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Crossfit is great. Crossfit gets people fitter faster. It is a workout type which has spread greatly in popularity over the last years. It combines several sports types, such as weightlifting, medicine ball training, sprinting, rowing, and gymnastics. It is an extremely varied type of workout, but at the same time it is also extremely intense. Some people are able to work it up to enjoy the intensity, for others, they love love, I do mean lurrve the vomit inducing workouts (note; frequent overexertion leading to Rhabdomyolysis is not such a great idea). For most, they would be eased into the intensity of the routines and techniques given.

The idea of Crossfit is to be able to super power up the basic movements for the human body that includes elements of cardivascular endurance, stamina, strength, flexibily, speed, agility, balance, coordination, precision and power. Ultimately, it gets people moving and get fitter together.

What should a newbie in Crossfit look out for?

1: Understanding that it takes time to get to the fitness stages that you see other people doing around you. If they whizz around you like Wonder Woman and Superman fast, chances are that they have been doing it somewhat longer than you have or that their general fitness at a basic level is more efficient than your own to begin with.

2: Understanding that it is largely competition but with yourself, well largely with yourself until you get proficient at the various techniques needed.

3: Understanding that learning the techniques is a progression. Learn the techniques well under

   the watchful eye of an experienced trainer. Learning a new technique is like being introduced

   to a foreign language. Get the concept then keep refining.

Excellent technique execution gives you flow and an understanding of timed muscle contraction, and flow gives you speed. So, worry about technique first, before worrying about speed or power or against time. For that matter, any fitness program/ workout is a work-in-progress. This way, you’d have mastered the form and is able to prevent injuries from happening. (Although, most crossfitters are cavalier about injuries, and wear them like a badge of honour. Train wisely and you’d be able to enjoy training for a long time.)

4: Listen to your body, learn Pre-Hab techniques (we shall talk about this later), have proper rest and  a tailored nutrition.

5: Enjoy the Process

So what are some obstacles or injuries that a Crossfitter might face?

Sustainable Training Performance – Top 4 Crossfit Injuries

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)  (see also, cumulative injury cycle) – is an injury of the musculoskeletal system and it is usually caused when the individual is exposed to forceful exertions or repetitive tasks in sports. For example, high speed weightlifting exercises are very often performed by crossfitters, and if these exercises are not performed with precision and high technical skills, dysfunctional  muscles  recruitment leads to muscle imbalances and  soreness. Wear and tear are pretty common even without exertion much less with a high intensity one.

Rest. Ice. Compress. Elevate. If it persists, see someone about it. Your provider should recommend whether to get an imaging done and what type of imaging, if necessary. If not, have your movement patterns checked out through having a Functional Movement Screen. Sometimes, correcting your movements first then getting back into a Crossfit regime may help you get to your personal best. Or prevent you from doing your personal worst.

Sprains/ Strains/ Muscle Aches/ Cramps/ Ligamentous Issues + The Static Stretch

An ounce of prevention is better than a lifetime of cure. Warm up first then do dynamic stretches. Avoid the Static Stretch. Cross Fitters require an extensive volume of flexibility. With Flexibility, you would be able to increase your speed. Static flexibility improves static flexibility and dynamic flexibility improves dynamic flexibility. That is why Dynamic Flexibility increases core temperature, muscle temperature, elongates the muscles, stimulates the nervous system, and helps decrease the chance of injury. (Frederick Gregory 2001 Baseball Part 1 Dynamic Flexibility, Strength and conditioning Journal Vol 23 No 1 Pages 21-30.)

Back injuries

Become biomechanically efficient. Desk bound workers, and similar (sitting-down-all-day-type-jobbers) hear me roar. Sitting down ALL day shortens your hip flexors. When it (illiopsoas) is contracted over a very long period of time, pelvic dysfunction happens. Thereafter, in this case, you’d head for training where you run, like for your life. Or that you do squats and sit ups rapidly. Or change directions in staccato fashions. Then something pulls or strains or sprains.

More often than not, a really sore back is what occurs. Unnecessary hamstring recruitment over allowing the gluteus maximus (bums are the largest muscle in the body. It this the power house muscle group in sprinting and propulsion. Note Serena Williams and other 100 metre sprinters) to do its job.

This commonly results in a lower limb dysfunction where the VMO is too weak and as a result, the legs and feet cop it too. We’d talk about those another day. (Runners take note, it is also a common occurrence for runners to experience Lower Limb/Body Kinetic Chain Dysfunction as well. Think Shin Splints, ITB Woes, you know the drill. Read more here..)

Lastly, Rhabdomyolysis-  an extremely dangerous injury which can occur from badly performed intense exercise techniques and overexertion of the muscles. The skeletal muscle tissue is damaged to the extent that the muscle cells enter the bloodstream, and this may cause further health complications such as kidney failure. Some of the main symptoms include nausea, vomiting and persisting muscle pain. One of the best ways to avoid developing rhabdo is to take it easy with exercising especially at the beginning and if you are not a professional athlete; hydrate yourself properly to keep toxins out of your body and aid proper kidney functioning and make sure your diet concentrates all the vitamins, minerals and fibers that it needs in order to be able to put up with all that physical training and effort. Read Dr Will Wright’s work about Rhabdomyolysis Revisited (June 2011) in the CrossFit Journal.

In short, the author is not a Crossfitter but has tried out Crossfit Workouts and quickly come to a realisation that it’d be better to train up for Crossfit than to use Crossfit to train up.

*This article is written for information and not as a diagnostic assessment. If you have an acute or chronic injury that has not been addressed, please see your health provider.

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