Open Season
Get fit for CrossFit? It’s that time of year – CrossFit Open season. Gym goers the world over are taking part in 3 weeks of standardised workouts in one of the most wide scale tests of fitness around. Three separate workouts will assess speed, strength, endurance, mobility in a blend of cardiovascular, resistance and bodyweight movements. Think weightlifting, gymnastics and a whole heap of grit against the clock. In short, the CrossFit Open is brilliant. It brings the whole of the CrossFit community together in a shared fitness experience. People get very excited to compete, but it’s not just for those that consider themselves ‘pretty darn good’ at fitness. There will be many first timers and novices, curious and anxious to see what all the fuss is about.
The CrossFit Gym near Me
So you’ve searched Google for ‘gyms near me’ and you’ve signed up for a trial session at your local CrossFit Box. Gainline Ascot offers a free trial and induction process to new members. Upon entering you can be forgiven for thinking that the occupants are training for the Apocalypse! Shirts off, sweat flying everywhere as the superhuman crowd throw themselves around bars and throw bars around them! It can be an intimidating sight as it attracts some very fit people who get to imagine they’re Avengers whilst exercising. Are you going to thrown in at the deep end and expected to keep up with Billy Big B*******? The answer is – you shouldn’t. But this is where CrossFit can be risky. The theory is only as good as the application, and this is where you need highly experienced and effective coaches that can help you to get fit for CrossFit.
Be Aware of the Risks
For every advanced gymnastics move there are many scaled progressions that work towards it. For every highly technical weightlifting movement there are more simple versions from novice to expert. So there really isn’t any reason why someone should risk injury or illness at their box. But it does happen and here are some reasons why to be aware of:
-
Inexperienced Coaching
CrossFit Gainline, based in Ascot, has fully qualified coaches. They are aware of the CrossFit guidance and progressions. However, with experience comes the ability to adapt knowledge to suit the individuals in the class. A potential limitation is that each class is prescribed and everyone does the same workout (to a point). Some individuals just may not be ready for that level of intensity or may require a higher level of scaling which is difficult to offer in a group of 14 or more. This is one area where some individual strength and conditioning from an experienced strength and conditioning coach can help by offering appropriate progressions.
2. Being over ambitious
Comparison is the thief of joy. In a CrossFit class everyone will tend to do a variation of the same workout. The format will typically be as much as possible in a given time or complete the prescribed work in the shortest amount of time. This creates comparison and competitiveness. One of the common mistakes we see from people in CrossFit is being unrealistic with their goals and racing to keep up with others. It is also easy to get carried away with all the new skills that you see experienced and high performers doing. For example, rushing to get a muscle up or handstand push up can often result in too much too soon and shoulder injuries. Classes probably experience more than their fair share of shoulder injuries. This can be reduced by undergoing some additional strength and conditioning training to supplement the class.
How to get Involved Safely
Without question CrossFit is a great way of developing fitness. It’s the go to option for many experienced personal trainers and S&C coaches, along with former competitive athletes. The challenge, variety, competitive structure and sense of ‘team’ tick a lot of boxes for people. However, these can equally be its downfall for some individuals. For those that are not fully conditioned to throwing barbells above their head or throwing themselves around gymnastics bars and rings, it may be wise to exercise caution and go slow.
Engaging the services of an experienced strength and conditioning coach can help. We are experienced at developing the strength, mobility and coordination required for CrossFit movements at a pace that suits you. The time for individual focus, that often isn’t possible in the class environment, can make such a big difference to an individual’s progression in the sport. It saves time and injury in the long run. Not convinced? Take a look at the coaches and higher performers – they’re all performing additional S&C outside of classes.
If you’re thinking about taking up CrossFit but wondering if you need to get fit for CrossFit then get in touch and we can help you start your journey.