This is probably one the questions I get most as a physical therapist, and I have now given enough thought to put it into a blog post.

My short answer is “I love it.” My long answer is below.

A few of my initial concerns with CrossFit were:

1. It isn’t specific to any one goal
2. It seems like an easy way to get hurt
3. It seems like everyone does the same thing

Over the last several months though these concerns have actually be dispelled and/or properly understood.

Now these are the primary reasons I love CrossFit:

1. It isn’t specific

This has gone from a concern to something I actually appreciate about CrossFit. When I was studying for my CSCS certification I was immersed in program design, periodization and targeting specific adaptations in your clientele. CrossFit seemed like the total opposite of that. Doing high volumes of power lifting movements was the opposite of my training and I didn’t like it, until I started working as a physical therapist. Part of the paradigm shift for me came from this video from the founder of CrossFit, which essentially outlines the thinking behind all of it. CrossFit is not intended to make the athlete (or just human) specifically good at any one thing but to build the athlete’s CAPACITY. Instead of training to jump really high, or sprint really fast or lift really heavy or running really far, CrossFit trains you to perform more work. The non-specificity of CrossFit actually serves to improve the athlete’s ability to tolerate more activity, which is precisely what the average human needs. In the video, Glassman goes deeper into the topic of building fitness (or capacity) and how aiming at that goal will create not only fit people, but healthy people. I agree.

2. It seems like an easy way to get hurt

This belief stemmed from my misunderstanding of how almost all CrossFit gyms function. I thought that anyone could sign up and that day they would be doing full Rx (full weight on lifts) WODs (workout of the day). This seemed like a perfect design for injury. However, most “boxes” now have a fairly developed on-boarding process that participants are required to go through to start working out. Most of these include a communication of previous/current injuries, a movement analysis, and training on basic movements. Also, most gyms are diligent to scale WODs for less advanced people, or even have different class times for beginners. Sure people get injured doing CrossFit, just like people get injured doing any other athletic pursuit. This argument against CrossFit falls apart almost immediately for me. Does your risk of injury go up? Sure, compared to sitting on the couch, but not much more than trying to do any lifting/exercising on your own. Also, I will take occasional musculoskeletal aches and pains that can be treated effectively (by a PT, chiro, masseuse, etc.) in exchange for the [expensive] chronic, non-musculoskeletal diseases that come from being unhealthy. Heart disease, Type II diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases are considered preventable, building fit humans would help on this front. I’m a big believer in Mark Rippetoe’s quote “Strong people are harder to kill.” I think you could argue that long term exposure to CrossFit will decrease your risk of injury by building your overall tolerance to advanced movements and high loads.

3. Seems like everyone is doing the same thing.

This was another misunderstanding I had about CrossFit. As I mentioned above, WODs are scalable and good coaches will be able to help individuals meeting their needs with every workout. This is basically a non-issue for me. The point of CrossFit is to expose you to a continually variety of movements that you do with a group of people, under the supervision of a skilled coach (or coaches).

Overall, I love CrossFit. Building more capable humans, and more capable communities will help drive down the overall cost of healthcare.

 

Have a thoughts leave a comment and let’s chat!