Here’s a CrossFit joke for you:
An atheist, a vegan, and a CrossFitter walk into a bar…..and I know this beacuse they told everyone there within the first two minutes.
The humour(?) comes from the perception that people who are into CrossFit just will. not. shut. up. about how awesome their lifestyle is, etc, etc.
I bring this up because someone asked me, in comments a few weeks back, how CrossFit was going. I didn’t want to turn it into some sort of rabid kool-aid-drinker CrossFit post, but I figured I’d answer the question.
It goes. I hate going, I hate being there, I hate having it hang over my head during the day. But there’s no arguing that Im in better shape for it. Most of the metrics are right where they were when I was doing it more intensely four years ago, and some are not. My deadlift isn’t up to where it was, byt my numbers for snatches, presses, and cleans is a bit better. My squats have stayed the same. I can do more pullups now and I’m able to do more stretches of intense exercise with less breaks and timeouts.
Injuries? Sure. Had a few weeks with a shoulder issue, am currently going through some pain with my elbow, but over time that all clears up.
The upshot is that at 48 years old I’m in better shape than most guys my age. I could stand to lose a few pounds but Im kind of a squat, stocky, ‘fire hydrant’ shaped guy to begin with…being a lanky, wiry, runner-type was never in the cards for me. BUT…..when you’re pinned under heavy debris, dude, Im your man!
And when YOU need someone to belly-crawl through a 300 meter narrow pipe to reach and repair the transmitter uplink tower…. well, still don’t call me. (I’m a bit claustrophobic.)
I do the Y, but have thought about getting into crossfit. Price seems high to me, esp. when I have to get my wife one as well =/ Some Nighttime recovery works wonders on the sore muscles. Dont mean this to sound like spam or anything. Enjoying the site sir.
That was me that asked how it was going. Thanks for the reply. I have been doing starting strength for about 3 months and like it pretty well. I, too am getting stronger and that is a good feeling.
Good luck with it all. 🙂
What do you dislike the most? What do you like the most? And is there anything that keeps you going back other than, I gotta do this to stay in shape? I’m thinking about joining this fall, but not sure I want to take the plunge.
The only things I like doing there are the lifts that are slow and don’t involve coordinated movements…so Im a big fan of front squats, back squats, and deadlifts. Everything else…snatches, cleans, thrusters, burpees, pullups, dips, rows, runs, rope climbs, etc, etc, all suckage to me. The reason I keep going is peer pressure and accepting the fact that while I freaking hate being there it *has* improved my shape and stamina. But Im an anomaly…most people seem to really ‘get into it’. Give it a try, of nothing else you might discover you like it. Just give it shot. I’ll tell you right now, the first week will be painful…you’ll be sore like you never imagined. Second week its usually gotten better. So if you try it, give it more than one week. If you can do a month, try that…other wise two weeks. But definitely dont let the first week be the one that makes the decision for you.
Thanks, that’s helpful to hear. I like the appearance of a “community” because I need some peer pressure. Just don’t want to be cultish about it. Thanks for the feedback!