Crossfit - Experiences and Opinions

[Rusty]

It's all about balance and finding a lifestyle that you can stick with.  Crazy diets and workout routines that you won't stick with are useless.  Make 1 or 2 lifestyle changes at a time and stick with them.

 

Diet and exercise are both important.  And from an exercise standpoint, resistance training and aerobics are both important.  Start simple, add several walks to your weekly routine and do a couple sets of push-ups 2-3 time each week.   

[Lunatic]

patently false.  this is the mentality that puts old people in nursing homes bc they can't get off the toilet by themselves anymore.

 

real weight training is the single most important thing you can do at any age.  it provides it's own cardiovascular benefits, without the need to pound away the miles.  it builds muscle.  it strengthens connective tissues. it increases bone density.  all of which decline with age.  

 

The biggest misconception in your statement is that weight training provides cardio. Step with me on the ice and with all your years of weight lifting you will be flat on your face in 3 minutes. You will never be fit by just weight training, NEVER. I lifted weights for 15 years in my 20s and 30's. I am 5-10 and back than I was 8% body fat and 210 lb. However, when I stepped on the filed to play soccer or on the ice for hockey I was gasping for air, completely out of shape, next to  guys running at will around me. I am 55 now and I am playing hockey 2 to 3 times/week for over 15 years  and I am in the best shape of my life. I am not only with superior stamina to 99% of people around me but I am as strong as I was in my 30's.    

BTW one of the biggest problems for aging people is lung capacity which starts disintegrate at age 30. How are you increasing your lung capacity with weight lifting? you are not!

Edited August 30, 2017 by Lunatic

[not on the rug]

The biggest misconception in your statement is that weight training provides cardio. Step with me on the ice and with all your years of weight lifting you will be flat on your face in 3 minutes. You will never be fit by just weight training, NEVER. I lifted weights for 15 years in my 20s and 30's. I am 5-10 and back than I was 8% body fat and 210 lb. However, when I stepped on the filed to play soccer or on the ice for hockey I was gasping for air, completely out of shape, next to  guys running at will around me. I am 55 now and I am playing hockey 2 to 3 times/week for over 15 years  and I am in the best shape of my life. I am not only with superior stamina to 99% of people around me but I am as strong as I was in my 30's.    

BTW one of the biggest problems for aging people is lung capacity which starts disintegrate at age 30. How are you increasing your lung capacity with weight lifting? you are not!

You are confusing a few different concepts here.

 

Cardiovascular fitness can be achieved in any nunber of ways. Weight training is most certainly one of the best forms of HIIT you can possibly do. When you are working at 85%+ of 1rm for sets of 5, a typical set will take anywhere from 5-8 minutes to fully recover from. Think 200m-400m sprint here or a 1m+ shift on the ice.

 

This is far different than endurance training. I.e. running 5 miles a few times a week.

 

Regardless...both of these things are fleeting. They are temporary. Conditioning is just that...conditioning. you condition and decondition very quickly. Take a couple of months off from playing and you'll lose most of that conditioning you have.

 

On the other hand, the gains from weight training are far harder to come by and far harder to lose. Lift heavy weughts for 15 years and take a few months off. How much of those gains will you lose?

 

We want people, especially as they age, to be building muscle, increasing bone density and strengthening their connective tissue. All of those things decrease with age, so we need to combat them. If they want to ride a bike or jog a little bit too, thats fine. Conditioning is good too, so long as it doesn't interfere with their training.

 

I'd make that argument that yoga is a close 2nd to weight training, and a perfect accompaniment. Gotta have the strength and the flexibility to keep moving as we age.

[Lunatic]

You are confusing a few different concepts here.

 

Cardiovascular fitness can be achieved in any nunber of ways. Weight training is most certainly one of the best forms of HIIT you can possibly do. When you are working at 85%+ of 1rm for sets of 5, a typical set will take anywhere from 5-8 minutes to fully recover from. Think 200m-400m sprint here or a 1m+ shift on the ice.

 

This is far different than endurance training. I.e. running 5 miles a few times a week.

 

Regardless...both of these things are fleeting. They are temporary. Conditioning is just that...conditioning. you condition and decondition very quickly. Take a couple of months off from playing and you'll lose most of that conditioning you have.

 

On the other hand, the gains from weight training are far harder to come by and far harder to lose. Lift heavy weughts for 15 years and take a few months off. How much of those gains will you lose?

 

We want people, especially as they age, to be building muscle, increasing bone density and strengthening their connective tissue. All of those things decrease with age, so we need to combat them. If they want to ride a bike or jog a little bit too, thats fine. Conditioning is good too, so long as it doesn't interfere with their training.

 

I'd make that argument that yoga is a close 2nd to weight training, and a perfect accompaniment. Gotta have the strength and the flexibility to keep moving as we age.

 

 

Your are confusing things, not me. Any cardio provides as a side benefit muscle building, increase bone density and strengthening of the connective tissues. Yet you think lifting weight maintains or increase your lung capacity. I see this about 20 time each year. A new guy shows up to play hockey with us, he claims he is in shape because he is lifting weights and plays softball on the weekend but halfway through the first or at best 2nd, 3 minute shift he is exhausted, done and puking. The endurance training you call being something different, provides endurance. Endurance is a measure of fitness and is far more important when you get older than your ability to bench press 300 lb.  You are dreaming to think you are in shape from weight lifting. Get on a bike and go up the hill for 10 minutes after you already pedaled for 20 minutes and I will agree then you are in shape. Having lung capacity to go long is the key and while you are working on your lungs everything else gest enough of a work out. In addition cardio increases your metabolism which allows you to control your weight, lifting weights not so much

Edited August 30, 2017 by Lunatic

[not on the rug]

Your are confusing things, not me. Any cardio provides as a side benefit muscle building, increase bone density and strengthening of the connective tissues. Yet you are foolish to think lifting weight maintains or increase your lung capacity. I see this about 20 time each year. A new guy shows up to play hockey with us, he claims he is in shape because he is lifting weights and plays softball on the weekend but halfway through the first or at best 2nd, 3 minute shift he is exhausted, done and puking. The endurance training you call being something different, provides endurance. Endurance is a measure of fitness and is far more important when you get older than your ability to bench press 300 lb. You are dreaming to think you are in shape from weight lifting. Get on a bike and go up the hill for 10 minutes after you already pedaled for 20 minutes and I will agree then you are in shape. Having lung capacity to go long is the key and while you are working on your lungs everything else gest enough of a work out. In addition cardio increases your metabolism which allows you to control your weight, lifting weights not so much

This is basic stuff here buddy. "lung capacity" isn't even a thing that can change. You are referring to conditioning and conditioning is temporary.

 

Endurance training provides none of the benefits of heavy weight training. Again, you simply aren't understanding these concepts.

 

Lifting weights builds muscle mass which burns more calories and helps to aid in nutrient partitioning. Endurance training does not. Doing cardio in an attempt to raise youre metabolic rate is counterproductive. Excessive endurance training actually burns muscle mass.

 

 

I urge you to dig deeper in to this. Really there is nothing left to say. I'm not going to turn HH's thread in to an argument over basic concepts and terminology. Now is the time where you say thank you and then get on your google machine and start the learning process. I can steer you in the right direction if you are willing to sit down and learn

Edited August 30, 2017 by not on the rug

[Haskell_Hunter]

I found this article from the Crossfit founder very insightful.

 

https://journal.crossfit.com/article/what-is-fitness

 

Broke things down into understandable components that made sense.  Is this an accurate article or snake oil?

[not on the rug]

I found this article from the Crossfit founder very insightful.

 

https://journal.crossfit.com/article/what-is-fitness

 

Broke things down into understandable components that made sense.  Is this an accurate article or snake oil?

I'll read it later. If it's on their website though, I'm guessing snake oil

[Haskell_Hunter]

I'll read it later. If it's on their website though, I'm guessing snake oil

 

I think you'll find it very interesting.

 

An excerpt:

 

"Aerobic training benefits cardiovascular function and decreases body fat—all good. Aerobic conditioning allows us to engage in low-power extended efforts efficiently (cardio/respiratory endurance and stamina). This is critical to many sports. Athletes engaged in sports or training where a preponderance of the training load is spent in aerobic efforts witness decreases in muscle mass, strength, speed and power. It is not uncommon to find marathoners with a vertical leap of only several inches! Furthermore, aerobic activity has a pronounced tendency to decrease anaerobic capacity. This does not bode well for most athletes or those interested in elite fitness.

 

"Anaerobic activity also benefits cardiovascular function and decreases body fat! In fact, anaerobic exercise is superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss! Anaerobic activity is, however, unique in its capacity to dramatically improve power, speed, strength and muscle mass. Anaerobic conditioning allows us to exert tremendous forces over brief time intervals. One aspect of anaerobic conditioning that bears great consideration is that anaerobic conditioning will not adversely affect aerobic capacity. In fact, properly structured, anaerobic activity can be used to develop a very high level of aerobic fitness without the muscle wasting consistent with high volumes of aerobic exercise! The method by which we use anaerobic efforts to develop aerobic conditioning is “interval training.”

[Rusty]

I haven't tried Crossfit myself, but I know a bunch of people that do it and they love it.  And the results are impressive.  Give it a try, if you like it and will stick with it then you've found your answer.  

 

And if that doesn't work, go hang out at Woodsman's.  

Edited August 30, 2017 by Rusty

[Lunatic]

This is basic stuff here buddy. "lung capacity" isn't even a thing that can change. You are referring to conditioning and conditioning is temporary.

 

 

I urge you to dig deeper in to this. Really there is nothing left to say. I'm not going to turn HH's thread in to an argument over basic concepts and terminology.

 

 

You are playing with words instead of looking for the answer. You want to call lung efficiency instead of lung capacity then do it, The bottom line is this, if you can't drag a deer for a long time without having to stop every 30 seconds gasping for air then you are fit. Anyone doing honest cardiovascular workout will leave in the dust someone just lifting weights. Cardio is the key. Cardio will help you maintain your weight, strength, lower your blood pressure and cholesterol... lifting weights not so much 

[LPJR]

I have several goals.

 

1. I know my diet is the worst in the world, that needs to be fixed.
2. I am sedentary 25 hours of the day.  All of my work is done in front of a computer.  This is killing me, and I feel the decline every year.
3. I work way too much and am getting rid of some of my clients now.  I am coming to the realization that I am probably working myself to death.
4. I am getting all of the classic mid-40s health issues.  All more than likely due to #1 and #2.  It's reversible, and that's what I'm trying to do.
5. I have a really nice walking treadmill that I was using at home, and will probably start using it again.  But it's somewhat inconvenient to move it out and get it into place.  Lame excuse, but it's the excuses that need to be fought and defeated.

I have no space in my house to introduce workout equipment or the like, so I need to do external activities.

 

How are you making these wonderful elixers and home brews then HH? What part of the day is that done in? I am sure that takes some physical labor to do......

 

Kidding, but any cardio that you choose to begin with will be absolutely beneficial to your health in many ways. Lots of great info on this thread. Start small and work your way into it to make it part of your everyday goals.

Edited August 30, 2017 by LPJR

[Haskell_Hunter]

I haven't tried Crossfit myself, but I know a bunch of people that do it and they love it.  And the results are impressive.  Give it a try, if you like it and will stick with it then you've found your answer.  

 

I am leaning in that direction.  There are a lot of "cautions" to consider, but nothing that seems like a roadblock to me.

[Haskell_Hunter]

How are you making these wonderful elixers and home brews then HH? What part of the day is that done in? I am sure that takes some physical labor to do......

 

Kidding, but any cardio that you choose to begin with will be absolutely beneficial to your health in many ways. Lots of great info on this thread. Start small and work your way into it to make it part of your everyday goals.

I have a junior assistant brewer doing all of the manual labor for me.  I am management.  

[stratocaster]

Bowhunter nailed it. I too did cross fit religiously for a few years and you get in sick shape but for me it tore m shoulders apart and it took me almost a year to full recover. You can still do functional training but technique is everything as stated above. You are better off getting 8 reps perfect than 10 with the last two sacrificing technique and possibly injuring yourself. Good luck

Agree. The undiscipined nature of just throwing the weights up and down without really concentrating on form and completeness is what irritated me.  I do like the power ropes workout.  

[Merkel]

Just a suggestion but walk a couple of miles early morning or evening. You can then progress to running. I was sedentary and finally committed to changing my diet by making healthy choices. Started walking and then graduated to running. Last month I finished my first 5k in 10 years or so. Overall, I lost 30 pounds. The trick for me is to make a lifestyle change. So far so good!

 

Good luck!