Crossfit/Running

[Grove]

Hello gentlemen!

I am currently waiting to be accepted into OCS and was wondering if y'all think Crossfit in conjunction with a dedicated running program is a good program to train for the rigors of OCS?

Thanks!

 

[MattWSU]

CrossFit is too general for OCS prep. I would do a subset of it that is more focused on bodyweight movements and less on Olympic and power lifting. Running is always good, though.

 

[sickboy]

Love me some CrossFit, but I'm a squid so take that with a grain of salt. There are a lot of strictly body weight WODs out there, so look around. The CrossFit Endurance programming might be more up you're alley.

 

[insanebikerboy]

Opening a can of worms here I'm sure, but Crossfit is too generic. You can be blasted after a 6 minute workout but I've seen a lot of Crossfitters drop out when the PT sessions start really getting up there in length.

It's great if you can power clean 250lbs but that doesn't translate all to well to running and the like. Sure, you'll get a good workout but I really feel like you need to supplement a lot of it with pushups, pullups, situps, and running.

 

[Grove]

Thanks!

I suppose its back to the bodyweight movements!

 

[jtmedli]

Crossfit is great if you kinda ignore the olympic lifting and stick to the basics: Bodyweight workouts + Basic lifting (squats and deadlifts and presses). I have to choose to do crossfit intermittently due to being gone a lot right now so I blow off the crazy stuff and stick to that sort of stuff. My gym also doesn't give a crap if I show up and just want to blow off the WOD and lift that day. YMMV at different gyms though.

 

[xj220]

I do CrossFit, too and I really like it but one thing that is kind of an issue that each gym is different so there isn't as much consistency between them. I've only been to a couple and they've been good and for the most part I think they're all pretty good but you can get a bad one so I'd shop around. CrossFit is good for general workouts but you'll want to augment it with other things to get ready, especially running.

 

[Criminal]

Agree with the above. I would focus on the body weight stuff, lite lifting, pull ups, and lots of running.
On pull ups, do proper dead hang, not CF style kipping pullups.
With the running: Running is the biggest part of PT at OCS. So don't go there with running injuries from running 2,000 miles a week. Work on running but augment with low impact cardio (stair master, elliptical, swim).

Something to look into.
Try out the Insanity workout. It's a DVD program , all body weight exercises. It's a total body workout, lots of cardio (like PX90, minus the equipment needed and the douche guy leading the workout). They will continually kick your ass. It will help prepare you for the high intensity long workouts (they range from 40-60 minutes). "The" program is a 2 month cycle of like 12 workouts. I would augment some days with pullups and running... and a crossfit workout in there to.

 

[Spekkio]

I am going to suggest a slightly different line here:

I don't know what your level of fitness is right now. If you are a fit person who is looking to get in shape for military fitness, then more endurance work will serve you better.

However, if you are not in shape then weights can help you improve your performance. You need a strength base before you worry about specializing your training for endurance and the most efficient way to build that base is with weights (although crossfit is also not the best program for that). If you do 3x5 or 5x5 of weighted pullups 2x a week and progressively increase the weight as part of a strength training routine, you'll suddenly find you can do 20 pullups when you take the weight off.

The reason people who do crossfit exclusively fail is because crossfit teaches you to lift with terrible form to maximize reps with weights you can't actually handle. It's at best counter-productive to the goal of building strength and at worst an injury risk. The principle would be sound, but if you can't do their pullup WoD without kipping then it's too advanced for you.

 

[insanebikerboy]

if you can't do their pullup WoD without kipping then it's too advanced for you.

Got into a "discussion" about this once with a hardcore crossfit guy. I asked why does he kip, he said so he could do more. When I said it was bad form he got offended like I had just told him I f'd his mom.

 

[sickboy]

The reason people who do crossfit exclusively fail is because crossfit teaches you to lift with terrible form to maximize reps with weights you can't actually handle. It's at best counter-productive to the goal of building strength and at worst an injury risk. The principle would be sound, but if you can't do their pullup WoD without kipping then it's too advanced for you.

If you can't finish a WOD with good form, you need to scale somewhere. Any coach worth his salt should be saying something similar.

 

[Recovering LSO]

Thanks!

I suppose its back to the bodyweight movements!

Probably a decent idea. EVERY one of my friends who has spent any considerable time cross-fitting (specifically, throwing weights around) has ended up injured. Before the flame spraying about techniques reign down - these folks went to the seminars, took the classes, took the coaching, prided themselves on form, had the certifications, etc etc etc. One just had back surgery and an another struggles to lift a bag of groceries. ,

I've run 20 marathons (including several 50ks and a 41 miler) in the last 22 months - I got better at it by running. I'm not sure you've got to look for a complicated plan - figure out a way to run, do pull-ups and pushups 4-5 times a week and you'll probably be in a pretty good place.

 

[Fallonflyr]

http://www.militaryathlete.com/
Give this a look.

 

[Spekkio]

If you can't finish a WOD with good form, you need to scale somewhere. Any coach worth his salt should be saying something similar.

Any fitness coach worth his salt will tell you to stay the fuck away from crossfit.

Here's a fun fact: most of the competitive crossfitters don't actually do crossfit as their normal workout. They train for a month or so to do the crossfit routine but the rest of the year they do a more traditional strength and cardio regimen because those regimens are more effective and efficient than crossfit.

Think about what crossfit is at it's core...a bunch of exercises designed to use weights and body-weight (often with poor form) to get your heartrate as high as possible for a short duration. It's basically using weights to do HIIT and pretend to build strength at the same time. There are better and safer ways to get your heart pounding and you don't need to do it by clean and pressing 2 plates 30 times as fast as possible while straining your lower back because the weight is too heavy or you're too fatigued, and there are better ways at getting better at pullups than tying resistance bands to the pullup bar while doing weighted pullups. Yes, that's a real crossfit exercise and no, it doesn't make a bit of sense.

Not to mention the exhorbitant fees it costs to even go to a crossfit gym, er 'box.'

If you want to build strength, there are a ton of proven weight training routines out there to do it. If you want to build cardio capacity, get on a good running program. Because when you PT in the military, regardless of service, you're going to be running. If you want to do both, then build both aspects into your workout regimen. You won't die from running a few miles before (or after) lifting weights.

Crossfit would be effective if done as part of an advanced routine once someone has mastered form the point where they know to put the weight down instead of blow out their backs attempting to finish a WoD by any means possible. But that's not who Crossfit panders to. The fact that any Joe can walk into a 'box' on day one and get put on this type of routine on day one without having lifted a single weight makes it dangerous, even after all the mandatory classes.

 

[Ralph]

I know a couple of seals who do crossfit. Didn't know that it had such a bad rap.