Dispelling the CrossFit Myths

There are quite a few myths surrounding CrossFit, probably mostly disseminated by people who have never tried the sport. However, in order to be as accurate in my depiction as possible, I want to discuss my perception of the good, the bad and the ugly in CrossFit.

Myth #1
You have to be an athlete to do CrossFit
There are many ex athletes in CrossFit and I can understand why; many of them have competed most of their lives and are able to find the same kind of competition level in CrossFit. But one of the great things about the sport is that it can be scaled to meet any level. I never played competitive sports as a young person and I am not very athletic. CrossFit lets you start where you are and build on that. You aren't competing with the other athletes as much as you're trying to better your strength and skill. A good coach will work 
with you to master the movements before ever pushing you to lift heavier or move faster.

Myth #2

The coaches/owners don't know what they're doing and you're going to get hurt. 

As in anything else in life, when choosing a box you have to do your homework.  It's ridiculously easy to get a Level One training certificate so you have to look further into any box you're interested in. Although I've only been doing CrossFit for a little over a year, I've been through 3 (sort of--I'll explain later) boxes. My first coach and box owner was amazing. He had a degree in exercise science and was very attuned to how the body works. He enjoyed working with us older folk, because he always said fitness = freedom. He was passionate about lifting and how it helped increase bone density. His programming was challenging, but scalable, and his focus was on learning correct form before adding weight. But CrossFit is not a lucrative business and my coach ended up having to sell the box to another owner.  This owner was the polar opposite of my first coach. He only had 4 years experience with CrossFit and lifting. He was very focused on building a competition team and built his workouts around these elite Crossfitters. His workouts were insane and his coaches were somewhat careless--they encouraged everyone to increase weight while ignoring poor form.  I tinged my shoulder/pec and it would flare up every time we did any shoulder work--especially overhead squat and snatch. I was scared to lift any sort of weight because I didn't think I was using correct form and I absolutely did not want to tear my Rotator cuff which is a common injury in older athletes. This coach's WOD's would leave me exhausted and barely able to function for the rest of the day.  So I left. I had signed a year contract, but due to factors that are complicated I was let out of my contract and made a beeline for the door.  Bottom line is trust your instincts. Pay month-to-month until you get a good feel as to whether the box is right for you.

Myth #3
CrossFit is like a cult--people who do it just won't shut up about it.
The CrossFit community is a unique community. It's really unlike anything else I've ever experienced.  It's a relatively new sport and new boxes are popping up all over the place, but most tend to have a fairly small membership. It's hard to explain the bond members have, but I think it is due to the intensity of the workouts. You develop a cameraderie with people when you are pushing yourselves as hard as you can. One of the unexpected surprises I've gotten from CrossFit are the friendships I have with other members. I especially like being around the 30 somethings. It keeps me young and opens up that world between my kids ages and mine. I am always in awe of how they juggle work, small children and still manage to work out hard most days.  However, the not shutting up about CrossFit isn't a myth, lol. There's just something so exciting and empowering about pushing your body to the limit, or getting a PR that you just have to share it with someone. My family has been very patient with me and let me go on about my workouts when I first started. I try not to bore them too much now and keep my CrossFit talk limited to my box mates.

Myth #4
CrossFit will make me too bulky and muscular.
My neighbor who started CrossFit with me was so worried about this. Our coach used to just laugh because a lot of men try very hard to bulk up and find it very difficult.

But you should know that CrossFit won't necessarily make you lose weight. You will lose inches and firm up, you will also get stronger and develop a very nice tush, lol. Although I weigh more than I ever have, I am amazed at the changes in my body and will post some pictures soon. At 52 years old I am in the best shape of my life and I love it! It is very empowering to feel strong and capable physically--especially for us older folk.