Is CrossFit Too Intense For Me?
Do you like to lift heavy or prefer to be in constant motion for 30+ minutes? Do you like to go so fast that you’re lying on the ground after 5 minutes or do you prefer a steady grind? CrossFit use functional movements. We do pull-ups instead of curls and we squat instead of doing leg extensions. We use functional movements because of their ability to move large loads over long distances, quickly. These factors (load, distance, and speed) uniquely qualify functional movements to produce power. CrossFit by design varies the movements, movement combinations, workout lengths, rep schemes, and other factors with one constant: relative intensity.
According to the CrossFit Level 1 training guide, intensity is “the independent variable most commonly associated with maximizing the rate of return of favorable adaptation to exercise.” Sorry, can you explain that more simply? Finding your intensity, by pushing yourself physically and psychologically, is the quickest way to see results. What may be a moderate weight for you to lift may be my one rep max and the distance you can row in 10 minutes will vary athlete by athlete. This is why intensity is relative to you.
If intensity is the key to results then you should workout more often and more intensely, right? For most normal humans, this just isn't the case. Given all of the other stressors in our lives, doing multiple workouts and spending more than an hour in the gym 5-6 days per week doesn’t give us the chance to recover. We live in a high stress world and overshooting with our training adds more stress that will eventually catch up by way of burnout or injury. One workout a day, 5-6 days per week, is all we need.
Think of intensity like holding your hand over a burning candle. You can hold your hand really close for a short time before getting burned, or you can hold your hand far above the candle for a long time and never feel the heat. Doing more volume at low or moderate intensity (like when your hand is high above the candle) won’t produce nearly the same results that one potent workout where you push your threshold (like when you hold your hand at just the right height) will produce. That’s where us coaches come in. We strive to get each athlete to finish every workout within a specific time and experience a specific feeling, that's the stimulus. That’s what we review at the whiteboard at the start of each class, how the workout should feel.
We’re constantly learning and improving the way we communicate with you all on how to achieve the stimulus. You can help find your intensity and push your physical and psychological thresholds by regularly attending class and being a curious competitor. We welcome your questions on how to move faster, lift more or develop a more advanced skill. In class we use compound movements and shorter, high-intensity workouts because they are radically more effective at bringing about nearly any desired fitness result.
In Strength,
Giancarlo
