Thought this question might get lost at the bottom of the page:

"So I've read through some of the thread but want to get an opinion from those of you who have been doing the program for a while.

I am in pretty good shape, but not great. My week usually consists of:
Running 20 miles across three/four days
Spin class at least once a week
Athletic Conditioning class once a week
Lifting once or twice a week (full body, two exercises per body part)

Is Crossfit something that would replace all of that, or just a part? Can I make it part of a routine a couple days a week, or is it supposed to encompass your entire workout plan?"

11/6/2008 2:59:43 PM

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_JoshKingKong.wmv

dude in this video is 5'9'' 180

badass

WOD: king kong

11/6/2008 2:59:46 PM

Quote :

"the type of workouts we are doing would replace most of that, I think. I think after a few months of it, I will back it down to 2-3 days a week to supplement my weight training. now I am just hitting it hard to get my ass back in shape. "

its very cardio and endurance intense...especially your first few weeks. my legs havent hurt like this in a long time.

11/6/2008 3:07:24 PM

^^^Based off the cardio you are doing you may find yourself doing some more cardio on the side if you follow the WODs. http://www.crossfitendurance.com will provide more running workouts that you can throw in on days where you dont like the main sites WOD (or do both). There can be some pretty long droughts of just strickly cardio.

But for everything else, like Dabird said, should be sufficient with the crossfit workouts.


Echoing Dabirds comments, the endurance aspects of it are pretty intense sometimes. Your first couple of days/weeks are going to be painful but it gets better as you go on. I could barely walk without my knees buckling after my first week. Ive been doing it for about 5 months now and I get sore but a good sore.

11/6/2008 6:33:00 PM

bttt

7/4/2009 9:58:11 AM

i think i'll actually be able to start doing Crossfit again in the foreseeable future (I've just been doing chest, back, and leg workouts, with chest and back being strictly machines). I had to stop about 4-5 months ago...one of those 150-pullup workouts hurt my right bicep. I hadn't done pullups since, because they hurt (I'd try one or two once every few weeks, but that's it). I did 20 for my USMC PFT last week, though, and it didn't really hurt.

I could still feel it, though, so I'm gonna wait a little longer so as to not reinjure myself.

7/4/2009 10:12:53 AM

I want to start again this month. I had an injury as well and quit doing it a month ago. I'll listen to my body more this time around. It's a great workout though. I did Crossfit + swimming as my primary workouts for the first half of this year and was very happy with the results. Can't wait to get back into it.

7/7/2009 3:10:12 PM

I've been going a couple times a week for about half a year now...I'm really having trouble making it a priority and going closer to 5 times a week.

I've been making decent progress on certain areas though. First time I did Cindy I got 14 rounds, last time I did 18+.

Oh and also I had 2 goals when I started: To do a muscle up, and once that was complete to be able to do Nasty Girls whenever it popped up. I'm happy to report the last time it came up (6/14) I went through the workout in 14:45. Not as fast as any of the 3 girls from that video, but I felt pretty good. That video is one of the biggest reasons I got into Crossfit.

7/7/2009 5:47:30 PM

I'm doing crossfit out here with an affiliate in St. Louis.

Any other women doing crossfit?

7/7/2009 6:15:44 PM

I do what I can here in Alabama, but the nearest gym is about 1 1/2 hours away and, although I can put together a lot of the equipment I need for workouts, I can't put them together in the same place a lot of times.

Anything involving olympic bars and running is out for example. I've substituted kettlebells a lot though.

7/7/2009 6:34:13 PM

Did "Fight GOne Bad" tonight.

Seriously this makes Filthy 50 and Murph seem like nothing.

7/7/2009 11:26:59 PM

Who else is not a fan of AMRAP (as many reps as possible)? I don't like it because I feel like I don't have goal. At least with WODs that have specific reps. i.e 20-15-9, 50, etc., you push yourself to end those reps as fast as you can.

With AMRAP it's like, "oh god, is the minute up yet..."

7/8/2009 12:40:14 AM

once you've done a "AMRAP" you can just aim to beat the amount of rounds next time...of course the first time sucks, but I tend to back off a little and "get a feel for the workout" so next time I know what to expect/how to pace it

yesterday I did some strength work and then
100 Double Unders
75 Box Jumps
50 KB Swings, 1.5 pood
25 Burpees

7/8/2009 4:46:43 AM

We did some skills work in class yesterday. One of them was medicine ball cleans. It's our second skills for this, but I admit I have not been practicing it.

That still doesn't change my opinion on it. I think it's awkward as hell, and I really don't see the point. What do you gain from working with the medicine ball that you can't with the olympic bar? Olympic bar gives you much better form.

7/9/2009 6:48:21 PM

My sister is flying to Cali early tomorrow morning out of Raleigh to compete in the Crossfit games.

About a month ago she finished third in the regionals in Ohio. Here's a video she's in (you can see her about a minute in, wearing a blue shirt on the right...she's the first one to pull-ups):


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DQMlVTsS7c


Very proud of her.

7/9/2009 7:31:15 PM

bttt

12/3/2009 10:23:41 PM

Anyone still keeping up here?

I was had made some great progress and got 20 rounds on Cindy...then the last 2 workouts didn't go quite so well

What exactly was up with that 1 arm pull up one anyway...at first I thought there was no way those were supposed to me weighted pull ups but the consensus at my gym was that they were. 2 of the top guys could barely get through the workout doing them weighted, and their times were so bad it's not even worth mentioning. Regardless, I did it without weight and got 19 minutes and change, which sucked.

Then yesterday's I did in 26:50, which was also a pretty crappy time I think.

12/4/2009 10:14:58 AM

doing CF Endurance right now (couple days behind)

Good Mornings
95x5
115x5
125x3
135x3

Press
95x5
115x3
125x3
130x3

Deadlift
275x3
315x3
335x2
365x1
390x1 (PR)
400x1 (PR)

that was this morning...
tonight will be 4x5min intervals - cover as much distance as possible (on bike)...3 min rest between

12/4/2009 3:57:47 PM

that looks somewhat similar to the Rip's Starting Strength program. I've been doing HIT routines for the last year and plan to start SS the first of the year. Do you know anything about SS? Thoughts?

12/4/2009 4:04:50 PM

yea that one armed shit was rough

I had to do the thrusters with a kettle bell, which was hard for me to keep my form

said fuck it to the one armed pull ups cause i cant do that many, so i just upped the amount of reps and did ring pullups

didnt time it either. I usually dont time the weird ones though.

interesting to say the least

[Edited on December 4, 2009 at 4:34 PM. Reason : as]

12/4/2009 4:33:57 PM

I timed it but I didn't put it in my log spread

I used a KB for the thrusters too and that really messed the rhythm and form up...I could have gone much faster with a dumbbell for sure...on the pullups I was able to do a good 5-7 in a row kipping with my right hand, but with the left every time I kipped I would end up turned sideways and have to step off...that limited me to doing just 2 or 3 at a time non kipping on the left side

It was a really, really weird toss in...for the best guys at my gym to hardly be able to do something as RX is a giant change from the norm

12/4/2009 4:54:12 PM

^^^

SS will def add weight if youre skinny. It's a metric boat load of back squats though. I think its a good starting point for a noob (as opposed to just winging it with 10 exercises a day). I'm a noob and it looked the most basic of all the stuff I had found. I'm going to do it for 3 months and then change up in the spring (1 month down). Honestly the worst part of the program is waiting for people doing curls and shrugs in the squat rack to finish. The best part is the simplicity. If youre not a bean pole that blows around in the wind maybe you should start with something else.





[Edited on December 4, 2009 at 4:58 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2009 4:57:37 PM

Quote :

"that looks somewhat similar to the Rip's Starting Strength program. I've been doing HIT routines for the last year and plan to start SS the first of the year. Do you know anything about SS? Thoughts?"

It's actually the Strength WOD from CrossFit Endurance.

Starting strength in itself is a great program for beginners/intermediates too (with some added accessory work). Simple. Compound. Linear Progression. Throw in the Gallon of Milk per day and you can make some huge size/strength gains quickly (assuming you're somewhat of a novice).

The only thing I would recommend is to make sure you can correctly squat and deadlift...and power clean for that matter. Might want to throw in pull-ups as well.

[Edited on December 4, 2009 at 9:34 PM. Reason : ]

12/4/2009 9:34:12 PM

I've gained 25lbs on SS in 2 months...

Squat is up to 305, DL 360.

Freaking love this program. However, I was adding a bunch of assistance/accessory lifts and I think I may be beginning to overtrain

12/5/2009 2:23:33 PM

5 lbs of muscle, 5 lbs of water retention, and 15 lbs of fat?

12/5/2009 2:26:45 PM

A fair amount of fat and muscle. Not really sure wtf water retention has to do with anything. Majority of muscle is water.

My legs have blown up, a lot of my once fitting pants are now tight. I'd say the majority of the gain is muscle.

I've got a nice little gut, but not too worried about it. I am all about the strength and size gains. You can see my abs slightly when I flex so that fat isn't a big deal.

I am hitting personal records almost every work out, at least every other.

12/5/2009 2:37:28 PM

Ok, so I took a couple of months off to focus on the track and field events for the German Armed Forces Proficiency badge and came back a couple of weeks ago. Is it me, or has Crossfit seriously amped up their workouts? 15-12-9 single armed pull ups with a 60lbs weight? WTF?


I mean, I usually just go to the Crossfit X scaled workouts but still.

12/5/2009 2:54:40 PM

Yea, I'm 5'11, 150, but mostly muscle by my account.

I would say I am a novice though I have been working out pretty religiously for the last two years (I started working out at 135). Currently, my PRs are:

Bench: 200
Squat: 230
Deadlift: 240
Military Press: 115

I figure I have pretty average strength for my weight and I am cut up pretty good, but I definitely feel primed to throw on 15-20 lbs; that's where SS comes in. Ive been reading some of the logs on the CF forum and it looks like guys in similar positions as me are throwing on the weight with this program. I don't know if I can do the gallon of milk as just a couple glasses a day tears up my gut and turns my piss white (not clear, white) and that is a bit disconcerting. Without the milk, I'd definitely need to find some good supplements to meet the caloric benchmarks Rip sets for this program.

What do you guys think? Sound like I am a decent candidate?

12/6/2009 10:41:23 PM

Those look like decent numbers. I dont really know if its going to help you much. Most of the gains I've seen I believe to have been based on no experience and previous under eating. I'm 5'11" 147ish which isnt far from you and much lower on all those lifts.

Diet wise I go with a half gallon of milk a day and aim for 3000-3500 calories in general. I looked at my notebook and it looks like I gained 7 lbs in november. who knows how much of that is fat. i can clearly see abs so I know my BF isnt outrageous. you can probably push the calroies higher per day and move the scale needle faster but I know personally the added BF was concerning and really counter productive to what I am trying to achieve. To be honest it just felt wrong.

Try it for a month and see how it goes . It's only 3 days a week for 45 minutes.



oh and I dont clean because of no faith in form. i added dips and pullups at packman92s suggestion.

[Edited on December 7, 2009 at 3:36 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2009 3:35:11 PM

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Wit_and_Wisdom_of_Mark_Rippetoe

Some exercise witticisms from Mark Rippetoe. Pretty hilarious.

12/7/2009 4:01:41 PM

5'11'' @ 150lbs is pretty damn skinny...

If you are looking to get bigger you need to follow SS, get enough rest and eat more than your probably comfortable with.

[Edited on December 8, 2009 at 7:20 AM. Reason : .]

12/8/2009 7:18:57 AM

^ how much rest does someone need if they want to bulk up?

12/8/2009 7:28:04 AM

3-4 Days of lifting with the other days being active recovery or rest should be good when bulking. Don't go crazy with cardio...just enough to keep up conditioning, but if you're trying to gain weight those are calories you'll have to make up with food

12/8/2009 12:41:56 PM

what's wrong with doing cardio during a bulking program

12/8/2009 2:43:28 PM

Did you read my post? I didn't say don't do any, I just said keep it minimal. If you feel you must do atrocious amount of cardio then make sure you estimate how much you burn and add those calories in to your diet. The goal here is to GAIN weight, right?

12/8/2009 2:46:15 PM

Mike, I'll start SS the first of the year--giving me time to read the book over the holiday--but I'm not going to be doing the milk as I know it would tear my gut up. Do you recommend any meal replacement supplements. I currently have nlarge2, but haven't been drinking it as regularly as I should. What do you suggest?

12/8/2009 2:50:27 PM

Cardio is counterproductive to bulking/putting on weight. Especially long slow distance cardio.

SS is recommended to be preformed 3 days a week. With atleast 1 day of rest between work outs. A lot of people tend to do the program on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with 2 days off over the weekend.

This routine is hands down one of the, if not the, best for beginner weight lifters. It allows you to efficiently gain a significant amount of size and strength.

In order to get results, you have to follow the program! That means correct technique on the low bar back squat, the press, the bench press, the dead lift and power cleans.

My problem, and I would guess a lot of others too, was that I felt compelled to add assistance and accessory lifts at the end of the work out. Once I started lifting decently heavy weight, these extra exercises were overkill and affected my gains/recovery time negatively.

[Edited on December 8, 2009 at 6:54 PM. Reason : .]

12/8/2009 6:48:56 PM

started this in the summer, seen TONS of gain

6'4" really skinny guy who had been skinny fat at around 210, now steady at 190, which is lightest i've been since hs (28 yrs old). 1-2 months ago i benched body weight for first time in my life, i had never done 1 rep and i was doing 2-3 reps.

12/8/2009 7:04:15 PM

Main site WOD for tomorrow:

Quote :

"Complete five rounds of: On the rings, lower from an inverted hang, slowly, with straight body and arms, 7 reps 15 Ring Push-ups Move SLOWLY and methodically attempting perfect execution. Ideally this is done with two pairs of rings - one pair hung app. 8' off the ground and the second 4" off the ground."

lolwut?

12/11/2009 1:00:21 AM

those turkish get-ups yesterday were not to be trifled with.

i've done the exercise before, just a rep or two to try it out. that was the first time i'd done it for real exercise.

12/14/2009 1:50:23 PM

Turkish get ups really bore me for some reason...not because they're easy and I can do them, because they can be quite tough...they are just boring

12/14/2009 2:18:50 PM

yeah, it was my first time really doing them with a purpose, so I haven't really even mastered the exercise, much less gotten bored with them.


Today is maxing out squats/deads/standing shoulder press. This is my comfort zone...I've been doing these for half my life. I might just a touch sore tomorrow, but I won't feel like I'm going to yack and have my heart blow out of my ribcage during the workout.

12/14/2009 3:20:59 PM

Quote :

"but I won't feel like I'm going to yack and have my heart blow out of my ribcage during the workout"

but that's how you know it's working

12/14/2009 3:23:46 PM

yeah, i know, but that doesn't mean i have to enjoy that near-death feeling.

12/14/2009 3:25:42 PM

Goodness:


http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/MirandaAlAsad.html

12/15/2009 8:45:14 PM

Anyone worked the Crossfit Endurance program before? I've got a buddy who wants me to run the Big Sur marathon with him in April and, while I probably won't be able to pull that off for a number of reasons, think it might be a good idea to start training this program anyways.


Thoughts?

12/29/2009 1:42:03 PM

using it right now to train for a triathlon and it's going very well

do you have a specific question? They pretty much tell you everything you need to know in the CFE Faq.

12/29/2009 3:33:35 PM

Not really, I was looking more for testimony. I looked at the endurance WODs and noticed the SC / LC / U indications. Couldn't find what that meant in a cursory search.

12/29/2009 4:42:17 PM

short course
long course
ultra

it depends on what you're training for - if you're doing a marathon you'd probably want the long course option (or ultra if you're feeling frisky)

12/29/2009 7:02:36 PM

got it, I think I'll start with the short course and work my way up. I've been doing standard Xfit but I hate running (why am I doing a marathon again?) so I'll need to ease into it.

12/29/2009 8:12:45 PM