Crossfit & the CF

[buzgo]

Well, since my 'inside source' got back from the seminar, we have decided to build a home CrossFit gym in our garage/yard... She has been teaching/critiquing me and I've been reading the CrossFit journal package that was given out. There is a huge wealth of information and if you have the opportunity to go over the back issues, take it! Once I am confident with what I am doing, I am going to start teaching guys at work how to do the workouts - I can easily see applications for group PT, especially in the environment I work in.

Regarding some of the lifts, and starting out easy - I would recommend trying it with a broom handle or dowel. Believe me, they are tough when done properly.

 

[MdB]

The Maple Leaf • 7 June 2006

Crossing the boundaries of fitness, by Sgt Kyle Richards.

CFB GAGETOWN, N. B. — Thirty-two students participated in a three-day Crossfit Certification Seminar at CFB Gagetown. The students were under the direction of Coach Greg Glassman, the founder of the Crossfit training system.

The certification program will allow the students to facilitate the basic concepts of the Crossfit program throughout the Combat Training Centre (CTC).

As part of a program to support the Chief of the Defence Staff’s directive to increase the level of physical fitness throughout the military, the CTC has been supporting an Infantry School initiative to enhance the Army Fitness Manual (AFM). A trial of the Crossfit program was conducted in 2005, and after a measure of positive results, the Infantry School met with national (Personnel Support Programs) staff to start implementing an Army operational fitness program based on the theories and practices of Crossfit into the AFM.

Crossfit is a concept that utilizes functional movements, performing them in a varied fashion and at a high intensity. These concepts have been gaining a large following among military and law enforcement personnel. The program’s popularity is mainly due to the applicability of the program in a combat environment.

“What separates this style of training to conventional running or weightlifting is that the stimulus is better, and I think that it is a better match to the demands of warfighting, survival, life, and sports.

We get a result that is frankly unparallel to more conventional methods,” said Mr. Glassman.

“We started in the classroom learning the 10 different components of fitness and then the staff conducted practical training with us, basically teaching us how to use techniques such as balance, agility, speed, power, and all aspects of fitness,” said Bombardier Rhonda Evans.

The movements you find within the program mimic the same movements that you can find on any job site or on the battlefield, including lifting, pushing, jumping, throwing, punching, and climbing.

For more information on the Crossfit program you can access the Web site at www.crossfit.com. Points of contact are Captain J.T. Williams, chief standards officer, Infantry School Williams.JT@forces.gc.ca or Capt Jeff Bird, Infantry Corps Technical Adjutant Birde.JM@forces.gc.ca .

 

[buzgo]

Is anyone involved in the upcoming CrossFit certification seminar at 3 VP?

August 21st - 25th
CrossFit Certification Seminar
3d BN, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

www.crossfit.com - its on the front page, right side under upcoming crossfit events.

 

[The_Falcon]

Nice to see 3 VP taking the initiative.

 

[paracowboy]

the Adj, as I recall, is taking the lead on this. We're building some stuff in the Sim Room for Crossfit, as well. Peg boards, etc.

 

[buzgo]

I'm curious to see what people think about it after being formally trained. A lot of the exercises require good technique, and you can only develop it with training. Are you on the course paracowboy? I'm curious to hear about how they implement the program within the BN once the trainers are qual'd.

 

[paracowboy]

nope. No good for my personal situation.
I see it being incorporated like everything else we do. Instructors trained up, and it's another option for platoons to use in the morning, like the weight room, going for a run, or doin' a ruckmarch. They'll have to book the room a few days prior for the days they choose to do a Crossfit workout. No big change, really. It's not that different from standard cross-training to begin with.

 

[buzgo]

The olympic weightlifting stuff is really dangerous if you jump into without instruction. People trying to overhead squat 90 lbs or deadlift their bodyweight without working up to it...

 

[The_Falcon]

The olympic weightlifting stuff is really dangerous if you jump into without instruction. People trying to overhead squat 90 lbs or deadlift their bodyweight without working up to it...

Just to note ANY time your are moving around free weights (and even when you use machines) without proper instruction/spoters you risk hurting yourself (and others in some cases). Olympic lifts are pretty high on the injury scale, but there are other exercises that are known to cause serious injuries for example, leg press/squat machines, pec decks, french curls (aka skull crushers aptly named for an obvious reason.) machines that work your lower back, any kind of exercise involving free weights and an overhead press. I could keep going but you get my point.

 

[MdB]

CF News reporting on Crossfit seminar at Gagetown: Army fitness program envied by other nations.

 

[plattypuss]

One of the hiccups that they alluded too at the seminar in the adoption of Crossfit within other armies was the fact that the leadership especially in certain American units was afraid to do such a "rigorous" form of PT in front of their troops. They could not stop praising the fact that on our particular course, one of the students was a Cmdt of a School, willing to fail, sweat and suck wind with the rest of us.  Because of the leadership's unwillingness to try or participate in the PT, alot of the other nations' soldiers who do this form of PT - do it on their own, I suppose you could say "unofficially" and Crossfit has not been recognized as a legitimate form of PT - as it will be in our Army, if and when the new Crossfit Annex comes out for the AFM.  They liked the AFM additionally because it incorporates a  number of exercises that the traditional crossfit workouts encompass.

 

[ZipperHead]

One of the hiccups that they alluded too at the seminar in the adoption of Crossfit within other armies was the fact that the leadership especially in certain American units was afraid to do such a "rigorous" form of PT in front of their troops. They could not stop praising the fact that on our particular course, one of the students was a Cmdt of a School, willing to fail, sweat and suck wind with the rest of us.  Because of the leadership's unwillingness to try or participate in the PT, alot of the other nations' soldiers who do this form of PT - do it on their own, I suppose you could say "unofficially" and Crossfit has not been recognized as a legitimate form of PT - as it will be in our Army, if and when the new Crossfit Annex comes out for the AFM.  They liked the AFM additionally because it incorporates a  number of exercises that the traditional crossfit workouts encompass.

Although I agree that it was good that there was a Comdt of a School taking the training, and there are many senior CF personnel who would be able to do CrossFit (I could see the CDS and many of the "Hillier Youth" doing CrossFit), there are too many (senior pers) who fear the change that XFit would bring (to them personally): no more leisurely walks around the track, reading a magazine whilst idly pedalling away on the exercycle, the ubiquitous crawl of a run, or even worse - not doing PT at all. The whole leading by example thing would not sit well when it comes to CrossFit with those types.

I am very glad that CrossFit is being adopted (and in a hurry, in comparison to how fast many other things are adopted). My fear is that people won't "get it", and will point to the inevitable injury from somebody going too fast/heavy/hard too soon, and will paint the CrossFit revolution as gobbledy-gook. I also think that too many people won't be willing to devote the time and energy to adopt the lifestyle and mentality that XFit demands and encourages: it will take a long time, and a lot of work, to reach the elite level that XFit strives  for, and in this day and age of people wanting instant results and quick fixes for any weaknesses they have, many people will be quick to drop the program when they realize that they will have to come to near literally puking to get the results that XFit can give. That's fine with me: less people to hog the chin-up bars and plyo boxes  ;D. I have been doing CrossFit (somewhat half-assed admittedly...... Plattypus was kind enough to give me the CrossFit Journals he had back a few months ago, and WOW!!!: get thee a subscription to the CFJ if you don't have access to somebody else's copies. For anybody at CTC, PM me or email me (Luomala.AE AT Forces.GC.Ca) and I will point you in the right direction) for better than 6 months, and I would argue that I am in the best shape of my life, and I'm on the wrong side of 30. It definitely works, but you have to be ready to dig deep to get the effect, and be willing to learn a whole new regimen (compared to traditional PT): gymnastics, Olympic lifting, no predictable (i.e 3 sets of 12/8/6 everytime) workouts.

As for when XFit is put in the annex of the AFM: I continue to meet people who don't even know that there is an AFM. We have boxes of them in our Resource Center, and nobody seems to know they exist (in both official languages, I might add). For more exposure maybe they should put it as an insert into the Ombudsman's Handbook that every new soldier seems to have: "These are your rights! Now go out there and abuse them!!!" J/K. I don't know if such a publication exists, but it probably does. Maybe if they put the AFM as a coaster or placesetting in the respective Messes it might get read during Happy Hour.....

BTW, Plattypus, you looked rather dashing in the video clip that MdB posted the link for. You didn't look like you were ready to meet Pukie the Clown, so you couldn't have been givin' er. For shame.....

Al

 

[paracowboy]

The olympic weightlifting stuff is really dangerous if you jump into without instruction. People trying to overhead squat 90 lbs or deadlift their bodyweight without working up to it...

that would be Darwin's Law at work. No loss.

What still amuses/amazes me is the number of people that think Crossfit is some revolution in fitness. It's the same stuff that has been promoted for decades in physical fitness. New name is all. But, if it works to get folks off their asses...

 

[ZipperHead]

that would be Darwin's Law at work. No loss.

What still amuses/amazes me is the number of people that think Crossfit is some revolution in fitness. It's the same stuff that has been promoted for decades in physical fitness. New name is all. But, if it works to get folks off their asses...

If that was a dig at my use of the word "revolution", fair enough. The reason I use that term is that although there isn't anything new in terms of exercises (although how they are conducted have been given a different spin: the jumping and/or kipping pull-up cause the most amount of looks of scorn and/or disgust from those indoctinated into the rule that exercises have to be done only way to be considered "right"), it is how the workout are done that is "revolutionary". Coach Glassman's methods run contrary to many common exercise regimen's principles. He even advocates Dr Atkin's diet (low carb), which has been subject to much ridicule. I haven't had the discipline to start on the diet full-on, but many of those that I have talked to that have say it is very effective.

I have to admit that when I saw my first taste of CrossFit in action, I smirked. It was a few of the officers from my School out in the shacks in the field, with kettlebell's, and I dismissed it as retro pseudo-exercise. Then I started to see a few more pers in the weight-room on base doing some "wacky" exercises (jumping chin-ups, Olympic lifts with very little weight, plyo-box jumps, and the like) and shook my head, thinking "that ain't no way to get fit". I then shared the seat next to Capt Williams (who has been one of the pers instrumental in getting XFit adopted by the Army) on a flight back from Florida, and we talked about how Xfit works. Anyway, that was last December, and after reading all of the CFJ, I am convinced that while there isn't anything new in terms of exercises, it is a huge shift from the norm of: running 10+ km, trying to bench press a car, doing isolation exercises that mimic nothing realistic in day to day activities (cross-over cable pulldowns.....), 30-90 seconds rest between sets, 90 - 120 min workouts, etc. I still have a hard time pushing out some of the old ways out of my pumpkin when I am planning my workouts, because as everyone knows "more is always better". Or not....

Anyway, it is interesting to see some old school exercises getting taken down from the shelf and dusted off, and this is very helpful for those who want to continue to workout in austere conditions (in the field, on operations, in unit lines, around the house) and not having to be reliant on $10,000+ exercise equipment that only does one thing. No more excuses in other words. That's probably the thing that pisses off the chronically lazy the most: anybody can do it, pretty much anywhere.

Al

 

[paracowboy]

it isn't a dig at anyone, Al.
Crossfit advocates the same stuff that reputable fitness folks have been saying for decades. I find it astonishing that people now are just "discovering" these principles, and some are even treating it like some sort of cult.

 

[ZipperHead]

I think the thing that is refreshing with the whole CrossFit scene is that the information given is free (the only cost is if you subscribe to the Journal's, which are well worth it IMO), and the community is very open and friendly. There are many links to the companies that the CrossFit community recommends, for equipment, videos, books, etc, but there are a lot of links to low tech and/or homemade items (I made parallettes from directions on the XFit forum for about $30, and I am going to make some plyo boxes from directions from the same forum).

I think that too much of the fitness "advice" that was given was just a means of getting somebody to buy something (some supplement, equipment, clothing, book, etc). It's not unluck diet advice. To me, I think the world's shortest weight loss book would contain the following advice: "Eat less. Exercise more". But not too many people would buy it (something so simple couldn't possibly work), and how can you make any money from such a concept. Hence the watermelon diet, the cabbage soup diet, the Atkin's diet, etc.

To be honest, the whole CrossFit thing has been the closest to a "religion" or cult that I have experienced (and been part of). I have made a lot of contacts in the various Schools and units here in CTC, with other pers doing the training (or thinking about starting), and we have been exchanging advice/ideas/knowledge. I am quite the cheerleader for the concept, and while, yes, I could have found the same information in any number of (self-serving) books, it is pretty much all distilled into one source at the XFit site, and within the Journals. I'm sure that I will discover things that I don't agree with there, and I would like to think that I won't get "suckered" into some lame-ass purchase in the pursuit of fitness (a big honking Bowflex machine) or some other snake-oil things that the mainstream fitness magazines and books try to hawk as the end-all to getting fit.

The good thing that I can see coming of Xfit being adopted within the Army is that people will finally be taught how to do exercises properly (assuming units have pers taught via PSP staff or outsiders, such as by the Xfit certification seminars (there is going to be one at 3VP in August, according to the CrossFit.com website), vice the old "monkey-see, money-do" that was common in the weight rooms in the past (throwing weights around versus using strict form and control).

If it's a cult, I guess I'm part of a cult. At least the goal of this cult is improving my fitness, not promising me salvation via rectal probing by aliens (and separating me from my cash)

Al

 

[paracowboy]

see, that's what I mean. The very same positives you mention in the above post (proper diet, proper form, etc) are what reputable fitness experts having been saying for decades. That's what amazes me: that people are only just now "discovering" them.

It's all good, at least folks are catching on. It's just that I find it mind-boggling that anyone, especially soldiers, was unaware of these basics.

Good on the Crossfit people for finding this niche. They stand to make a substantial profit from it, and hopefully, we'll see a drastic decrease in the alarming levels of obesity in the CF.

 

[The_Falcon]

I was speaking with one of the CSMs from my unit (people who know the 48th can probably easily guess who), has really started getting into Xfit every since the CF started looking into adopting about 2-3 months ago, and he told me he has spoken to our DCO about procuring some equipment (rings, plyoboxes etc) for our unit.  We will see in September how it goes.  I am looking forward to it, cause now I won't be the only person in the unit who know what Xfit is.

 

[medic269]

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.  I heard about crossfit through some of the medics I worked with here in ottawa, and started using it about 3 months ago, (the whole while having my application for CF) go through.  I had seen how big the community was, but also so spread out, I found there were few people around here familiar with it.  I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that CF might be adopting it as the offcial fitness regime.  I started with the mindset that I'd be doing it to get ready for basic/SQ etc. and be able to go through the fitness aspects with minimal difficulty.  In retrospect it just makes proper sense that it's incorporated in some aspect to the CF.  Fellow Xfitters and I have hads the discussion as to why not more organizations aren't using it more openly and freely.  I know the Ottawa Polic Tactical Team has adopted it as it's unofficial workout. I think alot of it has to do with lack of education and apprehension to take on something so simple.  Fitness science is one of the most controversial subjects I've ever studied.  Everyone has their own theories and everyone is right and wrong in so many different cases.  I guess it's hard to feed through all the nonsense and find what works.  Anyone else want to share their thoughts? 

 

[plattypuss]

Al,

Thanks I only look that good because I didn't want my make-up to smear and I was worried somebody was looking at my purse which I had left in the corner.  I think by the time that video was shot I had already given everything I had to give the two days prior and was merely looking to survive the last day.  By the way, although he advocates the Atkins diet in earlier issues, he predominately talked about the "Zone" diet during the seminar.  I know from personal experience I only lasted about three days on Atkins because I found I had no energy to do any kind of work-out.  On the Zone diet I've dropped about twenty lbs in total (10 of that just prior to the Cabot Trail)

I wonder if its' catching on again (at least in the military) because the functional nature of the exercises relate and possible enhance performance in combat (whether it be in Afghanistan or downtown Ottawa).  This may also relate to the fact that the study of combat has become more of a science and people understand better the relationship physiologically and neurologically between the type of exercises you conduct and how they can (up to a point) prepare you for the rigours of combat.  A traditional body building type workout may result in you looking intimidating (which can be useful in certain combat situations) but may not be the best suited for "light" warfare. Most crossfitters will not intimidate you - except maybe some of the women.

I think that Crossfit and similar workouts have to fight an uphill battle for acceptance because they are hard.  I like to run and it is not hard for me to put on a pair of shoes and go running - there is little mental or physical preparation required. It's easy to set a pace and stick to it.  It was easy for me to put on my shoes and gloves, go downstairs and lift weights.  Once I had figured out what bodypart I wanted to train, there was little mental preparation, I could rest between sets - even when I was doing max lifts and it was relatively easy to do. Crossfit which emphasises a lot of different types of exercises (which has already been discussed) requires some mental and physical preparation most of the time because you know it is going to be hard.  Even now I find myself going on runs somedays (Crossfit true confession) instead of doing one of the posted Crossfit workouts because I know it is going to be hard and I'd rather do something "easy" - which is why you may want to crossfit with a group instead of doing it individually.

As Al mentioned, this is probably why Crossfit will remain "unofficial" for a lot of organisations because it is hard and some people would probably "feign" injury or stay in a comfortable routine for them (ie running & isolated body building movements) rather than do a "hard" workout.  Many organisations have those who are considered physical icons (ie the guy/gal who is a triathlete, body builder, marathon runner) and they will not want to risk that status doing a work-out which challenges everyone, levels out the playing field a bit and with results that could potentially embarrass them.