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CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret

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Re: CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret

#211
post #18

The vast majority of Crossfitters are not at a level of physical fitness and mental toughness that would put them at risk of rhabdo after a WOD. They'd throw in the towel long before "meeting Uncle Rhabdo" under most normal circumstances. However, certain external factors can affect the risk - high humidity, heat, improper hydration, and poor nutrition can significantly increase the chance of catching rhabdo from a w…

Don't underestimate the power of peer pressure when it comes to physical activities. It's one of the main draws of Crossfit, and probably the strongest force for these people when they push themselves too far.

When you're working out with someone who you barely know, or may have just met, who doesn't know what to expect and doesn't know their own limits, and is trying to keep up with everyone around them, you have a recipe for someone pushing themselves too far to a dangerous extent, whether the outcome is rhabdo, a tear, or some other injury. Most desk jockies (myself included sometimes) don't take the proper care that you need when you try and start moving a body that sits idle for 8-10 hours a day.

Re: CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret

#212
post #205

TL;DR: I got rhabdo from crossfit last year. My CPK was 100,000 and I spent 5 days in the hospital. I wasn't overweight but I wasn't fit when I got it, and I got it during the first day of a beginner course. Ask me anything. ============================== I did crossfit for a couple of months in 2010 and loved it, but I had to stop since I moved to a new apartment and the gym times wouldn't work with the longer commu…

That's horrifying. There's absolutely no excuse for pushing a recreational exerciser to the point of contracting rhabdo. Gross negligence on the instructor's part IMO.

Where did you read that the instructor pushed me? I pushed myself that hard, plain and simple. And then afterwards I did even more lifting (moving apartments).

I overexerted myself, plain and simple.

Re: CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret

#213
Same thing here. Got it in 2007 on my 2nd day w/ a physical trainer after being a lazy slob for several years. Physical trainer said his method was "push to failure" and it was the proper way to learn my limits and establish a routine. My CK was over 110,000 and I spent a week in the hospital. It was painful and no fun at all. Doctors were surprised I left the hospital with both kidneys. Long term effect, for me, was nothing. Got a rough education though and now approach my physical fitness with a lot of caution.

Re: CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret

#214
post #11

Rehash from five years ago? Doesn't this guy know that the new scandal is high-rep box jumps? The "dirty secret" of Crossfit is that they don't do much to actively ensure the quality of local affiliates, and therefore the brand doesn't always mean much. My personal experiences have all been great, and my coaches have always been extremely safety-conscious, but in light of the nasty things I read on the internet, I wo…

Re: Quality assurance, this was on reddit couple days ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8up6A4QesU

This isn't actually a Crossfit move per se, it's a strongman move called a "Continental Clean" or "Axle Clean/Jerk". The form still isn't great, but I just wanted to point out this isn't a power clean and jerk.

Edit: I missed that someone else posted this below, but thought it deserved it's own easily seen distinction.

Re: CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>After you went out of your way to thank someone for an anecdote that confirmed your bias... You sound hopelessly confused. We are not discussing anecdotes. We are discussing actual statistics provided in the original article that clearly showed Crossfit to have much higher rates of injuries and potentially-fatal medical conditions. When you put the burden on new people to figure out whether their affiliates are hig…

I know the article's title calls rhabdo a secret but if you read the article - and the comment at the top of this thread - you'll notice that Glassman and every CrossFit coach I've ever met talks about it all the time. In fact, I bet you can't find one person who does CrossFit who doesn't know what it is.

One data point, but I did Crossfit for two years and don't recall this ever coming up. Fortunately I never got seriously injured, but I stopped because I came to dread the workouts. Now I do a less-intense-but-still intense cardio sculpt class and I actually look forward to every class.
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