for it will mean you are unlikely to be able to compete with the best in any single specific measures of fitness. Eg swimming, running, cycling ... are all measures of specific types of fitness. The top Crossfit competitors would be nowhere near the top swimmers ....

serious_pete said:Well this thread has suddenly turned into a really good read!!

My opinion FWIW as someone who trains at a xf "box", albeit one that has a decent oly lifting squad, Crossfit manchester, and is bezzie mates with a co owner of another, crossfit reading.

Crossfit is a really good way for the average joe to get "fit", provided it is done in the right way. Get people stronger in a sensible, programmed way with basic movements eg squat, press, deadlift, pull ups etc and add a shortish circuit style finisher on the end of it. Train 3-5 times a week. Done. It is of course debateable whether this is really "crossfit" or not, as people have been getting strong and using circuits for conditioning for ever.

Unfortunately, this is not how it is always done. The need for "intensity" means too many bite off more than they can chew, constantly searching for pb's, and using bad form to get quicker times in the "WODs". Add this to too many crazy long "hero" style wods and the need for everyone to feel "elite" and you have a recipe for burn out and injuries.

Re the crossfit games. This seemed to become more of a focus once it was pretty clear that crossfit WASN'T the answer of for sport S&C. Early crossfit claims that anyone in any sport should use crossfit and dominate their sport never came to fruition and I don't know of any competitor in any sport who claims xfit as the route to their success. The top competitors are clearly amazing athletes and can do alot of impressive feats. This doesn't howver make the winners the world's fittest athletes IMO, it makes them the best crossfitters. Fitness is sports specific. Is Bradley Wiggins "fitter" than Usain Bolt, or Anderson Silver, or Lionel Messi? They all need very different attributes.

As others have pointed out, what crossfit is exceptionally good at is marketing. Average joes are "elite athletes" after a few sessions of 3x5 back squats and 10 minutes of kettlebell swings and kipping pull ups. Who doesn't want to be elite? Most xfit gyms have a real sense of community and cameraderies, something that is pretty much absent in total fitness and the like. Who doesn't want to be part of a community? Add in some anti authoritarian slogans, some cool T shirts, some dietary recommendations that work pretty well and you have the perfect gang. Or cult.

I can see that I've ranted quite a bit so I'll leave it there.

Sparrow said:
1. Cardiovascular/Respiratory Endurance- The ability of the body systems to gather, process, and transport oxygen.
2. Stamina- The ability of the body to process, store, deliver, and utilize energy.
3. Strength- The ability of a muscular unit, or combo of muscular units to apply force.
4. Flexibility- The ability of maximizing range of motion at a given joint.
5. Power- The ability of a muscular unit, or combo of muscular units to apply maximum force in minimum time.
6. Speed- The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
7. Coordination- The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
8. Agility- The ability to minimize transition time between one movement pattern to another.
9. Accuracy- The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.
10. Balance- The ability to control the placement of the bodies’ center of gravity in relation to its’ support base.

Those tests seem to test most of the 10 principles laid out earlier pretty well IMO. Also the tests very very different the year before and I'm sure will be for next year. Is there a more well rounded test of 'fitness' out there than that?
If somebody believes that they have a superior training system to Crossfit which gets their athletes 'fitter' then I would love to see them take the Games title home and share that system with all. However, until that happens I think 'Crossfit' training does a pretty good job of preparing those guys to be good at anything and everything!

sexymikehowarth said:I don't think it is accurate to say crossfit is a religion to be honest

VanillaGorilla said:
A few crossfitters I know are complete cults though

macroth said:One thing CF is unbeatable at is bulls**t, lulz and drama. There have been so many stories, rumors, Glassassinations (Glassman is a master character assassin on the Interwebs), epic displays of idiocy, unbearable motivational and cult-worship prose (imagine Sparrow's posts as beat poetry )...

If you have a month to waste, read the "Couch thread". Or Google the CF white papers, or various now-defunct CF parody blogs like Drywall or BeastModalDomains. The latest round involving an equity fund possibly buying a 50% stake in the context of Glassman's acrimonious divorce is priceless. f**king three-ring circus.