Reflecting
Is CrossFit worth it? Positives: It is fun. It attracts a great group of people and my regular 5 AM class has become friends. We have terrific coaches who are endlessly patient with me and are able to make me better. I enjoy the loud music, being able to drop weights, and the encouraging atmosphere. People who like CrossFit seem to have lots of overlapping proximate interests. You can find friends interested in Jiu Jitsu, in shooting sports, and obstacle course racing; some people just specialize in CrossFit but many others compete elsewhere too. Globo Gyms feel fussy, sleepy, and dull in comparison.
Negatives: CrossFit isn’t dangerous but bad form is dangerous. If you go, you need to focus on good form. The clock, the competitiveness, and the energy make it hard to maintain form over rushing through a WOD. It is designed to amp you up in every possible way, right when you need to settle in and be careful. So the good can also be the bad. Don’t get sucked into Rxing every WOD; if you need to scale then scale. If you need to substitute something, then do it. CrossFit gets a lot done in an hour, but an hour is more of a commercial than physical increment; more time would probably be better. For me for now, I want more focus on strength training. Metcons are not compatible with lifting as heavy as possible, because they don’t offer enough time for recovery between sets. And if I want more cardio, I can do it in beautiful places. I love cycling, rowing, and skiing, but can cycle along the Long Island Sound or through the hills in Westchester County, can row on the Saugatuck River or Rangeley Lake, and can ski in Wyoming. I mostly go to the gym for weights.
My conclusion is that CrossFit is worth attending each day, but that I want to both supplement it with additional weight lifting and that I want to be more assertive about substituting exercises that better serve my current goals. The coaches are amenable to both, so everyone is making it work. If you’re considering going: just go. There isn’t much to think about or much you can accomplish by thinking about it. Try it for a week (many boxes offer a free week). Don’t judge it in a day or until you have a chance to try several different workouts. You will get out of it what you put in, but if you show up consistently and push yourself, you’ll be glad you did.
I’m enjoying listening to David Goggins’ Never Finished especially his reflections on ultramarathons including the Leadville Trail 100 run. He has overcome so much, but still sounds pretty broken and angry; I admire him, but hope that he finds an equanimity in running that doesn’t yet come across in his writing.
Next up, I’m spending a few days at Sacred Heart University’s Pioneer Performance Center running a gamut of tests to measure where I am and help with planning for 2023 goals. They’ll measure body composition, VO2 max, lactate threshold, and analyze my running gait. My hope is that they can help efficiently balance my endurance and hypertrophy goals. Will report back with what they find.
Training
Great sunrise runs Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Boxing Day. Fun Christmas Eve WOD – whiteboard (in the form of “12 Days of Christmas”):
The key is to do 4-1 unbroken. It is always a fun workout.
This morning’s run was up Bear Mountain – thorny and icy but fun. 1,635 cals, 2,011’ elevation, 9.02 miles, 14 degrees:
Fueling
Christmas dinner, rare with just a bit of salt:
Measuring
Recovering
I studiously ignore everyone who suggests that I take rest days, but I have to admit that no CrossFit or Jiu Jitsu yesterday felt just great on my joints running this morning.
Closing
Stay warm! On Christmas, I was on the trails at 5 AM when it was 4 degrees / 13 MPH wind / -13 wind chill. It felt great running, but would have been pretty cold if I fell and had to stop. I keep a puffer in the back of my running vest for emergencies. All weather is good weather if you’re prepared.
Looking good, Chris! Our Christmas dinners were the same - great minds think alike. Loving these updates. Cheers to a fruitful 2023!
You're committed that's what counts in the pursuit of goals. It may take a bit more sorting out, instincts
will lead the way.
The Globo gym (had to look that up) I used to go had some physique competitors who won most of the competitions they were in. One of the two best of the bunch had a very unique training style that hybridized heavy weights with long rests and light weights with minimal rests within the same muscle groups in the same session. Almost like a crossfit style but focused on a specific function push /pull etc. It worked for him, reps with 315 on the incline bench, stood out in street clothes so forth.
Cool photo of the ice coating. Looking forward to the results of the tests.