I deal with CrossFit a lot, as a lot of my coworkers do it and my unit's PT seems to be going in that direction.
1. As said by other posters, CrossFit is huge. And it's not like McDonald's - there's a large amount of variation that's inherent in an organization that barely looks at its members. Instructors are free to come up with whatever program they want.
2. Most personal trainers know absolutely nothing about actually training people. They know what works for them, but they have a very hard time in applying workouts to other people. The workout plan that fits a 220-pound male rugby player is not going to fit a 110-pound female volleyball player or a 350-pound couch potato who is trying to get into shape. Applying the same program to these three people is going to lead to disaster.
3. Crossfit is different from traditional weightlifting, which seems to attract a certain class of people. These people basically say, "I made this switch, and it's done wonders for me! The old paradigm is flawed, and you're an idiot for sticking with it!" You'll notice this incredibly annoying group of people whenever there's an alternative - religion, programming languages / frameworks, etc.
4. Apply #1, #2, and #3, - a very large organization with idiots who loosely fall under it, and a group of people who look down on anyone who isn't a member, and you get a group of people who are really, really easy to hate. And, to some extent, it's completely true. You get the stereotype of the typical CrossFit user who won't shut the fuck up, makes fun of people who go to "regular" gyms, and doesn't actually know what he's talking about. It leads to the jokes of "The first rule of CrossFit is to talk about CrossFit" and "A CrossFit workout isn't complete until you post it on Facebook."
My own experience with CrossFit is that some parts are perfectly fine; there's absolutely nothing wrong with circuit courses, and there's nothing wrong with explosive movement. The problem is when you start doing exercises that require lots of weight and proper form and then CrossFit them - doing as many reps as possible as quickly as you can. Push-ups? Go for it. Burpees? Be careful, but go for it. Snatch, deadlifts, and pull-ups[1]? No, and run far far away before you tear your rotator cuff.
The last thing is that CrossFit doesn't seem to have a goal in mind. As Mark Rippetoe states, "Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you're through. Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal."[2]
This is supremely important. Even someone whose goal is as simple as "Lose weight" and "Look more muscular" needs a training goal, not an exercise goal. CrossFit doesn't seem to deliver that. They talk about their goal being all-around fitness, but they don't have a good methodology for doing so. Take a look at what decathletes, strongmen, and even the CrossFit Games athletes are doing - it certainly isn't CrossFit. That, in and of itself, should let you know that something is badly wrong.
I'll preface this by saying I'm not a Crossfitter due in large part to the reasons you mentioned.
But I think those less savory elements aren't ubiquitous, and Crossfit has done some very good things for the fitness industry. Chief amongst these is an emphasis on compound movements and barbell training, which in most cases are much more beneficial to focus on (as opposed to the bodybuilding, isolation heavy bro-splits that has dominated for years).
So I think that overall Crossfit has had a positive impact on the way people train, but a lot of the specifics about the way the organization does business need to be cleaned up, and I don't think they've shown much of an inclination to do that at this point.
"Chief amongst these is an emphasis on compound movements and barbell training, which in most cases are much more beneficial to focus on (as opposed to the bodybuilding, isolation heavy bro-splits that has dominated for years)."
OH THIS
I can't stand the people that think the only way to progress is to split their training into a huge amount of minuscule parts.
Yeah, maybe if you're really a pro bodybuilder it makes sense to have ABCDEFG, but for most people it doesn't.
As someone who used to do "brosplits" and recently switched to heavy compound movements, I can definitely attest to the benefits of the latter. If I had to choose one, I would go with the compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, overhead press, barbell rows, bench press, etc.), but I think the best routines incorporate both types of exercises. That's why I like routines like ICF 5x5[1], which is centered around heavy compound lifts but also includes smaller isolation lifts as accessories.
I've lately been interested in strongman training for its emphasis on functional strength and limited explosive movement - it's a safer option for someone like me that is both tall and has scolosis making the form needed for powerlifting largely out of reach.
I don't have the equipment or inclination to train like the competitive athletes, but I will regularly go around the gym doing a farmer's walk with kettles or dumbbells now.
You're right, and I don't mean isolation stuff is worthless. I just think all but the most experienced lifters would get more bang for their buck (or time) by focusing on barbell stuff.
The biggest difference is that P90X is mostly bodyweight, and while you can make yourself really sore, you're unlikely to do lasting damage to yourself with it. Meanwhile, Crossfit does heavy weight. Sometimes it's perfectly fine; I have no problem with PT sessions where we do circuit courses. But I definitely have a problem when they're like, "Okay, first we're gonna do 500m on the rowing machine with the damper set to 10. Then we're gonna do 2 minutes of military press with a 95-pound barbell. Then we're gonna do 2 minutes of deadlift." People with absolutely no idea of what they're doing are applying High-Intensity Training concepts to exercises that should be done slowly and methodically. There is no justification for doing deadlifts quickly. None.
Then they wonder why people need surgery.
Of course, the PT that old-school SNCOs would have us do wasn't much better. "Okay, we're gonna run 5 miles today, then 6 miles tomorrow, then 5 miles the day after... Whaddya mean, people's knees aren't working anymore?"
quick question, but 4-5 miles every other day is good, right? :) (that schedule seems to work really well for me, but I do wanna keep my knees working ...)
Hey, why the p90x hate? P90x is not the most hypertrophy inducing workout in the world by a long shot, but for fat loss, some muscle increases, vaso-dialation which will help when you go heavy again, and flexibility, it's one of my favorite "all around" programs.
P90X is a perfectly fine workout. His gripe was the boot lieutenant dipshit who sees it on TV, gets the DVD, and decides that he's going to "revolutionize" the unit's PT program. Add in a bunch of moto-jargon and self-righteousness, and you get hilarity.
"Well see here, lance corporal, I know that you're in great shape and have 40+ points on my PFT score, but this Crossfit workout is gonna take you to the next level. Plus, I went to college. I know what I'm doing."
That being said, I've also worked with a lieutenant who could do a 14-minute 3-mile. Dude probably couldn't do 135 on the bench press, but he could definitely run.
No hate about p90x, I honestly barely register any knowledge of it on my radar. I just remember when it hit big and my military friends spent every waking moment talking about it. When Crossfit started entering my personal sphere, I actually thought it was just some new rev of p90x because it pervaded my social circle in the same way, except it never stopped and became a magnitude more annoying.
> there's nothing wrong with explosive movement.
Actually there is, explosive movements cause injuries and decrease the effectiveness of any exercise because the momentum they create reduces the load on muscles throughout the range of motion.
Explosive movement are pretty much the only way you can injure yourself when keeping good form. You should never do explosive movements unless there is some sport-specific application for it that you need. Moving weights slowly is a great way to get the ability to move fast when you don't have any weights on.
I'll second that. Muscles micro-tear (the natural process which causes your muscles to heal come back bigger) when the muscle elongates while under tension (due to an opposing force greater than the muscle generates) rather than when it contracts pulling weight up. So if you do a pullup, pull yourself up and lower yourself slowly. Same with weight lifting, pull up normally and lower the weight slowly. This discovery is still unknown by most gym trainers even though its importance is so great it should have already become standard practice.
I'm amazed at how many people at the gym don't know this. It's jaw dropping.
Disclaimer: I'm talking about Olympic lifts and sprints when I say "explosive movements." Clean and jerk and snatch are the primary ones. Secondary movements are things like kettlebell swings and Turkish get-ups.
While they can be risky, I think that these exercises have benefits that outweigh the risk of injury, especially if you're using proper form. The biggest thing to remember is to lift what you're capable of and not to lift with your ego. No reason to risk yourself to get another 10kg unless you're a powerlifter.
I think a big attraction of cross fit is it's group fitness training that you don't have to think about, you just have to show up. You can switch crossfit philosophy with traditional weightlifting philosophy and I bet it would become fairly popular.
1. As said by other posters, CrossFit is huge. And it's not like McDonald's - there's a large amount of variation that's inherent in an organization that barely looks at its members. Instructors are free to come up with whatever program they want.
2. Most personal trainers know absolutely nothing about actually training people. They know what works for them, but they have a very hard time in applying workouts to other people. The workout plan that fits a 220-pound male rugby player is not going to fit a 110-pound female volleyball player or a 350-pound couch potato who is trying to get into shape. Applying the same program to these three people is going to lead to disaster.
3. Crossfit is different from traditional weightlifting, which seems to attract a certain class of people. These people basically say, "I made this switch, and it's done wonders for me! The old paradigm is flawed, and you're an idiot for sticking with it!" You'll notice this incredibly annoying group of people whenever there's an alternative - religion, programming languages / frameworks, etc.
4. Apply #1, #2, and #3, - a very large organization with idiots who loosely fall under it, and a group of people who look down on anyone who isn't a member, and you get a group of people who are really, really easy to hate. And, to some extent, it's completely true. You get the stereotype of the typical CrossFit user who won't shut the fuck up, makes fun of people who go to "regular" gyms, and doesn't actually know what he's talking about. It leads to the jokes of "The first rule of CrossFit is to talk about CrossFit" and "A CrossFit workout isn't complete until you post it on Facebook."
My own experience with CrossFit is that some parts are perfectly fine; there's absolutely nothing wrong with circuit courses, and there's nothing wrong with explosive movement. The problem is when you start doing exercises that require lots of weight and proper form and then CrossFit them - doing as many reps as possible as quickly as you can. Push-ups? Go for it. Burpees? Be careful, but go for it. Snatch, deadlifts, and pull-ups[1]? No, and run far far away before you tear your rotator cuff.
The last thing is that CrossFit doesn't seem to have a goal in mind. As Mark Rippetoe states, "Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you're through. Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal."[2]
This is supremely important. Even someone whose goal is as simple as "Lose weight" and "Look more muscular" needs a training goal, not an exercise goal. CrossFit doesn't seem to deliver that. They talk about their goal being all-around fitness, but they don't have a good methodology for doing so. Take a look at what decathletes, strongmen, and even the CrossFit Games athletes are doing - it certainly isn't CrossFit. That, in and of itself, should let you know that something is badly wrong.
[1]http://cdn.styleforum.net/3/37/314x314px-LL-375a6e39_TooBO.g...
[2]http://www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-the-good-bad-and-t...