CrossFit Isn't Dangerous Plus 3 WODs

I've been seeing a lot of articles about how dangerous CrossFit is on Facebook, on Twitter, and in my inbox. After careful review of each, I realized one person wrote a poorly written article and every other news outlet cut and pasted various portions onto their own sites.

Now I have a blog about pushing limits to extremes and not using common sense. Yes, these stories are true but I never said they were a good idea. If you've been reading this thing since 2010, you might have noticed a change since I started going to CrossFit Hell's Kitchen in June. My workouts are now planned and managed by great highly-trained coaches.

courtesy of CrossFit Central LI

I have taken three back-to-back hour-long group fitness classes without eating just to show how badass I am. I have run a marathon on a Sunday when the last time I had been asleep was Thursday night. I don't train for ultras. These behaviors are dangerous. If you're going to a well-respected CrossFit affiliate and you have knowledgeable coaches that you trust, CrossFit is not dangerous. If you're running around some bootleg basement and didn't do your research, well, there's no promises.

That's not to say you won't ever get injured. I missed a lateral box jump the other day. Now my shin is scraped. It's certainly not a lethal injury.

I made it to three WODs this week. We've started using WODIFY at the box and now I can geek out on data and CrossFit using the app on my phone. It's like someone wanted to get a present especially for me.

Monday, September 23

• EMOM for 5 3 position snatch EMOM for 4 3 position snatch @ 90%: 5 x 1 @ 35 lbs | THEN 30#
• 3 rounds 25 KBS/14 lateral BJ/7HPC: 10:19 | 63#, KB RX

Monday was a really solid work out but dude was the WOD hard. I used the 16kg kettlebell and it was killer. The hang power cleans were pretty much at the right weight. This is the day I missed the box jump.

totally normal to photograph yourself sitting on the locker room floor,
which looks really nice by the way

Tuesday, September 24

• EMOM for 5. 3 Position Clean. EMOM for 4 3 Position Clean with 90%: 5 x 1 @ 45 lbs | then 35#
• 9.24.2013: 98 Reps | 50#, green band

Everyone was complaining about Tuesday but I had a great time minus the lingering hangover from Monday Night Football. I'm a big fan of the three position clean, especially when the split jerk is involved. The WOD was a minute of chest to bar pull-ups followed by 2 minutes of front rack weighted lunges and then one minute of rest. I had 98 pull-ups and lunges combined. I was rocking out 20+ lunges a round so you know there were minimal pull-ups even with the band that essentially rockets you up to the bar.

Friday, September 27

• EMOM for 5: 5 Tall Snatch: 5 x 5 @ 20 lbs
• EMOM for 5: 5 Tall Cleans: 5 x 5 @ 35 lbs
• 9.27.2013: 115 Reps | 12kg
• 9.27.2013: 90 Reps | 30#, blue and red band, tuck jumps

On Friday I built up the courage to go to the 5:30 class. Never again. That shit is way above my skill level, people RXing all over the place. By the way, RX means as prescribed, or as it is written down with no scaling for weight or modifications. Tall means you start on your toes at the very end of the last position and it was weirdly scary. Like I knew I was going to clear that bar and get down into the snatch, but I felt like I was at the top of a roller coaster each time I did it. I had high hopes for the weight I could use and basically just dropped 5lbs each round.

I love kettlebells so 5 rounds for reps of 1:00 ME KB Snatch 24/16kg with 1:00 Rest was a dream for me. I probably could have handled 14kg, but I couldn't find one. The second part of conditioning after a 2 minute rest was 5 minute AMRAP of 3 Strict Pullups, 6 Strict Press 95/65#, and 20 Double-Unders. I feel like I just straight up bombed it with only three rounds plus 3 pull-ups considering I was so scaled back. I didn't leave feeling particularly awesome about myself and then I had to pack my desk to for Mega Ultra Move up to the 10th floor. Wonder why I ended up at happy hour.