Ask Andrew

William Bass September 24 at 12:46pm

Hi there Andrew! Great to see you so active & busy! Hope it's working out for you. I've read up on the pros & cons of Crossfit w/o experiencing it myself (unless that was what you had us doing back in those jellybelly days).

1) There seem to be 2 camps - one raves about it as the greatest thing ever. Their results are certainlyy amazing. The other camp, however, says there's a high rate of injury from crossfit - primarily from all the twisting & turning combined with speed - which in conventional exercise terms is a no-no as t&t while moving weights is a recipe for spinal injuries & muscle & joint tears.
What do you think about this debate?

2) Remember how I use to get real faint & wobbly? Part of it is my ankles are so wiggly from overstretched ligaments. Had a cardiologist check me out recently, tests & all, as I exbited the classic symptoms of obstructed coronary arteries. Results demonstrated my heart was fine, in the top 20% of men my age (50), but for some unexplainable reason, maybe due to the Restless Leg Syndrom I also have - when I start pushing myself hard the blood vessels in my legs dialate & blood dumps from my brain into my leg muscles. So I was told to slow down & take it easier in my workouts. Any thoughts on this?

Working with aging athletes is a different category I know, and I've learned ignoring old injuries as in "tough it out & be a man" kinda thing often makes them worse. Seeing fit people far older than me sure is inspiring, too.

Thanks, man. Yeah, you're The Man here!

William

Andrew Bueno September 29 at 8:48pm

William!

Apologies for not getting to you sooner! I DID have you experimenting in CrossFit, but there is a proper way to go about things and although I was safe and practical, there is a MUCH better way to do CrossFit. I've learned a lot of have become a true training professional since you and Kristina last trained with me.

The answers to your question. (Long, I know, but I do better speaking. Give me a call if you have any other questions, comments or concerns)

1.)

One of the biggest things about CrossFit that isn't normally discussed is safety. CrossFit progression should be built on "Mechanics, Consistency, THEN Intensity."

Too many people get into CrossFit because of what they see in videos. Most videos produced feature amazing athletes with plenty of hours spent refining the mechanics. After perfecting the mechanics/techniques of the movements and exercises, they become consistent by putting the hours in and doing it right each and every time. "Quality over quantity" is what I remind my members all the time, and will actually stop clients from exercising if form falters too much. If one achieves consistent mechanics, then you can throw your body into overdrive and give a full 100% towards the workouts. I value safety above all and if someone exercising doesn't prove safety I will stop them.

Just like personal training, you need time with the person teaching to see how they teach. Are they into getting you doing CrossFit properly? Or are they more concerned with kicking your ass? Be weary of the latter.

I know it's redundant, but in regards to the twisting and turning, it again boils down to "mechanics, consistancy, intensity". Injury stems from muscles or joints being overloaded (either too heavy or too fast- which produces torque). If one was training properly these would not be a concern because you wouldn't be up to a level that would require you to bear those loads YET.

Besides, I can only thing of one or two movements out of the hundreds that we do that could be considered "twisting" or turning. Always check the sources, my friend!

2.)

ALWAYS listen to your body. I'd be interested to analyze your lifestyle for a week and see how body goes- both activity-wise and nutrition-wise. Are you taking a fish oil supplement daily? If not, I'd do some research (quick google search of "benefits of fish oil") and get on a quality one quickly. (Same goes for Kristina and the kids!)

The thing with CrossFit is that although we strive for constantly varied, functional movements executed at a high intensity, not EVERYONE'S intensity is the same and we make sure everyone understands that. We ask that people put the work in, but not if it HURTS. Pain is an obvious risk factor for temporary and permanent injury. Listen to your body.

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Hope that answers a lot. Let me know if I can help with anything else

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- Andrew

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Feel free to agree, disagree, add or correct in comments!