A recent article on Crossfit, rhabdomyolysis and affiliates that push trainees too hard with catastrophic results started a firestorm, with people accusing CF of all kinds of things and CF devotees getting upset and defensive and accusing others of laziness, close-mindedness. Both sides seem to lose sight of what the other is saying-that incidences of rhabdo are statistically higher among CF athletes in general but still very slight, and that CF if done properly (training in the movements, scaling and building up to full WODs if ever) does result in pretty impressive functional fitness.
I've always thought the Crossfit modality makes a great deal of sense-compound movments, body control/gymnastics type movements and aerobic and speed running. I agree with their concepts-use our bodies as close to the way God designed them in realistic but challenging movements. How often do you position a weight near your shoulders, sit down, and then have to repetitively press it overhead? Of course, taken to an extreme like some do in hyper-competitve settings, any workout plan could be dangerous, and when doing an intentionally intense but short WOD this is magnified. Anyone who has attempted one of the Hero WODs (named for military, LE and firefighters) or "girls" (WODs named for legendary female CF'ers cause these will crush your spirit and break your heart!) knows how badly they can break you down. If you pushed far too hard on one of these WODs, tearing a muscle or connectivity tissue or rhabdo would be a real risk.
But scaling and competing only with yourself makes this less likely. If I can do 5 rounds in an "As many rounds as possible" (AMRAP) workout the first time it comes up, the next cycle I shouldn't try for 10 or 15. If I'm feeling good and pushing myself like I should, yes, I should do more than 5. But this is no different than any progressive workout plan. If I always ride the exercise bike for 30 minutes at level 8, do 3 sets of 12 bench presses with 135 pounds and 50 sit-ups, I'll be lucky to even maintain my fitness level, let alone improve. One of the points of working out is improved conditioning, so if there is no progression our now more fit body will actually get less work from the same workout. Of course this must take into account diet, rest, stress and age, but to a much less degree than we think. If you've ever seen Master level athletes (40 or 50+) many haven't lost much-world class milers that continue to train through their 30s still run sub 4:05 miles at 41 and 42. YIKES!
Here's a link to both the "Fitness in 100 Words" by Greg Glassman, one of the brains behind Crossfit, and a link on that page takes you to a longer "Fundamentals" document that describes Crossfit BY Crossfit. I don't repost them here because I am not Crossfit certified or an affiliate and don't want to misrepresent my credentials. I was a Cooper Institute trained and certified Navy Fitness Leader for many years but never took a CF course.
Here's another blogger's experience with rhabdo personally and lots of comments: http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/03/rhabdomyolysis-if-you-exercise-read-this/comment-page-4/#comment-178866
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