Just reread CrossFit Journal on Metabolic Conditioning...

[Justin Arnold]

I've been doing some of CFFB's programming while I find a better program for my needs. When people ask what I'm doing to train for fire department agility tests I'm hesitant to say the "CrossFit" part of Crossfit Football out loud. It just stings to say that word and risk being associated with the utter stupidity and brainwashing of the vast majority of these people. Ill be the first to admit, there are a few great people involved, with great ideas. I just have to pick and choose the parts that can actually be regarded as sane.

[Andrew Wilson]

[Wayne Riddle]

I'm waiting for some CF gamers to take a main site pledge, only do the main site programming and nothing else. If CFHQ is sp smart and great this should be all they need.

Never happen.

[Shane Skowron]

Matt for a start Crossfit is not hype, remember what Coach Glassman was trying to achieve when he orchestrated the program. To suggest that Crossfitters are not the fittest athletes on the planet is offensive to all of us living within the Crossfit community.

Personally I think Crossfit is the only program required to meet every athletes fitness needs. Coach has done away with the need for useless and time consuming things such as periodization, specialization and individulization. He has created a website which meets the needs of everyone looking to achieve elite fitness all within a 20 odd minute workout per day. (sheer genius)

Remember one of our more popular slogans "your workout is our warmup" think about that for a minute. Coach Glassman could probably still beat most proffessional athletes in a any workout which requires the ability to move large loads long distances over broad time and moadal domains.

Why are we always wanting pro athletes to compete at the games why don't we go after them at their own sports ? I foresee a future where Crossfit athletes hold a number of world records and world titles !!

No, that's not real. I really don't believe that's real.

Originally Posted by Wayne Riddle

I'm waiting for some CF gamers to take a main site pledge, only do the main site programming and nothing else. If CFHQ is sp smart and great this should be all they need.

Never happen.

I'm pretty sure OPT did that a couple years ago. Then he switched.



If the needs of elite athletes and grandmothers differ by degree, not by kind, how come the top Games' competitors do training that is entirely different than what they post on crossfit.com?

[Brian DeGennaro]

Sadly, I'm sure those were are not tongue in cheek, because I've heard the same words spouted by others. It's a game of "my daddy can beat up your daddy."

The one thing that really gets to me in taking Glassman or anyone else seriously is when they are self-proclaimed "coaches" or allow other people to call them coaches (Burgener is probably the ONLY exception to this). It's really hard because of what my high school track coach told us freshman year.

My high school track coach told us to never, ever call him "coach" or "coach whatever." We asked why and he replied: "because any jackass can call themselves 'coach' and still know nothing about anything. It's an insult to me and my intelligence, call me Mr [insert last name]."

I think I almost called Mike Mr. Burgener one time in person instead of Coach because I respect him.

[Andrew Wilson]

I don't want to change this subject, but:

Originally Posted by Luke Searra

Confirmed Rhabdo. Friends kidneys are fine , liver might be in trouble.
Does this mean permanent muscle loss!? What kind of rehabilitation is done??? What diet should be adhered to???
Advice much appreciated

Originally Posted by Thomas Green

Damn. After reading stories like this and your articles, I'm still mind boggled that HQ encourages jokes about this.

Originally Posted by Meghan Leigh Ramos

I really hate the "Death Before DNF" concept, too.

Good luck in your recovery, friend. Take it easy.

Originally Posted by Allen Tluczek

My girlfriend was discharged from the hospital on Thanksgiving for Rhabdo in her arms from crossfit. Liver enxymes were high as well, no damage to kidneys. She's gotten full function back, but says her arms get tired a lot quicker than they used to. She has been taking finals the last two weeks and this is her last week, but she is leaning towards cutting packaged food from her diet (no paleo, not interested or pushed for) once finals are over in addition to getting back into the gym. Her doctor encouraged her to get back to exercising this week, actually. Every case is different, though, so don't take her experience as recommendations for anyone elses.

http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=63456

"Death Before DNF"???

[Andrew Wilson]

Originally Posted by Death Before DNF

Lisbeth Darsh from CrossFit Watertown writes:

I will promise to do my best. My best will vary from day to day, from hour to hour, from minute to minute. But in that minute, I will do the very best that I can.
If I can run, I run. If I have to walk, I walk. When I am forced to crawl, I crawl. And then I rest and live to fight another day.
I fear no man but I fear my workout. If I don’t fear my workout, it isn’t hard enough.
I may puke. I may cry. But I will not quit. Ever.
I never cheat. There is no honor in cheating. What joy can there be in a victory I did not earn?
And, this begot an apparel styling:



Now, several months ago, I wrote a piece about whether or not CrossFit was anti-feminist. And, I believe and still do, that CrossFit is empowering, kick ass and a shot to the arm for women of all ages and shapes. However, and this is a major however, CrossFit is a fickle mistress (or master). The spirit of CrossFit can be down right intimidating and for this reason sometimes tough to stick to.

Since, I have moved to La Jolla to work with Marcus, LifeAsRx and CrossFit Counter Culture, I have already wavered in my dedication to CF. This has taken the form of doing less workouts and shoveling out a whole lot of excuses. And, I will be damned, this is my life story. One in which, I picked up a life in New England, and deposited it in La Jolla, thinking simply that being at another CrossFit with a different coach, I would settle and ameliorate my issues with consistency and commitment to health and fitness.

One the one hand, I want to critique the the philosophy of Death Before DNF. Death Before DNF, which means one has not completed a WOD, is harsh. It’s moderately pejorative and seems to go against everything we have been inculcated about the behavior and society.

In plainer terms, we live in a time where mediocrity is celebrated. If one child doesn’t have a particular talent, a parent is taught to FIND (as opposed to CULTIVATE) a certain something nice about their child and let their child develop as they will. This is liberal crap which frankly has not gotten this country far.

So, on the other hand ( probably my right hand begins I am a rightie), CrossFit, Death Before DNF, calling yourself a fire breather…well, at the very minimum inspires someone to look deep inside themselves and question, “Am I living the best life possible?” More importantly, it brings an ugly truth to the fore (at least for me). Anything worth having, achieving or loving requires work. Not namby-pamby, pseudo psychology a la Malcolm Gladwell. But Kentucky coal mining work. Grinding out each day and not stopping.

Henry Rollins wrote for Details a piece entitled, Iron. The following is a portion:

I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone’s shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr. Pepperman.

Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.

Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it’s some kind of miracle if you’re not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole.

I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron Mind.

Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.

The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.

...

[Geoffrey Thompson]

Perhaps instead of "STFU therapy", the original quote should have been "SLAP repair surgery".

[Andrew Wilson]

[Peter Dell'Orto]

Originally Posted by Andrew Wilson

Some people take exercising very seriously.

I know what you're saying here. But it made me think . . .

I take exercising very seriously, too. I just don't define "seriously" as "Death before DNF."

If I work as hard as I can when it's called for, quit working out when the cost of the workout exceeds its value, and I walk out the gym at least a little closer to my goal than the day before, I've had a good workout. To my mind I've demonstrated my seriousness about getting better and achieving my goals. I don't skip out on workouts, quit before quitting time, or put in less than I have in me that day. I take every rep and every second of training seriously, and I enjoy doing so. But I refuse to accept that I'm accepting mediocrity because I don't push myself beyond what is needed to maximize my results.

I think it's easy to confuse "exhaustion" with "productive workouts." In the clients I train, I regularly (like, every single session) mention that they've gotten more done this time than last time. More cardio time. A higher resistance level. More weight. More reps. Less time. Lower heart rate for the same work. Shorter rest. Whatever it was that day, they've done more and should take that home as proof that they are putting in good work.

And on the subject of hard work, I don't define it as "Grinding out each day and not stopping." That's only one kind of hard work. Laboring in a coal mine is nice, but coal miners don't want their kids to be coal miners and it's not because they don't value hard work. If I do more today, if I'm more productive and useful today, and I go home knowing my clients are better for what I've done for them today and my students go home with more knowledge and ability than when they arrived, I'll call that a good day's work. I don't need a sore back to prove I've done something useful.

Heh. Sorry, that's a little ranty. And it's not aimed at you but rather the attitude your quoted person's essay encompassed. Yeah, some people take it seriously. Too seriously, and define training by feelings of exhaustion rather than long-term results. I think that's a terrible mistake. All IMO, etc.