Here's some insight from Coach on the intent of CrossFit:

Brah, we have thatinfo on a big banner hanging on the wall in my box. Its like the douche-bag 10 commandments. Me and my bros pleasure ourselves to it, the banner is kind of soiled now.

Good points and all true.

I'm sure these are old news to many here, but its new to me. Just wanted to see what the collective wisdom of LR thought about it.

#10 is idiotic, as if written by a concussed old football coach.

#4 smells like my farts

I like the intertextuality inherent in the juxtaposition of 8 and 9.

1. Bull. Everyone learns sports when they are little kids. What US gymnast would not know how to play basketball, baseball, football, soccer, etc? This is just a statement that is made up out of thin air.

2. Power alone is pretty worthless in athletics without speed and agility. Olympic lifters would look like a pile of bricks on a basketball court or in a soccer game.

3. See no. 2

4. Fiction. Just look at how badly 200-400 m runners do at 1500 m. Just watch the 1500 m in the decathalon. It is pretty grizzly.

5. False. Endurance athletes are generally endomorphs. They do not gain much muscle mass from strength training. Pound for pound, they are usually very strong but due to genetics will never have the kind of capacity for strength that meso and ectomorphs can develop. Genetics has much more to do with the relative capacity for strength between endurance athletes and other athletic disciplines.

6. With high protein diets, you either get cancer or heart disease. Actually, we all agree that highly process sugars and starches are bad. But a high carbohydrate diet is very appropriate for distance runners. It is not necessary for the general population, but is not a per se bad diet. Just look at the Italians. They eat carbs morning, noon and night but have excellent overall health outcomes.

7. Agree.

8. Segmenting training efforts maximizes improvement by allowing the athlete to gain the full benefit of the work instead of being hindered by insufficient recovery.

9. True, but not during every workout. Proper recovery is the most important step for maximizing physical capacity.

10. Athletes today perform at a much higher level for much longer than athletes did 30-40 years ago. Athletes are faster, stronger and more agile. Exercise science is the main difference between today's athlete and the athletes of 30-40 years ago.

The deal wrote:

Copied and pasted from the crossfit website FAQ section.

Here's some insight from Coach on the intent of CrossFit:

4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes - even at extended efforts.

Usain Bolt may disagree with that.

Precious Roy wrote:

6. With high protein diets, you either get cancer or heart disease.

Who said anything about high protein diets?

This is something you fools don't understand. There is not just a high carb and a high protein diet, there is also a healthy high fat diet.

The deal wrote:

4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes - even at extended efforts.

5. Endurance athletes are woefully lacking in total physical capacity.

10. The world's most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion."

It's obvious that he knows nothing about exercises science based off 4 and 5.

Most, if not ALL, successful training programs rely on exercises science. ALL ADVANCES IN SPORTS EQUIPMENT IS DUE TO ADVANCEMENT IN EXERCISE SCIENCE. Just look at our running shoes, their xfit shoes, ice skates/blades, gym equipment, proper form for sports like the skeleton, gymnastics, etc, all due to EXERCISES SCIENTIESTS.

I mean, this guy is brainwashing people.

Xfit_guy_the_real_1 wrote:

Who said anything about high protein diets?

This is something you fools don't understand. There is not just a high carb and a high protein diet, there is also a healthy high fat diet.

High fat can raise cholesterol and clog arteries. It also can make you fat.

How many people have LLD cholesterol less than 70 on a high fat diet?

fguy1 wrote:

How many people have LLD cholesterol less than 70 on a high fat diet?

LDL not LLD. xD

As an ex-runner now crossfit person, I love it. Before running 2:39:58 in Chicago (2011) I decided it would be my last big effort for running. I was sick of being 135 pounds lacking explosiveness, agility, power, etc.

The aspects of running I really enjoyed, feeling fit, working out with a team, were 2 things I could get with crossfit. Additionally, its an activity I can do 3 times a week, leaving my weekend for tennis (in the summer, crossfit in winter) and rock climbing... 2 other sports I thoroughly enjoy and that benefit from the strength and fitness gained in crossfit.

I actually enjoy the lack of scientific basis for the training. Its kind of nice to just do something with a team without questioning the purpose of why I am doing it. It makes it more fun: even if I'm not maximizing my athletic potential.

My box (I hate that term) is really proactive about 1) not doing everything RX... we scale a lot based on form, strength and personal goals and 2) form.

I can also see where much of crossfit would be applicable to sprinters. We do traditional sets of squats, cleans, snatches and deadlifts... and these are all beneficial to sprinting and sport in general. What I mean by traditional is your typical 5 reps, rest, 5 reps, rest 3 reps, rest, 1 rep, rest, 1 rep versus what gets the headlines for crossfit: the WOD (a mixture of intense and often very heavy olympic style lifts and body weight work for time or reps).

The wods can sometimes be ridiculous, but more often then not, are really good at building overall fitness. If I told you to do sets of the following: 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 air squats for 20 minutes, you wouldn't say that is not a good workout. Its a great workout. It builds complete body strength. Its something a runner, or any athlete, would find beneficial. Its also a crossfit workout.

Doing heavy deadlifts for time, however, is a recipe for injury and the benefit is questionable (crossfit also has this component). For example, tonight we are supposed to do:

Five rounds for time of:

155 pound Deadlift, 12 reps

155 pound Hang power clean, 9 reps

155 pound Push jerk, 6 reps

This workout is suspect in my view. Deadlifts for time followed by power cleans and push jerks could crush your back. My solution will be #1 not to do the RX weight (155lbs) and to make sure I slow things down to keep perfect form.

My shoulders are bigger, my arms are bigger, my abs are defined, my legs are strong, I'm 155 pounds and I ran a 20:35 5k a couple weeks ago after not running more than 15 miles since October 2011. I know that sounds awful, but for 20 pounds heavier and 2.5 years of not running, for someone who is not all that naturally talented, something is keeping me relatively aerobically fit while also giving me more strength, and a much more appealing body, than I have ever likely had.

Crossfit has its ridiculousness, but 80% of the time I think the workouts are very good.

If you didn't get results, it wouldn't be a phenomenon and I can attest to the results.

But also, don't underestimate the power of being part of a team environment where there is structure, camaraderie, and an air of competition. You can't get that by going to a gym an pounding out a few reps on bench.

Conto wrote:

My shoulders are bigger, my arms are bigger, my abs are defined, my legs are strong, I'm 155 pounds

Couldn't have said it any better. Great job, brah. I hope 155 is just a stepping stone and you're trying to improve from there. Good luck!

I am going to give you some honest feedback here, since you gave an honest assessment of your x-fit experience.Firstly, no one ever said x-fit is useless. Many of just think it is completely over-the-top in its hype, marketing, cult-like attitude, and anti-science bent. Just look at Cult_Fit_Troll_Real_1: he is the perfect example of an x-fit doofus who constantly posts flat out incorrect BS on exercise, nutrition, and health. (and no, he is not trolling. Sure, he has fun with tweaking us runners, but he believes his crap 100%). Most people who join x-fit become insufferable, annoying, clowns, and it makes it a lot worse when it is middle-aged, fairly out-of-shape jokers who are parading around like they are star HS football players. But let's look at what you wrote:

Nice work in the marathon. Right near 6:00 pace.

If you backed off the mileage some, worked on some sprinting and plyos, and maybe some weight work too, you could have regained much of your "explosiveness, agility, power" without dropping nearly all of your running and/or joining x-fit.

Yeah, but when you were on a running team, were your teammates and coaches constantly yelling at you that you are "AWESOME!" and "KILLING IT!!" and looking "RIPPED AND SHREDDED!!!" No, they didn't need that nonsense to motivate you. And did you pay $150 a month (what does x-fit cost?) to get those fake compliments hurled your way? No. Because you weren't into running for the fake a$$-kissing.

That's a strange statement in ways. Yeah, sure, it's great to do something just for fun and the hell of it, but actually, x-fit doesn't work that way. They are CONSTANTLY citing research and experience on why their method is the best, and everything else is crap. They are not about "hey, let's try this, for fun and the rush." NO, they think they have created THE PERFECT WORKOUT.

1) You've slowed from 6:00 pace for 26.2 to over 6:30 pace for a 5k. X-fit has DESTROYED your stamina and endurance. And clearly it hasn't helped your speed too much, because a 5k has an speed element to it, and with your past endurance work, and all your power training now, one might have thought you could at least run a faster 5k than you did, but then start to really struggle at longer races. But as I said, x-fit has destroyed your stamina/aerobic abilities.

2) "My shoulders are bigger, my arms are bigger, my abs are defined, my legs are strong" you could have achieved all of that based on ANY strength training program. If you simply cut mileage a bit, added a little more protein to your diet, and started hitting the weights and body-weight exercises, you would have achieved all of that. The X-FIT program per se gave you nothing special in that dept over any body-buidling program, probably worse. However...

3) fine, if it motivated you, because you were part of a team, and they blew smoke up your a$$ (as they took your $), then fine, maybe it did a better job than some other weight training programs could. I think they are good at motivating people who otherwise cant get motivated (but as a runner, I would think you would already have internal motivation) . I personally work out in my garage, by myself, whenever I want, and achieve all of what x-fitters does for one and more, I don't need a bunch of posers grunting and yelling at each other, telling me that "I RULE!!" when I work out. I also don't need them trying to sell me on unscientific nutrition paleo nonsense.

4) How old are you, and are you married? Who are you trying to impress?

it's nice to have some muscle mass, and sure, we all like to pose in the mirror and feel good at what we see. But unless you are in your 20's or early 30's, and single, really, it's a bit of a pointless ego chase. If you are 40's (or nearing it), and married, Do you REALLY think single young chicks are checking out your "155 lb" x-fit bod?? Sorry, they're not. And most wives yes prefer their men to not be emaciated, but unfortunately aren't going to suddenly turn into nymphomaniacs who can't keep their hands and mouths of you because you added a little muscle. And if you start parading around with your shirt off in front of the young 20-somethings hoping to get a smile in the summer...yeah, you'll get a smile (because they are laughing to themselves). I am not directing this at YOU in particular, just to any guy reaching that age, warning them to not be "that guy", and also that at some point, an inch on your biceps ain't gonna impress anyone. It's too late. This is something you might have worked on in your teens, in college, and early 20's. THEN.....it MIGHT have gotten you "something" for you hard work: the attention you were seeking, and what comes with that. Maybe.

"If you didn't get results, it wouldn't be a phenomenon and I can attest to the results."

Lots of things that are crap are "phenomenon". You know this.

It's funny how some of these are accurate and others are WTF status.

Especially number 4 is amusing. What would that even be based on?

What good sprinter runs 15 for 5k or 2:30 for the marathon?

I saw a guy in his mid 50s after his run and because he was fit, he was more attractive than the 20 yr old fat dudes in line.

Yes, if a guy has a nice buff bod and takes off his shirt and smiles at a girl, umm...she's going to smile back or do that smile on the inside thing.

I like guys who are wider than me, the broad shoulders and all that male masculine goodness. If he's taller and wider than me, I feel like a tiny woman that he could easily scoop up in his arms. I love than feeling.

Hahahaha...of course Conto is into Crossfit now. I always wondered what happened to this guy after his know-it-all posts on Letsrun disappeared.He just fits the mold of the typical Crossfit guy: not talented in any sport, small guy syndrome, douchey in-your-face attitude, inferiority complex.

Conto wrote:

You can't get that by going to a gym an pounding out a few reps on bench.

No, but you can get fit by doing that if you have even the smallest amount of discipline.

The deal wrote:4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes - even at extended efforts.

He pulled that "fact" out of his @ss, not simple observations.

Or maybe he thinks that every sprinter who can't medal, make the Olympic team, or whatever, is just too stupid to "match the performance" of endurance athletes by switching to an endurance event and medaling or making an Olympic team that way.