Hacker News Reader

Comment by bryanwb | Hacker News Reader

Actions like this are an annoying distraction. Crossfit HQ is kind of a nuthouse. The Crossfit program is truly wonderful as long as you always use proper form. If you can't use proper form on a rep, don't do the rep. It's that simple. I have been doing Crossfit for a year and haven't seen any significant injuries. But my gym emphasizes proper form over numbers. Some gyms ensure people use proper form, some don't. Crossfit (done properly) is leagues better for your overall health than weightlifting, running, bicycling, you name it. It is not necessarily more fun however.

View on HN

> If you can't use proper form on a rep, don't do the rep. It's that simple.

This is sorta disingenuous. A layman can't tell if they're doing an exercise correctly without instruction, and you can do something correctly 99 times and still becomes seriously injured by doing it incorrectly one more time. I'm not trying to make an argument that you shouldn't exercise but it's definitely not "simple."

It is not disingenuous. Many crossfit exercises are complex as you correctly observe and require a good bit of practice before you can do them w/ any substantial weight.

A layman should not do them w/out instruction and a good coach will not let laymen do regular workouts until they have mastered the basics.

A good coach also observes a new student's abilities and advises them how to scale the movement properly as they progress. A bad coach does not.

for the same reasons, you should never attempt Olympic weightlifting movements w/out a coach, i.e. snatch and clean+jerk. In fact, I feel pretty strongly you should not learn how to squat or deadlift w/out a coach or personal trainer.

I did CrossFit for 5 years and a shoulder surgery and visited about 30 gyms during that time. What you’re saying isn’t disingenuous but it’s thoroughly idealized and unrealistic.

Workouts with high volumes of technical movements are regularly programmed. RFT workouts with 60 snatches. High volumes of kipping pull-ups. Form goes to shit when you get tired, period, whether you are running or snatching, but being on a clock does not lend itself to slowing down, setting up right, and doing a technical movement with good form. It’s completely antithetical to it.

The coaching quality at CF gyms is widely varied and in my experience most of the folks regardless of their great intentions have no business coaching that many people doing that many complex movements.

There are much safer ways CF could be doing things. Ditch snatches and kipping pull-ups for a start. Snatches are dangerous when done improperly and kipping pull-ups are specifically bad for shoulder joints in individuals who have not built up enough strength to do several strict pullups.

I agree w/ you on both the snatches and the kipping pullups. they both have too high a risk to reward imo.

i also agree that many coaches are terrible.

I tried to get in to CrossFit. Checked out a few gyms and they all basically followed the same "come to a workout or two and see how great you feel, then sign up!" process for newcomers. One-on-one oversight and training came later. Since I had no idea how to do the exercises, I nope'd right out of there.

> Crossfit (done properly) is leagues better for your overall health than weightlifting, running, bicycling, you name it.

Says who? Links, please.

My own experience doing all three.

N=1, as someone would say. I asked because if there are real and evident health benefits i expect it to be documented somewhere.

And considering that crossfit isn't anything substantially different that things available in other disciplines (weightlifting, etc...), i don't expect it to be substantially different even in the outcomes.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com