{"id":525,"date":"2012-02-09T19:22:16","date_gmt":"2012-02-10T02:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=525"},"modified":"2012-02-13T09:33:54","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T16:33:54","slug":"crossfit-notes-managing-expectations-while-in-a-cult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=525","title":{"rendered":"Crossfit notes: managing expectations while in a “cult”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day one of my crossfit\u00a0colleagues (a superb\u00a0athlete\u00a0named A.L.) shared an article on Facebook, “Inside the Cult of CrossFit<\/a>“. \u00a0 Posted to the Yahoo Health page, written by a fellow named\u00a0Grant Stoddard. \u00a0Mr. Stoddard set out to see what Crossfit is all about. \u00a0It’s an interesting article. \u00a0I enjoyed most of it.<\/p>\n

The short analysis here is I think it’s a great short piece, and I agree 99% with everything he says. \u00a0Which comes down to this:<\/p>\n

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  1. Crossfit is very different from other fitness programs<\/li>\n
  2. Crossfit is\u00a0dangerous<\/li>\n
  3. Crossfit is addictive<\/li>\n
  4. Crossfit has a\u00a0cult-like\u00a0feel<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Yes, crossift is<\/em>\u00a0dangerous. \u00a0It’s dangerous because once you introduce a time\u00a0boundary\u00a0to throwing\u00a0weights\u00a0around, things get dicey. \u00a0That time boundary is the\u00a0definitive\u00a0difference between crossfit and other programs.<\/p>\n

    But it’s\u00a0necessary. \u00a0As Stoddard points out, Crossfit was\u00a0designed\u00a0for people whose lives are bound by emergencies: paramedics, firemen, policemen, the armed service men and women. \u00a0Crossfit is meant to mimic what happens during disaster; which is to say life-and-death situations where the dynamics are unknown before, and perhaps during, the event.\u00a0Emergencies\u00a0don’t happen on cue, or at\u00a0convenient\u00a0times.<\/p>\n

    You want to find out how you will do in emergency? \u00a0Well it makes sense to seek out the training programs used by firemen, policemen, Marines, SEALs, SWAT teams. \u00a0I don’t think you can get this at a regular gym, because regular gyms don’t have the kind of chaos you get when you introduce a time stamp in a group setting with a set of exercises meant to\u00a0exhaust\u00a0every\u00a0possible\u00a0muscle group. \u00a0Run two hundred meters, climb a rope, do dumbbell thrusters. \u00a0Do that once every 2 minutes five times to see how many thrusters you can do, and at what\u00a0weight.<\/p>\n

    The more chaos you introduce, the better. \u00a0Like Stoddard, I have found the workouts so grueling that I get confused in the middle. \u00a0I’m so physically stressed that I have trouble focusing on anything other then getting that next rep. \u00a0Sometimes I’m so exausted I have to focus on parts<\/em> of reps: get down for one more burpee, ,extended the legs back, push up, draw the legs up. Stand up. Clap. \u00a0One more time. “High state of fatigue” is the name of the game. \u00a0Over and over.<\/p>\n

    He’s right, it’s tough. \u00a0Does that encourage sloppy form? \u00a0It could. \u00a0The answer: scale down the workouts until you have mastered the form. \u00a0It’s up to the individual to be responsible; if they don’t know, they need to ask the coach. \u00a0I knew this from the start. \u00a0 And the coaches at Crossfit East Sac<\/a> enforced that: don’t go into dangerous\u00a0territory. \u00a0Find a good box where the trainers are interested in who you are and what your goals are.<\/p>\n

    I think it’s addictive because once the\u00a0adrenaline\u00a0is flowing, once you catch that primal wave of hormones, you’re hooked. It’s addictive because it’s how we were meant to be.<\/p>\n

    Regarding “cult-like”, I don’t think that’s really the right word. I think “tribal” is the right word. \u00a0It doesn’t bother me. \u00a0Putting my scores on the board doesn’t bother me. \u00a0And I’m not interested in crushing anybody. \u00a0I’m interested in optimum fitness.<\/p>\n

    For me, Stoddard’s discourse breaks down when he talks about “body shapes”, as in why don’t the people with “better” bodies always perform better then those with “gelatinous” bodies? \u00a0Really, no kidding? For Stoddard, it refutes Greg Glassman’s<\/a> claim that the best bodies belong to crossfitters. \u00a0The fact that Stoddard took exception here doesn’t matter to me. I think it’s a\u00a0straw man\u00a0argument. Fitness is the determination, not body shape. \u00a0The numbers on the workouts speak for themselves.<\/p>\n

    You don’t want a bunch of women clapping and shouting for you to do that one last rep? \u00a0I agree that for some people, a group setting is not the right one. \u00a0Well, it doesn’t bother me. \u00a0I’ll gladly come in last, if it means I did the workout as intended. \u00a0And by “as intended” I mean this: scale the workout down to the intensity that is the most you can safely do on that day. \u00a0Leave nothing on the table, as often as you can. \u00a0In that situation I’ll take all the\u00a0applause\u00a0I can get. \u00a0I do not find my best effort humiliating. \u00a0Inadequate\u00a0perhaps. \u00a0But I’ll deal with that.<\/p>\n

    The women at CFES regularly outperform me. \u00a0Good for them. \u00a0In fact most people outperform me. \u00a0So be it. \u00a0Forging elite fitness does not mean I come in first. \u00a0My main concern is that I don’t what the spread to be too large.<\/p>\n

    Really hard work, really fast, always different. \u00a0Well, that’s what I signed up for.<\/p>\n

    That’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
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