Time and time again, we’ve seen the rise and fall of fads in the fitness industry. These fad diets and workouts usually start off with a bang and suddenly disappear without a whisper. One such fad that we witnessed a few years ago was Crossfit.
With their AMRAP workouts and pretentious terminologies like WOD, Crossfit had established itself as a major driving force in many people’s lives. It almost seemed like Crossfit was legit and was here to stay. It’s quite surprising how something like Crossfit was held in similarly high esteem as HIIT, Tabata, LISS, Calisthenics, Bodybuilding, and so on. Surprising because Crossfit is nothing like the other ideologies and regimens that we listed above.
A lot of people swear by it, however, a lot more of them claim that Crossfit is bullshit. In this article, we’re going to take a close look at Crossfit and whether it was something that should be taken seriously. We’ll explore the good and the bad so that you know why or why not, you should indulge in Crossfit. So without further ado, let’s get started and dissect the phenomenon that is Crossfit.
Crossfit vs Every Other Methodology
Every fitness enthusiast has heard of a few terms during their research phase and they usually include cardio, weight training, bodyweight exercises, circuits, intervals, and Crossfit. Now, if you’re a newbie then you might be deceived into thinking that something like Crossfit is as proven as something like HIIT.
While HIIT, Calisthenics, and all the others are tried and tested, Crossfit isn’t. Crossfit came for a brief while and then died down just as fast because it was based solely on hype. The workouts were unsafe, the so-called Crossfit athletes did nothing more than clown around with dangerous equipment, and it was so unnecessarily hyped up that it’d make any fitness-conscious person vomit.
You can’t even begin comparing Crossfit to bodyweight training because of the latter’s focus on proper form and movement range. Even bodybuilders, who are usually in the opposite camp to the bodyweight athletes, follow the same principles. Form and structure are the most important things for any athlete and Crossfit knowingly ignores both. This is why all the others have been clubbed together while Crossfit is an outlier.
The Silver Lining
You must be thinking that Crossfit can’t be all bad since it has amassed so many followers over the world. Sure, nothing is 100% good or bad and the same applies to Crossfit as well. While there are many significant disadvantages of doing Crossfit, it has a few benefits as well.
For starters, the sense of community in the Crossfit community is great. Everyone is hyping each other to perform better and that’s something that makes workouts more enjoyable. You can also argue that performing Crossfit makes you a part of their community. This makes working out less of a chore and more of a challenge which eliminates the initial lethargy associated with working out.
You get an entry pass to the various different Crossfit events throughout the world and that’s mainly due to the massive popularity of Crossfit. You can even compete there if you want and it’ll allow you more avenues to test yourself. However, there’s nothing more than this to be said about Crossfit. All the redeeming points have been exhausted and there’s nothing more to endorse such a dangerous sport. In the next section, we’ll explore why not to trust Crossfit, and trust me, the points won’t be exhausted nearly as soon.
The Actual Bullshit
Now that we’re done with the formalities, it’s time to discuss why you should stay away from Crossfit. Would you ever let a surgeon operate on you if you knew that the only qualification they have is a certification “earned” over a weekend? Any sane person would answer with a resounding No!. Then why would you like to be trained by some random Chad who just went to a boot camp and got certified by a bunch of other Chads?
These Crossfit trainers aren’t certified medical professionals or even fitness coaches. This is the reason why training under them is putting your health at risk. They won’t know proper form themselves and in turn, will guide you in the wrong direction. This is the primary reason why Crossfit athletes are frequently injured and put to rest.
A great example of this debauchery of form is apparent in the Crossfit competitions. The athletes there will sometimes do hundreds of squats and be proud of it. If you bring them in front of a bodyweight athlete, the Crossfit athlete won’t be able to complete a single Pistol Squat and will be beaten down instantly.
The Crossfit bandwagon attracts people of all shapes and sizes, then discards the ones who don’t match its preset mold. The thing with Crossfit is that a beginner or a fat person can’t perform the grueling sessions. These intense sessions are fine if done once or twice a week by a fit person however, forcing an unfit individual to exercise daily with the same frequency is a sure shot way to demotivate them for life.
The bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting, martial arts, and calisthenics communities will all welcome beginners with open arms. Crossfit, on the other hand, doesn’t care about improving your technique or performance. Crossfit operates by selling hype and beginners are better off trying something else instead.
The Olympic lifting incorporated into Crossfit is stupid as well since it requires years of practice to develop the proper form. The Crossfit monkeys, however, butcher those lifts as well and then come out with mile-wide grins on their ignorant faces.
What Are Your Alternatives?
There’s no dearth of options if you’re looking to get fit in today’s world. Globalization and development have helped almost all the major sports establish a foothold in different parts of the world. You can try Muay Thai, MMA, powerlifting, Boxing, Judo, running, swimming, Football, or even calisthenics.
You can’t give the excuse that there are none of these facilities available near your home either. The minimal calisthenics equipment and setting up a basic home gym don’t cost nearly as much as they used to, and anyone can get started. You’ll be able to work out at your own pace without the risk of injury or exhaustion, and it’s always better than spending hundreds of dollars on a Crossfit membership that couldn’t even justify its price.
