Across the fitness world, there have always been fad diets and workout plans. The newest one that has been sweeping over the land for the past few years is Crossfit. According to Crossfit.com, Crossfit is a workout style that is "constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity." It is a workout that changes week to week, taking on new body groups, while also being performed at a high level of intensity, usually weight and speed. It also boasts how the movements you do inside of the program are more natural movements you would do every day, rather than some of the traditional gym workouts. Crossfit has blown up since it's creation, has been said to work miracles on the body, and overall elevate your fitness level faster than traditional gym techniques. Now, this sounds great on paper, but in practice, it isn't as pretty. The premise behind Crossfit can be summarized as this: High-Intensity Training for an extended period of time, changing exercises each day, and more sociable.
One thing that has been around for ages is HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training. This training is used to hit your muscles hard and keep your aerobic system working as well. Scientific studies have shown how HIIT training is great for losing fat and building muscle. Here is an article in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine that lays out the effects of HIIT. The reason I bring this up is because HIIT is only valuable when done properly, which Crossfit tends to not do.
When you go to a Crossfit gym, you'll tend to see one or two trainers with a class size of about 10 or 15, sometimes more. Some of these people have worked out before and know a little about weight training and exercise, while others are brand new. This is a challenge for the trainers because they are not able to give everyone one on one attention, avoiding possible injuries. Many programs have people working out with higher weights than they can handle. One thing you learn when you begin working out is what proper form is. Every exercise has a proper form your body should be in, or you may end up hurting yourself. From everything I have seen from Crossfit, they don't tend to teach form, but rather try and push your body to do the most amount of weight it can handle, as fast as you can. This causes many people to not learn proper form and end up hurting themselves. Also, since the workouts change weekly, once you learn proper form, you'll probably never use it for that exercise or you won't even have a chance to learn the proper form.
I'm not trying to bash Crossfit. It's a great idea on paper. The social aspect helps you keep going or compete with others. High-Intensity Training is good WITH PROPER FORM, and switching up your exercise routine is key to unlocking a fitness plateau. If you find the right Crossfit gym, they'll care more about form and safety first, rather than dumb ideas.However, with all of the issues that it has, I'd say it's much better to work out with a personal trainer or learn with a friend who knows what they're doing.
