[r-man]

Just found this site. Seems worthy of a thread. Lots of video clips of exercises with hardcore names. Haven't looked through them all yet. Lots of em are weightlifting things, but there are others.

http://www.crossfit.com/

If you've got a choice between video and slideshow, go for slideshow.

Hey, is that L-pull up the same thing as a front lever? Or do you not do pull ups with a front lever? I've never really known what people are talking about.

Would be great if there was a pile of videos/slideshows for climbing related exercises. Something for the future (and eagerly awaited!) ukb update?

[roddersm]

Hi - was going to start a new topic but then came across this...

Crossfit seems to be a bit of a craze now were I live - has anyone tried this?

The focus seems to be on whole body compound movement exercise to failure - Olympic lifting, pull-ups, skipping etc. - I've read mixed things about it, that it doesn't emphasis correct form enough, can lead to injuries etc. but everyone who does it seems to swear by it....seems popular with sports people to - rugby players, martial artists, etc.

I'm tempted to give it a go but the pricing is pretty steep - 55quid per month not including induction.... Not sure how beneficial this would be for climbing but my instincts make me think it could be pretty good for general conditioning, core strength and all round fitness - more so than standard gym or aerobic training... ?   

[lagerstarfish]

for the attention of any crossfit wannabees,

wearing a crossfit t-shirt and carrying a heavy weight over your head does not exempt you from using The Green Cross Code. In Heeley it seems to be the fashion to boost performance by using adrenalin surges induced by staggering in front of moving cars



Gym Jones folk have right of way on most roads

[Falling Down]

Just found this site. Seems worthy of a thread. Lots of video clips of exercises with hardcore names. Haven't looked through them all yet. Lots of em are weightlifting things, but there are others.

http://www.crossfit.com/

If you've got a choice between video and slideshow, go for slideshow.

Hey, is that L-pull up the same thing as a front lever? Or do you not do pull ups with a front lever? I've never really known what people are talking about.

Would be great if there was a pile of videos/slideshows for climbing related exercises. Something for the future (and eagerly awaited!) ukb update?

Most cross fitters I know have great all round strength, fitness and endurance.  Or, as they call it General Physical Preparedness (GPP).

[duncan]

What's good: It's supervised exercise. It's varied and fun. For people that do no exercise or struggle to maintain an exercise programme, this is great. It's a bit culty, lots of people like this, and if it keeps them exercising that's not such a bad thing. It's lifting weights, getting hot and sweaty, doing more than just stretching and other lilac lycra stuff. There are probably benefits of doing compound 'functional' exercises but these are over-sold by the advocates.

What's not so good: It's exercise not training, real athletes don't do cross-fit, it's not specific to their needs. The variety that keeps it fun means that, most of the time, it's not going to be doing something very useful for hard rock climbing. Some of the physiology behind some of the claims is doubtful. The aggressive marketing. It requires a certain standard of instructor to be safe and effective. Rapid growth means standards are hard to maintain.

I'm currently doing my 'building site fitness' programme at home, a series of compound, high intensity, sometimes bodyweight exercises. It's quite fun and has cost me one fuck-all for the seconds pro timer app as recommended by Ben Prich here. I don't think it's going to help me get up 7b but I hope it will make climbing El Cap. a bit less gruelling. I already know a bit about exercising and I'm pretty good at getting on with training by myself though. Some people need someone else to crack a whip, like the social support, and benefit from a bit of expert(ish) advice. For those people some kind of exercise class is a good idea.

By the way, can someone explain WTF is meant by "conditioning"? It has no meaning in physiology. It's one of those plausible words like "core" that are bandied around in the exercise industry that seem to mean virtually whatever you want it to mean. I suggest a moratorium until people agree on a reasonably precise definition.

[SA Chris]

Conditioning to me is looking at the forecast and trying to guess what conditions at the crag will be like.

[as646]

Pretty much all it takes to become a crossfit "coach" is to go on a single training course. You are then technically qualified to teach olympic lifts, among other things. This strikes me as insane, and along with the crossfit mentality, is a major contributor to how likely the average crossfitter is to break themselves. Not to mention the fact that they perform these highly taxing and technical lifts to failure.

If you ever fancy a laugh, have a look on youtube for crossfitters doing snatches and c&js.

[roddersm]

y, can someone explain WTF is meant by "conditioning"? It has no meaning in physiology. It's one of those plausible words like "core" that are bandied around in the exercise industry that seem to mean virtually whatever you want it to mean. I suggest a moratorium until people agree on a reasonably precise definition.

Oops sorry, 'general conditioning' seemed like an appropriate terminology to use for a potentially useless activity with no specific benefit whatsoever other than deluding oneself that one is following a structure training program ...no offense intended....

[Paul B]

What Duncan said:
http://www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly

Re: core:

After he realized I was done with my sermon he slapped another 45 lb bumper plate on the bar and said, "Jeremy, have you ever taken a look at some of the people who write this shit?" He then bent down and ripped the bar off the ground so hard you would have thought the plates were hollow.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1515405

[a dense loner]

Pretty much all it takes to become a climbing "coach" is to go on a single training course. You are then technically qualified to teach fingerboarding, among other things. This strikes me as insane, and along with the climbing mentality, is a major contributor to how likely the average climber is to break themselves. Not to mention the fact that they perform these non taxing and non technical moves to further embarrassment.

[tomtom]

Conditioning to me is looking at the forecast and trying to guess what conditions at the crag will be like.

For me it's the bottle next to the shampoo

[webbo]

I thought this thread was going to  be how to get fit for throwing a tantrum.

[Falling Down]

What's not so good: It's exercise not training, real athletes don't do cross-fit, it's not specific to their needs.

Wholeheartedly agree.  It's now a sport in its own right.  Cross fit games etc.

Twight was at Crossfit for a while and quickly realised this and reconfigured some of the learning to make it all training for specific sports and jobs which is really what gym jones is all about.  An endurance runner needs different training to a power lifter, cyclist, climber etc.  Crossfit does not differentiate.

[SA Chris]

Conditioning to me is looking at the forecast and trying to guess what conditions at the crag will be like.

For me it's the bottle next to the shampoo

From what I've seen, you use a lot!

[a dense loner]

Weird how they coined the term crossfit and not specificfit

[tomtom]

I thought this thread was going to  be how to get fit for throwing a tantrum.

Bravo :D

[Paul B]

Wholeheartedly agree.  It's now a sport in its own right.  Cross fit games etc.

The mild irony being that people who partake in the games follow specific stength training rather than crossfit.

[mark s]

Eyes left

[ardeer]