CrossFit

[BigDaddyAmin]

So, I have recently moved closer to my homeland - Louisiana, to be precise. When I lived in Godforsaken Wyoming (tm), I belonged to the County Rec Center. It wasn't that bad and thanks to the coal wealth in my area, we had a top notch facility considering that there isn't much for families to do in Northeast Wyoming but pray to White Jesus and take meth.

I recently I noticed that there is a CrossFit box not too far from my home.

So I am looking into maybe giving it a try. Though I have been weighing out the pros and cons.

The pros I think depend a lot the group dynamic. The comradeship seems to be a big thing at these places. I go to gyms and usually when I do I feel like a douche because either I feel like I am doing something with bad form. Turn up the awkward factor thanks to guys who workout wearing way too much cologne (a pet peeve of mine) and idiots grunting like they are having prostate surgery. Maybe it is just a self esteem thing.

Cons are mainly what I have read off the internet. Just about CrossFit not being very healthy, in particular on joints. I'd like to be able to pick my grandkids up when I reach 64. There also seems to be a kind of creepy factor with a lot of these facilities that they remind me of the fitness equivalent of Scientology.

To compound this: local area gym membership costs $59 a month. The gym in my town that offers this is probably some of the best facilities in the South. This includes using saunas, pools, weights, and other equipment.

Local box is about $100 a month. Looks like an industrial warehouse on the outside.

i am not looking to compete in any games. Just want a good workout to feel good and not feel like crap like i did working IT in WY and sitting in front of computers looking at lines of code for 11 hours a day.

So thoughts. Is it worth it? Anyone have experiences good or bad?

[Ganymede]

Fuck CrossFit. My experience with a CrossFit Gym was akin to the PC Fraternity on South Park.

Go to a nice gym. Get a trainer and book 8 to 12 lessons. Get motivated, get a good playlist, and take an hour or so for yourself a day.

Plenty of folks here can help you with exercise ideas.

[mietze]

This is going to be an annoying answer, but:

Go visit the place and see what you think of the dynamic when you get there. It really varies from place to place. The community can be awesome if it's the right fit.

I shopped around a bit when I did it. I noticed some pretty glaring differences between boxes. Especially depending on the caveats you have. (Fat? Female? Scheduling? Old? Level of fitness?) An excellent coach will be able to help you modify appropriately. There should be an assessment involved so they can realistically advise you, and listen to your concerns, if any. I've been out of it for over 2 years at this point, so I would again shop around, to be honest since I'm definitely at a different level of fitness than I was.

I had a great experience, but I know people personally who sustained really bad injuries elsewhere. To be fair, this has also been my experience with personal training. (Which I think Crossfit membership is pretty equivalent to in $$)--the experience is so very very dependent on the coach/PT/environment and interplay between you and that.

With that price differential, as long as you are not going to have to sign a year long contract, I would be tempted to meet with a personal trainer every other week (this would be slightly more expensive total than just doing crossfit, depending on the going rate in your area), or see if the gym offers small group personal training (with just 2-4 people per group it's sometimes more comfortable than a 1 on 1 session and is often less than half the cost), if you like one of the trainers there. So there may be other options than just by yourself at the gym or Crossfit.

That's the decision I've recently come to; I'm hooking up again for small group sessions with my favorite, excellent personal trainer for the next 6 weeks while also shopping around at some boxes (there's now like double the number). I don't know that I am at the level of fitness where I'd be comfortable otherwise (a different situation from where I was a couple of years ago).

[BigDaddyAmin]

I had one coworker at my previous job in Wyoming who was pretty gung-ho on CrossFit. Did the WoD. Did extra workouts. He even would ride his bike to work for the extra exercise (much to the chagrin of all of us who had to endure his awful body odor. The guy was down-to-earth, but lacking in social graces).

When he described his CrossFit community it was almost...religious. I say this as a man who is a theist, and while he was an atheist, he exhibited more groupthink than many firebrand zealots I have encountered. Though his situation did remind me of a thesis a friend of mine wrote for his DMin. A classicist like me, he comes to the intriguing theory that the more a Western society "deChristianizes" or in this case, secularizes, the more it goes back to ancient classical ideals of the "cult of the body": transcending yourself spiritually and mentally with the attempt to achieve perfect form. This guy was walking proof of this. Well, at least for me.

That is part of my concern. Another problem I have is that it seems that anyone with a weekend and the cash can become a CrossFit trainer, buy some industrial real estate, and start a box. Perhaps this is just capitalism but this and the association that pain and blood equates progress in your physical health.

Maybe i am just being picky and I should proabably just check it out.

[mietze]

You should definitely go take a look see. And yeah, that is one of the reasons I am sticking to my trainer. This time around I am coming from a much less forgiving place, health wise.

I think the religion thing can be tough. Exercise and fitness can very much become like that (as can anything, I suppose). But just because one guy is inconsiderate (I think being on close quarters when you choose to not take care of your hygiene) and can't shut up about his hobby doesn't mean everyone will be like that. But fitness people can be rather culty. Seen that over and over again. With a side helping of high horse.

If he was super fragrant I wonder if he was doing keto diet too. It used to be all about paleo, but I have heard keto is the newish rage (seems like that potentially wouldn't be wise for crossfitters though). Sometimes people doing the keto diet reek like whoa with breath and BO if their body chemistry just right for that.

[TNP]

Search for reviews of that particular place. Check the BBB.

I'm kind of curious though... With all the gyms, both large and small, available why pick one where you have to be convinced it's a good idea to go to? It sounds like the latest fad diet. Anything will work so long as you do it.

[Ide]

As one of those cheap bastards that exercise at home, I've often wondered how much gyms add to people's motivation (since I struggle with working out regularly). Since that seems like a big part of CF's appeal, what's been people's experiences going from home workout to CF/gym workout and back?

[mietze]

I think it depends a little on your personality.

I find that I personally feel more motivated and have more fun with a very specific training goal in mind. I suspect that some of the total CF freaks may be motivated by the internal and external competition. (That doesn't motivate me, but I do understand the appeal--I have just never been high enough of a level to really compete to be honest, if I was that it is totally possible I'd feel differently!

For me accountability helps, in addition to having a specific, time sensitive goal. That's why I like the group personal training a little bit better than something like crossfit (though in a small place I could see some of that same accountability there, but I personally did not experience that at the place I went).

I never have been and never will be a hop on the treadmill/stationary bike/crosstrainer for 40 minutes 3x a week person. I can make myself do it in a pinch but it won't last. I suppose the rest of my life is so fucking routine oriented, when that is not my personality at all, that I rebel against that and so it's super easy for me to just go on my merry way slipped out of my routine. But. If I have the deadline of a tri or other event on my calendar, with a specific time goal or completion goal in mind, it makes me have more motivation. On the off season I often struggle to keep up my running routine if I don't have an event even though I like running and it's my chill out/zone out time.

Right now I'm dealing with some health issues plus the complication of toddler again (I really got into shape and very fit before I had my oopsie baby, when my other kids were older elementary and my time was not curtailed by many complications. Now it is once more a production to get out the door and settled and back, so having that layer of "I paid extra for this group/there are 3 other women and they'll notice if I'm not there/I will enjoy hanging out with them and have fun once I get there" does help.

I wish I was someone who did not need to play these games with myself to get things done, but...I do. I just need goals, simple, time sensitive, and measurable to be motivated. It's like that in fitness, housewife/work stuff, as well as immensely helpful in my business.

Now that I think about it, I'm kind of happier with that in MUSHdom too. Maybe thats why I /like/ aspirations and things like beatsheets. Bleah, that must be annoying.

[Groth]

@mietze said:

I wish I was someone who did not need to play these games with myself to get things done, but...I do. I just need goals, simple, time sensitive, and measurable to be motivated. It's like that in fitness, housewife/work stuff, as well as immensely helpful in my business.

Now that I think about it, I'm kind of happier with that in MUSHdom too. Maybe thats why I /like/ aspirations and things like beatsheets. Bleah, that must be annoying.

I'm exactly like that. It can be a huge undertaking to get anything done if I don't have some sort of feedback cycle. When it comes to exercise, having someone to exercise with is such a huge help in making sure you have a reason to get out of the door.

@BigDaddyAmin said:

Cons are mainly what I have read off the internet. Just about CrossFit not being very healthy, in particular on joints. I'd like to be able to pick my grandkids up when I reach 64. There also seems to be a kind of creepy factor with a lot of these facilities that they remind me of the fitness equivalent of Scientology.

Just avoid doing the exercises that are damaging to the joints such as lifting weights above your shoulders or doing improper squats and you should be ok.

[The Tree of Woe]

Make no bones about it, Crossfit it is a social identity built around exercise. That's not inherently a bad thing - people build social identities around lots of stuff worse than that, like drinking.

But as always, ask yourself if that's what you want, and if you can stand the politics that inevitably result. Manipulating people into risking their health to be part of the group is a shitty, shitty thing to do, and it has a bad habit of happening in Xfit.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go sit in one spot and do the same thing over and over for 8 hours.

[Arkandel]

I dislike crossfit. Mainly because often form is sacrificed in the name of ego - a very bad tradeoff.