This seems really hard core!!

janie1234

janie1234

Cathlete
Okay, I thought I was pretty tough stuff working out with Cathe. I mean you don't normally see DVD's out there that are advanced and challenging. So I've been working out with Cathe for 5-6 years. My little brother who has been fit all his life and has been a police officer for the past 8 years told me that he has been doing this crossfit thing for the past few months. We were talking about how my goal was to do a pull up. I mean my brother is pretty cut and in my opinion very fit. I know that he has to be for his job so I thought hey I'll check it out. Oh my gosh, you gotta see this thing. It seems extremely unsafe. I mean you can tell these people are in super shape but man are you kidding me? Click on the link and from that home page click on NASTY GIRLS-videos for athletes. I know that there are a lot really fit people on this forum could you tell me if this is safe? It sounds like the basic principles of muscle confusion and hytrophy- but the difference is that they add speed to make the weight workout more of a cardio workout. I mean I would much rather do a clean and press with good form than super fast and break my back. What do you think? I would love to get feed back from all the hard core Cathellites.
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html
Thanks everyone.
 
Is it safe? Probably not. Also probably not very effective b/c they're putting an awful lot of body momentum into lifting the weights. I think you're right--good form at a slower movement will get you the results you want, without putting you in traction. :p

P.S. is your brother single? ;-)
 
I thought they were going to break into a sex scene at any moment!? ha
And, the fact that they are calling it "nasty girls", enough said.
 
Hi janie,

I got into Crossfit last year and have been doing mostly scaled versions of the workouts, including Nasty Girls (heavily modified). The three women in that video, Nicole, Annie, and Eva are CF trainers who've been at it for several years, so yes, they can go fast.

IMO, any form of exercise can be unsafe if you go at it too hard, too heavy, or too fast right out of the gate. In CF, there's a balance to be struck with regard to form and intensity. It's all about knowing where you are, and how to scale AND push yourself.

Here are some lectures on the CF web site that address the intensity/form issue:

Technique, Parts Ia, Ib, II
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitJournal_CoachTechniqueLecture1Pre1.wmv
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitJournal_CoachTechniqueLecture1Pre2.wmv
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitJournal_CoachTechniqueLecture2Pre.wmv

Intro to Intensity
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_IntensityIntro.wmv

I also recommend reading the "What is Fitness?" article in the Crossfit Journal.

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-download/CFJ-trial.pdf

For me, Crossfit has gotten me to push myself into areas of fitness that I had never even considered before.

Hope this helps
 
I've been doing crossfit workouts for a while now. I'm not hardcore like those girls in the video (I wish) nor do I lift weights like that. There are some aspects of crossfit that I agree on and some I don't. I do their workouts as well as many from the affiliates but I adjust them to my level and what equipment I have. I will tell you that I have seen an increase in my endurance and strength from doing these types of workouts. Also, the workouts are intense but usually only last about 30 minutes.
 
Holy Crap! I was waiting for someone to break something and the ambulance show up!
This doesn't look very fun at all and I am scared.
 
My son has also been doing crossfit for quite a while now. He loves it. He rock climbs and says it has improved his climbing alot and he has way more endurance than the other climbers. Also he feels like puking sometimes when he is finished. I have seen him after some of these workouts and he is pale and nauseated. But he swears by them.
 
Good Lord!!!!!

I'm thinking back problems! They are going so darned fast and the squats? What is that? Look at the form.

No way - Thank You!

I'd rather do my exercises with good form and slow so that my muscles are being used and not momentum. Sheesh

Granted those gals look good but how often would they keep up with that and stay injury free?

I surely can't do that or wouldn't even want to try , any one who can more Power to them - Me I'll just stay on the sidelines. LOL
 
People love CrossFit and I checked it out with an open mind because I always like new fitness thingies but this does nothing for me. Oh well...
 
Gayle and Jane I'm so glad someone here has actually tried this and seen improvements in their physical strength and endurance. Do you both feel like you are able to shorten your workouts? Do you still do other forms of exercise to compliment it or are you done in 30 minutes? 30 minutes seems to short but 120 minutes is also to long. Can you do pull ups? Do you do your workouts at a gym? At home?

I actually have read through the website and it basically sounds like the jist of it is to take your body to the ultimate physical limit that you can in areas of strength, flexibility, and cardio. I don't want to join the 2008 USA olympic team but I would love to do pull ups and increase my overal flexibility and upper body strength. I like the thought of shortening my workouts but that video clip looked down right scary. My face was just grimicing worse than when I went through labor. I really started to wonder if the injury rate is high with this type of training. I sorta like to take my time and feel all my muscle fibers flexing and pumping when I lift. My brother swears it is truly effective and I really don't doubt it. I mean he can do those crazy pull up, push up on the rings thing (I don't know the technical term). I just like to mix it up and try new things.

Thank you everyone for all your feed back!
 
I played a bit with CF workouts a couple of years ago. I too was turned off, thinking it was terribly unsafe for the joints.

I modified and did my own CF workouts using my treadmill, dumbells, my kids' nerf ball (for Wall Ball in the house) and drill exercises. I put together a cycle like:

a .25 mile sprint
25 squats (with or without weights)
25 Burpees (what a horrible exercise)
jump rope for 3 minutes

I would do maybe 3-5 cycles of this. I came pretty close to barfing at times. x(

Where I noticed a huge improvement in my conditioning was when I cut the lawn. We have a decent hill on our property, and I push the mower (without using the self propel thingy) up and down for exercise. After doing my CF routines for a few weeks, mowing got easier, and it was taking longer and longer for me to feel wiped out. I didn't lose a single pound, though there are other factors that probably contributed to that.

I stopped the workouts, but I may reintroduce them at some point when I feel I need a shake-up in my routine.

I'd like to recommend the Hollow Rock exercise. Looks like nothin' until you try it. }(
 
Hi janie,

My workouts, overall are generally less than an hour. Depending on the length of the WOD, I'll do that plus work on some skills like pullups, kettlebell work, Oly lifts, etc. Some WODs are really short and some can take longer. As a rule, I think the longer WODs are meant to be scaled so they take no more than an hour to complete.

CF hardcores follow a 3 WODs on/ 1 day off workout schedule. I usually do 2-4 WODs per week and then do some kettlebell stuff or Cardio Coach when I don't do a WOD. I follow a 2 or 3 on/1 off schedule depending on how I'm feeling.

I can't do pullups YET (I do them jumping or with weighted assistance), but my I have noticed strength and performance improvements in other areas - my power clean and jerk is up to 90lbs, deadlift is up to 177, 5k run time keeps dropping, jump roping has gotten better.

This winter was my first ski season back from ACL reconstruction and I was able to ski the bumps almost as well as before the injury. I used mostly CF in the months before the season.

One mental improvement I get is a sense of accomplishment that I've been missing from the workouts that I used to do. It's like a high, but hard to explain.

I do some WODs at home and some at the gym. I love doing some of the stuff outside, it's really fun.

As for getting started and/or getting hurt, Nasty Girls is a REALLY hard core workout. Learning the skills like the Oly lifts, muscle ups, ring dips, etc take a fair amount of time. I did the Oly lifts with a wooden dowel for at least a month before attempting to add weight, and there are some lifts, like the snatch, that I'm still practicing with little to no weight.

I would start off with a WOD like Cindy or Crossfit Leg Day (my first WOD) or Jeremy where you can get a feel for the intensity. You could even try some Tabatas with pushups, squats, jumping pullups, situps, etc.

Leg Day
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_LegDayWOD.wmv

Jeremy
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_JeremyWOD.wmv

Also, check out Crossfit BrandX. They post nicely scaled versions of the workouts every day. I use these a lot. I think they make new members at their club do the "buttercup" versions of the WOD until they show a certain level of proficiency.

BrandX scaled WODs
http://www.crossfitbrandx.com/index...16/?f=16&sid=74059d7b82f8aa7e7fa9cdcec3157228

Sorry this is long, hope it helps. :)
 
>25 Burpees (what a horrible exercise)

Aaargh!!! Burpees are my nemesis. Nothing gets me close to puking faster than burpees.
 
I just got a gander of the video (couldn't at work) and I think this video cured me of any interest in CrossInjury. ;-)
 
I do know of a woman who ended having to have back surgery who was avid crossfit person. Were the two related?........possibly....it all looks a bit unsafe to me, but they sure are fit.
 
I look at this and think WHATEVER...you can go hard and stupid like that for a while and burn out physically and mentally or you can respect the body, go hard, pull back, go hard...and go the distance. This appeals to be not at all. Hyperextended wrists, backs, poor 'clean' form (quantity of weight vs. quality of movement, their choice is obvious). Sure they look fit but they're not too smart about how they choose to use the imperfect, fallible machines that are their bodies. If they keep up like this they sure as heck won't be working out like I can in my mid 40's because I completely respect my joints, ligaments, tendons....

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
> If they keep up like this they sure as heck won't be
>working out like I can in my mid 40's because I completely
>respect my joints, ligaments, tendons....
>
>Take Care
>Laurie:)

I hate to break it to ya, Laurie, but Eva T.(one of the women in the Nasty Girls WOD) is already in her mid-40's.
 
>Gayle and Jane I'm so glad someone here has actually tried
>this and seen improvements in their physical strength and
>endurance. Do you both feel like you are able to shorten your
>workouts? Do you still do other forms of exercise to
>compliment it or are you done in 30 minutes? 30 minutes seems
>to short but 120 minutes is also to long. Can you do pull ups?
>Do you do your workouts at a gym? At home?


Hi Janie,

I was first introduced to Crossfit through a fitness boot camp that I attended. They are an affiliate gym and incorporate some crossfit type workouts but IMO not a true Crossfit gym. I did lots of pull ups at the boot camp that I attended, however I no longer go there and don't belong to a gym. I plan on getting a pull up bar installed in my backyard since that is where I do all my workouts. I could do a couple of pull ups, have done 20 assisted and do best with jumping pull ups.

I agree with Gayle when she said, that it's all about knowing where you are, and how to scale and push yourself. I tend to do many of the workouts from the affiliate sites. Most of the workouts I do last about 30 minutes, however, being the freak that I am, I often tack on other exercises (like more ab work) so I workout about 45 or 50 minutes depending on how I feel. I still corporate other types of workouts and go running between the days that I do crossfit type workouts.

Since I started doing these workouts seriously along with kettlebells and running, I have seen such a difference in my body and how I feel in terms of strength and endurance.

The video that was mentioned by the OP was "extreme" crossfit. If you look at some other videos that Gayle attached, you'll see that there are regular people doing these workouts.

With any exercise program, you need to be careful and know your limits. I have never been injured doing these workouts, I have however, suffered injuries by walking. :)

I love to add variety to my workouts and keep my body guessing. Crossfit does that for me!
 
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