by Paul O'Hare

Created on: May 15, 2010   Last Updated: May 24, 2010

Crossfit is a strength and conditioning methodology which aims to promote broad and general fitness through a combination of weightlifting, cardiovascular and bodyweight exercises. It has grown rapidly in the last number of years, and it is extremely popular in the military, fire-fighter, and law enforcement communities. However, the extremes to which some participants push themselves, and the haphazard workout programming can often lead to serious injuries, and Crossfit founder, Greg Glassman has claimed “It can kill you. . . . I’ve always been completely honest about that.”

The Crossfit workouts, also known as “Metcons” (Metabolic Conditioning), combine strength training with high-intensity conditioning. Although this may seem like a good method of developing strength, muscle and cardiovascular capacity simultaneously, the fact that the workouts often involve highly technical lifts, such as the clean and jerk, or snatch, done for a high number of repetitions can cause some problems. Technique will diminish rapidly with the onset of fatigue, greatly enhancing the risk of injury. Dr. Stuart McGill, a professor of spine biomechanics at Waterloo University, believes that the workouts do pose an injury risk: "That's a great disc herniator," he says, watching a video of a hip-back extension exercise on the CrossFit website. "A lot of lifts and jumps are demonstrated by people with wonderful form. But the average person could open themselves up to the risk of injury."

Crossfit also claim that their programs have universal scalability, meaning that they believe the same program being used by elite athletes is suitable for pensioners. The load used, and the intensity are scaled to each individuals needs and abilities, however, they do not seem to be concerned with each individuals own movement capabilities or muscular imbalances.

The training is always done at a high intensity, and is often timed.  This can often lead to extreme exhaustion, and there are many videos on the web showing people unable to move, or being physically sick after a Crossfit workout. There are numerous accounts of individuals being taken to hospital with rhabdomyolysis after a Crossfit workout, which releases muscle fiber into the bloodstream, and frequently causes kidney damage. Greg Glassman, Crossfit founder, has acknowledged that Crossfit is responsible for numerous cases of rhabdomyolysis, however he feels that Crossfits programming is not responsible, rather the previous training of these individuals was “woefully inadequate at preparing them for sustained power output.” One of Crossfit’s unofficial mascots, alongside “Pukey the Clown”, is “Uncle Rhabdo”, a cartoon clown with his guts hanging out.

The standard of coaching is another which brings the safety of Crossfit into question. In order to become a Crossfit affiliate gym, applicants must have a minimum of a level 1 Crossfit Certification. This is usually a weekend seminar, where potential trainers are introduced to the concepts, methods and movements of Crossfit. There is no formal assessment, potential Crossfit gym owners just need to pay $1,000 and turn up for the weekend to become certified. Undoubtedly, there are many Crossfit trainers with extensive qualifications, however Crossfit Inc seem to prioritize  getting their $1,000 certification fee, and $2,000 affiliate ahead of ensuring their trainers are adequately qualified.

Although there are injury risks associated with virtually all forms of exercise, no training methodology shows such blatant disregard for the safety of its participants as Crossfit.  

Learn more about this author, Paul O'Hare.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.