Debating Crossfit...

CrossFit has a lot of high impact and movement that will affect your wrists. My guess is you will sign up, do it once, and realize something you already knew. There are a lot of great sports like swimming and cycling that will improve your fitness without impacting something that you have problems with.

 

I love CrossFit. Given your post I would recommend you get a personal trainer that you do 1 on 1 CrossFit with. He/she can even go to your house to workout to begin with if that is more comfortable. And then progress to training in a gym with your trainer. And then to classes if you want. If you start with classes you run the risk of injuring yourself or not enjoying the class . If you can afford it, a personal trainer will be well worth it.

CrossFit also is great for your confidence- the workouts are tough but you will feel like a badass.

 

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It used to be a real "cult" around here - now I don't know anyone that still does it. I never joined - talked to a local Physical Therapist who said they were seeing a bunch of injuries. Always thought the slogan should be "where women become men" ….

MDS

 

I've always been a fan of body weight exercises, movement exercises, and resistance band training - chance of injury is very low

 

Crossfit is pretty high impact from what I've seen and people I've known that have done it. Lots of quick movements and less control of the weights and body movements in my opinion. You my try some type of workout involving a pool - they tend to be less stressful on the joints as far as carrying weight in my experience. If your main goal is to lose weight anyway, you should probably focus more on cardio activities like a stationary bike, treadmill, or swimming. Running is good too, of course, but it's rough on the knees if you're jogging around on sidewalks and surface streets.

 

I've been doing Crossfit for almost 6 years now. Went from 200lbs to 160lbs in my first year. I used to do the gym many many years before that but could never stay motivated to go. I am not as competitive as I used to be but the reality is I go for myself and not to compete against others. You don't have to do the "prescribed" weights... you do what you can to get a good workout. Having good coaches that help you with proper form is essential so you can keep coming back. There is no point in going so hard to injure yourself... go nice and easy and I promise you will see (and most importantly- feel) the results. Best of luck

 

I am a Crossfit coach. Been at it for over a decade (as a hobby; I am a CFO during the day). Happy to talk as much or as little as you like about it. Most of the people that talk about injuries are people that haven't been to Crossfit or didn't put in the time achieve proper biomechanics, flexibility, agility etc. A lot of people want to go straight to lifting heavy, which isn't really the point (it is work capacity but that is best left for a different conversation). There are a tremendous amount of benefits from Crossfit or similar training programs that go well beyond strength and looking good (neuroendocrine adaptations, universal motor recruitments / neuro pathways, bone density, etc). And that is before addressing nutrition and understanding insulin and glucagon sensitivities and so on.

Most important thing is to find a really good coach / box that knows what they are doing. Crossfit does a good job of maintaining quality of its programs across the board but there are always some people that are better than others and each has its own culture. Not sure your specific constraints with the wrists but everything is adaptable. The Crossfit community has a major contingent missing limbs from war or life that fit in perfectly. In a class the movements and workouts will be the same across age and ability varying only the load, intensity, duration etc. In my gym we have a 15 year old that is currently ranked #1 in the world and I also have an 80 year old with MS (and literally everything in-between). I would encourage you to give it a shot but drop in to a few different boxes to see what fits you. A good coach that syncs with you and understands / supports your goals will materially alter your life for the better - it did for me well over a decade ago and I still have things to work on.

 

That's a common misconception... low weight exercises have a very low chance of injury during a single exercise yes, but if you stick to it over many years it virtually guarantees injury.

Only heavy weight triggers the body's development of injury resistance.

 

The concerns I've heard about it tend to center around the process they use to certify crossfit trainers. It sounds like you know your stuff and I don't mean to be critical, but how thorough is the vetting and training process? You mention that it's important to find a good coach and that kind of plays to my point. I know people who have done it for years and enjoyed it without issue, but I've also seen some very disturbing videos of crossfit workouts online that are definitely not safe. It's anecdotal I know, but I've heard similar things from standard gyms I've worked out at over the years.

 

There are 4 levels of Crossfit trainer certifications (Level 1 and 2 are the most common, 3 & 4 is more teaching specific cert courses). Your concerns are not entirely unfounded. There are coaches that are not good and I have bumped into several. Just because they got the cert doesn’t mean they are a good coach. That being said, there are a lot more personal trainers that are way worse that I have seen. As you go up and find a level 2 or 3 then the standards increase a lot and I don’t think you would find a level 3 or 4 that you thought was bad. These are usual gym owners and course facilitators.

Crossfit posts workouts on its website for all to see as well as how to perform the movements. If you are watching a professional Crossfit HQ video you are watching the proper form. But literally anyone can post a video of themselves doing a Crossfit workout and you are right, some of the form I have seen is just a matter of time before a disc is herniated, slap tear in the shoulder etc.

If you go into a Crossfit gym a good coach will drill movements to perfection before letting you add meaningful weight. A lot of places will have a dedicated onramp class that does nothing but that for 2-4 weeks to get a new member safely and fully up to speed. If the gym you try out doesn’t have a coach asking you a bunch of questions and sizing up your mobility etc then give you a lot of personal in the early days on movements/ workouts, then you should find another gym. It is hard to assign a percentage because different areas can vary so much but I would say 80-90% of the places I have visited have been really good. From there it sort of just depends if the culture / vibe gets you excited to be there and coming back. If you don’t feel attracted to being there or like it was the place for you then it won’t be sustainable long term, but that does take a little time to establish so it won’t be the first day. I would go for a workout at a few places then give the one you like a month or two and reassess.

I would love to hear good or bad at some point what OP thinks if they give it a go.

 

I would love to try it - I'm 52, so it would be hard, but I'm in very good physical shape. I do a lot of body weight exercises, my biggest problem is I'm uncoordinated.

 

I was in banking sitting all day and going out at nights. I did grow up going to the gym before my career took over. I fortunately met some Crossfit neighbors and seeing them transform over a few years finally got me to do something. I went from 200# which was my heaviest to 155# in a year. I could barely jumprope much less do double unders. The uncoordinated bit should eventually go away and the workouts are fun. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try.

 

That is a very good point. Out of the approximate 30 people that joined with me maybe 2-3 are still there. I was very dedicated and have avoided injuries... gradually increased everything over the years but ensuring proper form is extremely important to avoid injuries. I've been at it 7 years now, go 5 days a week... something I look forward to every morning. I'll be 47 this year and in great shape which I attribute 100% to my workouts. Consistency is the key as you mention.