This video series is great LOL. If you do a video on strongman, my main argument would be that it's inevitable you'll tear your bicep doing tire flips, keg lifts, atlas stones, or something similar.
Haha man, strongman is an interesting one! When you look at it comprehensively it's a great way to build fitness in near totality. But since strength is biased over movement and there arent *really* weight classes it also encourages a size at all costs mentality. It would make for an interesting video!
My main criticism of modern Strongman is dude how much equipment do I have to have to train for this??? I can't just go out in the woods and lift rocks and real logs, or random stuff at the junkyard, I gotta buy all these implements? Where am I gonna store it all? Beware the Strongman Industrial Complex!
@@ChristianGyro you could make a realistic argument that professional strongman are more unhealthy than bodybuilders. They are often 350+ lbs and pushing gear to an absurd degree. But most are smart enough to get in and out so to speak. They go for "it" and then lose a bunch of weight and leave the sport before they've accrued too much damage
I found that in order to be "good" at crossfit you need to already be good at all the components of crossfit or else you're just wasting your time. That's why so many people get hurt doing it.
Precisely! This is what I was getting at in the video. You get good at it by building your overall fitness sequentially, and then you translate that into high level Crossfit performance.
When we say so “many people get hurt doing it” where’s the evidence for that because the one study that showed it had a high injury rate was debunked and has since been retracted and other studies have come out since and put it on par with other non contact sports like oly lifting and power lifting but far below the injury rate of say basketball or football. It’s always so weird to me that if someone gets hurt playing basketball or powerlifting, no one blames the sport, it’s just accepted as a risk that comes with the activity and it’s on the individual to be responsible for their self. Like driving a car But with CrossFit it’s like individuals are being unwittingly put into inherently dangerous situations which is apparently evidenced by all the people that get hurt doing it… (despite there not really being any evidence that people get hurt doing it)
I went into a local "Box" a few years back to check it out when I didn't know what CrossFit was. The owner did not want intelligent questions about random exercise selection, non-progression, and one-size-fits-all barbell loading asked in her gym. She didn't even try to sell me. I was only there for five minutes, and I'm pretty sure she was glad when I left. I was baffled and still am.
Sounds like you was basically already set on doing a general strength training/bodybuilding routine and were baffled that people exist that don't want to do that.
@@jimalteri8169 probably more baffled that there exists s market for people that want to exhaust themselves with tremendous risk of injury and get no fitness benefits for it. Crossfit is a joke
@@jimalteri8169 I was baffled that "coaches" would generate one identical workout for the smallest, largest, weakest, strongest, youngest, oldest, least skilled, most skilled, healthiest, most acutely injured, and most chronically injured "athletes" with no consideration or accommodation of individual differences. Having a healthy 220 pound 22 year old man with a 330 pound snatch and an injured 130 pound 72 year old man with a 55 pound snatch both do 10 snatch reps with 95 pounds seems insane to me.
When I first started in my fitness journey I got into Crossfit. It got me very fit from a conditioning standpoint and got me into powerlifting. The community is what really kept me in it and kept me coming back to it. I had such good times hanging out with people from my box. I switched to powerlifting because I wasn't happy with my strength and physique after the initial gains.
100% agree with your analysis. You can't make progressions in strength, explosiveness, anaerobic and aerobic capacity with technical movements.....all at the same time and/or the same workout. There is no way in hell anyone is doing those WODs everyday and making progress!
I’m not fan of CrossFit but I love CrossFit gym. Tons of rogue bumper plates, good equipment compare to commercial gym and people don’t care even I drop the weights, and some people even hypes me up which is really cool 😎👍
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one because I have a sweet spot for CrossFit. The concept of being able to deadlift 405 pounds and then go run a mile in under 5 minutes. Has always kind of been to me Testament of just true Fitness. But as always a very well spoken and thought-out video. I found your argument about the sport not being intentional/ logical in its approach for the progression of the athlete being very convincing. I was also really glad you used the jumping example. That's just really good to know that jumping is good for training explosion where other forms of training would be better for conditioning. Just a great tidbit. Thanks for the content!
Training to do crossfit is a great goal as it is a (as you said) good balance between endurance and strength. Training to get better at crossfit by doing crossfit is just probably not the way how you should do it.
If you train for crossfit. Guess what? You get good at the specific movements in crossfit. It's like driving the same way to work for 10 years then moving to a new city. Sure you can still drive but you won't have a clue where the hell you are going.
@Daniel Farrell You don't. But many other sports are super concerned with Being specialized such as power lifting. Crossfit I felt like Was a sport that more encouraged being good at a variety of things. But you certainly do not need to do crossfit to pursue this avenue.
I agree with some things you said and offer another perspective on others. If you only do the WOD it isn't enough to help you improve or get more fit I agree. No CF gyms I have gone to only do the WOD, they always supplemental strength work and stretching to finish. It is very easy to injure if you do the exercises and movements incorrectly, the coaches at my gym are quick to correct our form (forcing us to use less weight when exercises are done incorrectly) and offer "weight lifting" classes multiple times a week to cement good habits and lifting technique. CrossFit workouts are very high intensity and high impact test of your fitness. As someone looking to improve and hopefully participate in group competitions, I use the WOD's as a test to find my weaknesses, then focus on specific training to strengthen those movements. I feel that this can be said about almost any sport to optimize/streamline progression.
Plus , let's be honest here if someone heard "12 Deadlifts & 12 Burpees .. in 10min" .. all they gonna focus on is to BEAT the TIME not the FORM ! .. SPECIALLY when u tell them advanced people do it in "5min" only .. so they see the primary way of progression is the TIME here . and NO ONE is gonna be focusing on taking care of their form , taking time for the setup , brace correctly , controlling the weight ... they just gonna do whatever to get it done in less time and that's it .
100%. Anything that's done with a barbell in your hand for time is a recipe for disaster. There's just so much that can go wrong as form deteriorates under heavy loads. The tricky thing is that the weights are often light enough that the athletes can power through reps through pure strength even when there's considerable technical breakdown. Rushed sub max loads on big compounds spells disaster.
what is the best way to train for brute strength, power and above average conditioning? I thought CrossFit is one way but I think I changed my mind. what's a better way in your opinion. Can I have the best of all worlds or is there always a give and take? Where and how shold I start when I want to achieve all of these goals. I would love to see a video where you explain how to get fast as a ferrari and strong like a big truck!? Thanks Alec
So basically train how Alec does? Powerlifting/performance based in the gym, no harm in doing some BB style stuff too and then do GPP and athletic cardio based workouts on the side. Not that complicated really.
I agree with everything the other commenters have said! The only other I was going to add is to take inspiration from strongman also. Strongman implements like sandbags and stones and different forms of loaded carries will be great for that "brute force" idea. You can also use sleds and carries for strength based conditioning work! All awesome tools. Maybe I will make a video on this concept too.
@@EnkiriElite I´m relatively new to the gym and thats exactly what I´m looking for. I would really appreciate a video how to build a foundation as a beginner or how to program long term to become strong, powerful and well conditioned
There are prerequisites. You have to be able to be actually able to do all the movements required well and be able to while fatigued as well. It is just like how people who want to start exercise who jump into running outdoors without making sure their systems are actually capable and end up hurting themselves due to lack of proper preparation.
The weird part about Crossfit is how jacked all the women are. They all have the same look (you can usually tell them apart from other women that lift off of their physique alone) and are much more jacked (comparatively) than the men. And don't tell me the women juice more than the men do.
Great video. My understanding is Crossfit is (was?) poorly regulated. People are doing high volume deadlifts and squat exercises (and things similar), but without much consideration to form, or if they, personally, should even be doing these in the first place. Oh and the people training them don't seem to know much better.
I agree. When I’ve watched the videos Alec’s done on becoming a “hybrid athlete,” I pretty much thought that it sounded like what CrossFit *should* be.
Would love to know your thoughts on kettlebell, mace, clubs, sandbags, and rings as a “functional” training program. Conversely also would love to know your opinion on kettlebell sport style training.
One of my buddies from the army is a cross fitter. But honestly the way he approaches his workouts are actually effective. Right now we’re short on time because we’re tired from getting smoked by our cadre so we just go in the gym and train 1 or 2 compound movements and just take off. But when he takes me to a CrossFit class, it’s mainly just a circuit training thing. We do a heavy movement first then go into a conditioning circuit. I do think a lot of the exercises they do are effective, they just do it wrong sometimes. The rope climb for instance is great, and if they fall they can just fall on that red mat, it’s all good.
one thing I hate about CrossFit is the damn kipping pullups, I'm like WHY! I mean if they wanted a real test of upper body strength just do regular ones in my opinion. That and hand stand walks, like what average Joe or Jane needs to do that lol! I say instead of that just do a sled drag or push.
Haphazard, emphasis on the "hazard" 😄 🤣 some CrossFit workouts are fun as occasional "tests" (I do kind of enjoy doing a Murph every year for fun), but it's not the best way to train daily/weekly
Crossfit is the perfect example of dumb stuff being sold to newbies. But really I hate it most for the fact my local gyms are all set up for crossfit and I have ended up training at home.
Solid analysis of crossfit the idea. Most gyms of which I'm aware use progression i.e. 5/3/1 for 12 week blocks and then take a couple of weeks to test benchmark wods.
I agree with almost everything you said, but I do think some randomness has a place in fitness. Obviously, randomness as CrossFit does it sure is silly, but I do think that always doing the same exercises in the same order is not optimal and we could benefit from some controlled randomness (while still progressively overloading) in the form of picking a random % of 1rm (and pick # reps accordingly), picking a random order of exercises (so sometimes you'll do two in a row that "interfere" with each other, like bench press followed by incline bench press, sometimes you'll be completely fresh, etc).
I agree with you! But I wouldn't call that randomness anymore...it's literally what I'm doing in my own training at the moment. Combining and rotating modalities and exercise variations is not the same thing as what these Crossfit WODs are doing. In the case of the former you would still be working within a framework and you can track everything and progress from within that framework. With the latter, the Crossfit WODs, there is no framework. You could just pull the workout out of a hat. The selection process is completely arbitrary and with no guaranteed recurrence of anything similar within any reasonable period of time then there is no way to move forward.
I absolutely agree with every point you made. now, I follow amateur crossfitters in my city and let me tell you their results are amazing. they loose a lot of weight, they gain muscle, they get very athletic aesthetic physics, and they get stronger in various lifts. Sometimes theory just doesn't reflect reality very accurately
Maybe they have a good a knowledgeable coach who imparts proper programming and progression onto his athletes. However, that is not what is being advocated by the founder of the methodology or the snippets posted on the Crossfit website.
I think the sometimes success of crossfit comes from the one thing that they do very right, and the probable reason for success - the social aspect. We perform better and more consistently when we are part of a group with shared goals. If you can consistently train and push yourself without that, all the better, but many cannot.
I don't personally do CrossFit, but I always thought the blind hate is got was a bit stupid. I think its pretty much become a meme insult that people just say because they have heard other people say it and think it's something that a 'serious' lifter is supposed to think. One thing I have notice is that a lot of people who do general strength training or bodybuilding seem to find it unfathomable that people have other goals than their own. And the nature of the insults is always weird to me, bodybuilders who do no cardio or have no overall fitness would insult it as a 'pussy' style of training when Crossfit training is generally a lot harder and crossfitters would smoke bodybuilders in most athletic competitions apart from pure static strength. My theory is part of it is because it seems to attract opposite types of people. I'm obviously generalizing a bit but CrossFit seems to attract more 'normies', people who like to train in groups where its almost kind of a social club whereas a lot of people in the (especially online) bodybuilding seem to be kind of introverted or ex-nerdy types who seem to have a natural dislike for sort of people who do crossfit.
The daily WODs? Man, I would bet almost none of them. And if they do, probably as a finisher after their real training. You just can't build through chaos. It has to be directed and focused.
Rich Froning is considered the best/one of the best of all time and he puts out programming that people can buy and it’s actually the programming that he/his athletes do. They do WODs, generally multiple a day while programming strength training cycles which most CrossFit box’s have been doing for years. Every top CrossFit athletes do WODs throughout the year. Generally multiple a day with strength cycles Do they do main site WODs? Generally no but that’s not really an expectation or part of the CrossFit methodology anyway. It’s just something CrossFit HQ puts out as an option for anyone to do for free
Knees kissing on squats, muscle up kips, fish out of water on regular lifts. 10s of dudes running smelling like ass. Trying to do too much for their "competitive games"
Crossfitters today are basically just metabolically conditioned Olympic lifters. I don’t think the full Olympic lifts are generally useful to a wide variety of athletes and you can seriously hurt yourself in the full Snatch especially. I’m completely bought in to your training style Alec and I don’t see why I would do anything else. I always shared the same beliefs you’ve had I just wasn’t sure how to articulate it as well as you do.
I believe you could modify CrossFit to make it cross-training take the different components and just slow it down you don't have to follow the CrossFit games model. I do kettlebell work and mix it with bodyweight and that's my own little version.
Yeah. Top level crossfitters dont actually do crossfit. WODs are dumb shit for casuals who get zero gains and in return are milked for money so that some guy who was not good enough to get a sponsorship as an athlete so he opened a gym can continue not having a job and working out for a living. People who are actually good at crossfit absolutely do segment their training so that they are training different qualities and skills in separate sessions using intelligently planned quantifiable progression and then they maybe do one WOD per week in the off season to remain adapted to that kind of strain and only start bringing in more of that style of training when peaking for a contest. In powerlifting and bodybuilding, complete newbies can find real training programs used even at the high levels of the sport online for free or for attainable sums. And it will be the real stuff, only the weights will be lighter. In crossfit, if you are not coming in as an already advanced athlete from a different sport that merits attention from a real coach, you will never progress to that level, because the stuff that is sold to you in crossfit gyms for the general population is not what the people you watch on the games do. Listen to the Chris Hinshaw podcast episode on Mark Bells Power Project, listen to how he describes improving the aerobic conditioning of top level crossfitters. Guess what, he does not just tell them to do more randomized WODs and hope that this time next year their mile will be faster.
There was a CrossFit video circulating ages ago with many people in a room all doing olylifts with not great form for far many more reps than was healthy.
From someone who did CrossFit solo in a normal gym from 2019 till 2022 and then joined a CrossFit gym in september 22 I can really say the coaches pay attention to the form and guide to improving it. I do agree with the videos during the CrossFit games they neglect form due to the competition (see bloopers) but I'm sure no one has even tried to do it themselves. So what did I notice from CrossFit during all those years? - stronger - faster - more energy - mental and physical confidence - limit breaker (you stop overthinking things) - feeling good in life - ....
You don't need to do CrossFit for those benefits. Take the dangerous stuff out of CrossFit and you basically have a strength programme that gives you those benefits you listed.
Great video and i agree. I have i question how would one then smartly, effectively and efficiently train for cross fit? (all around fitness as i interpert it). Do you have any recommendations?
I think the ideas of traditional periodization would play a vital role here. Build different physical qualities and capacities sequentially over time. So focus on strength and power on block, hypertrophy another block, conditioning another block, etc. etc. Build each quality to an appreciable degree and then when you have a good base start to combine methods and modalities together to get used to that style of "play."
12:12 I agree that combining highly technical movement with fatigue is a bad idea. But don't you think it's a valuable quality for an athlete to have the capacity to be explosive even when fatigue sets in? I'm not advocating for Olympic lifting to be thrown into GPP training. But I think it can be beneficial to use less technical explosive movements (sand bag tosses, KB swings, DB snatches, etc.) as conditioning tools.
Not sure how I feel about the Kevin Ogar injury clip at the end of the montage at the beginning. I hate CrossFit and think it's training principles (and not only those) are stupid and I get the funny Part about these harmless (I hope) other bloopers, but that was still a tragic accident that I didn't wish anybody... Otherwise I agree with absolutely everything in this video.
The inclusion of that clip was not me trying to be funny. The entire overtone of this video is that crossfit combines potentially reckless methodologies with improper usage of specific tools, the results of which can potentially be quite dangerous. That accident, while incredibly unfortunate, was likely a direct result of those haphazard protocols. I was not in any way making light of the gravity of it, but the gravity of it is precisely why it's inclusion was warranted.
You gotta admit that the top competitors are jacked af, men and women lol. But they don't get that way from doing stupid crossfit workouts that are sold as crossfit to the general public.
Multiple sets of Overhead squats followed by 2000m row? You NEED to be on PED's (or other ill'icit subztances) just to be crazy enough to even attempt that shit......
23.2 open: 15min amrap of burpee pullups and 10 shuttle sprints. Every round you add 5 burpees. Directly after that you get 5 min to hit a one rep max thruster. Was actually really fun 😂
Now, while I'm no crossfit advocate, I think your argument that "You don't get good at CrossFit by doing CrossFit" and your assertion that it doesn't apply anywhere else is a little weak, if you treat "CrossFit" as the competition and not the modality. I come from a rowing background where our race is the 2000m (longer Head races exist, but most focus on the 2K), but almost none of our training is 2000m pieces. Roughly 70+% is long and slow, 20+% is at higher than race pace, and MAYBE 10% is race pieces. You don't get good at rowing 2000m by rowing 2000m, you get good by rowing longer and slower, and by rowing shorter and faster, with some race pieces to practice the event. Viewing CrossFit through this lens, you don't get good at the WODs by doing the WODs, they're more of a measure/expression of fitness and your training outside the WOD is what will make you better. The problem is that CrossFit markets the WOD as the thing that will get you fit, which it won't. It all stems from the term "CrossFit" wearing two hats: the training modality and the sport. As a sport it's fine, but as a modality it should really just be a small part of a well-rounded training program, with some adjustments (e.g. no high volume ballistic exercises for time). I agree with the rest of your points though.
You still get good at rowing by rowing....you're just amending the pace. That's impossible to do with Crossfit because the modality/objective/style shift every single day. And I agree, as a sport it's fine. Not as a method of training. This is basically what I was alluding to in the video.
@@EnkiriElite You still get good at Crossfit by doing the specific movements in Crossfit, you just amend the pace/intensity/volume. It really comes down to what one means by Crossfit. If we're going by the CrossFit organization's official WODs, then you're totally right, but if we go by what many Crossfit boxes do, then things get a little murkier. Most good Crossfit boxes will have more focused training that's intended to get you better at Crossfit, rather than just the official random workout of the day. It's usually some kind of strength workout accompanied by a complimentary Crossfit-style WOD, which is a little less random and has more scaling options. If you asked "What is crossfit?" to a random sample of people who have tried crossfit, you'll probably get something closer to what boxes are actually doing than the official definition. I'm only being this pedantic because I've made this exact "you don't get better at crossfit by doing crossfit" argument with an ex, and it really boiled down to our individual definitions of Crossfit. She thought of it as "the stuff I do at my CrossFit gym" whereas I saw it as "doing crossfit WODs" and I think that's probably going to be a pretty common issue if you try to make this argument with people familiar with Crossfit. The reason I think the argument you make is a little weak is because it's a video seemingly trying to dissuade people from doing crossfit, but it's arguing against something that doesn't align with how many people define it. I still believe the argument is valid on that broader definition of Crossfit, just not necessarily the way it's stated because someone could easily say "well that's not what MY gym does, so it doesn't apply" and dismiss it outright. A simple caveat like "I understand that many gyms do more than the random WODs posted on the website, often incorporating specific training before the WODS. However, the very nature of offering continuously varying group workouts on a drop-in basis negates their ability to offer proper, targeted training aimed at improving overall fitness for any one specific person with their own unique strengths and weaknesses" or something along those lines. Love the channel btw
No One Is Safe From The Wrath of Enkiri
Basically you don’t get the safety and convenience of regular cardio, and you don’t get the benefit of lifting weights and build muscle.
I think a series focusing on the positive lessons from these endeavours would be awesome as well.
That might be the move!
crossfit has none lmao, it's shit
Why I Like CROSSFIT (And You Should Either!)
@@drschwandi3687 (and you should too)? And you should either is gramatically incorrect, should too or should as well work.
I like the wrong way better, though. Keeps in with the series lol
This video series is great LOL. If you do a video on strongman, my main argument would be that it's inevitable you'll tear your bicep doing tire flips, keg lifts, atlas stones, or something similar.
Haha man, strongman is an interesting one! When you look at it comprehensively it's a great way to build fitness in near totality. But since strength is biased over movement and there arent *really* weight classes it also encourages a size at all costs mentality. It would make for an interesting video!
My main criticism of modern Strongman is dude how much equipment do I have to have to train for this??? I can't just go out in the woods and lift rocks and real logs, or random stuff at the junkyard, I gotta buy all these implements? Where am I gonna store it all? Beware the Strongman Industrial Complex!
The main argument is that if you really wanna get good at strongman you have to be obese
@@ChristianGyro you could make a realistic argument that professional strongman are more unhealthy than bodybuilders. They are often 350+ lbs and pushing gear to an absurd degree. But most are smart enough to get in and out so to speak. They go for "it" and then lose a bunch of weight and leave the sport before they've accrued too much damage
@@atlaspowershrugged this is a good point. Joining a strongman gym is probably the best option, but not everybody has a viable one nearby.
I found that in order to be "good" at crossfit you need to already be good at all the components of crossfit or else you're just wasting your time. That's why so many people get hurt doing it.
Precisely! This is what I was getting at in the video. You get good at it by building your overall fitness sequentially, and then you translate that into high level Crossfit performance.
When we say so “many people get hurt doing it” where’s the evidence for that because the one study that showed it had a high injury rate was debunked and has since been retracted and other studies have come out since and put it on par with other non contact sports like oly lifting and power lifting but far below the injury rate of say basketball or football.
It’s always so weird to me that if someone gets hurt playing basketball or powerlifting, no one blames the sport, it’s just accepted as a risk that comes with the activity and it’s on the individual to be responsible for their self. Like driving a car
But with CrossFit it’s like individuals are being unwittingly put into inherently dangerous situations which is apparently evidenced by all the people that get hurt doing it… (despite there not really being any evidence that people get hurt doing it)
@@Fhshaoaksbd more people get hurt in North America from Riding their bike, then CrossFit worldwide.
@@jeanpauljeanpaul2530 more people ride bikes in the US than people do CrossFit in the world. Nice bait m8
@@Fhshaoaksbd what study?
This is probably going to be the least controversial video title of the series 😂
I went into a local "Box" a few years back to check it out when I didn't know what CrossFit was. The owner did not want intelligent questions about random exercise selection, non-progression, and one-size-fits-all barbell loading asked in her gym. She didn't even try to sell me. I was only there for five minutes, and I'm pretty sure she was glad when I left. I was baffled and still am.
Sounds like you was basically already set on doing a general strength training/bodybuilding routine and were baffled that people exist that don't want to do that.
Right you are!
@@jimalteri8169 probably more baffled that there exists s market for people that want to exhaust themselves with tremendous risk of injury and get no fitness benefits for it. Crossfit is a joke
@@jimalteri8169 I was baffled that "coaches" would generate one identical workout for the smallest, largest, weakest, strongest, youngest, oldest, least skilled, most skilled, healthiest, most acutely injured, and most chronically injured "athletes" with no consideration or accommodation of individual differences. Having a healthy 220 pound 22 year old man with a 330 pound snatch and an injured 130 pound 72 year old man with a 55 pound snatch both do 10 snatch reps with 95 pounds seems insane to me.
When I first started in my fitness journey I got into Crossfit. It got me very fit from a conditioning standpoint and got me into powerlifting. The community is what really kept me in it and kept me coming back to it. I had such good times hanging out with people from my box. I switched to powerlifting because I wasn't happy with my strength and physique after the initial gains.
100% agree with your analysis. You can't make progressions in strength, explosiveness, anaerobic and aerobic capacity with technical movements.....all at the same time and/or the same workout.
There is no way in hell anyone is doing those WODs everyday and making progress!
Except that people do
Crossfitter: drops barbell on head
Ref: Oh shit is he ok, wait call it a no lift first.
Good vid, thanks for uploading!
I’m not fan of CrossFit but I love CrossFit gym. Tons of rogue bumper plates, good equipment compare to commercial gym and people don’t care even I drop the weights, and some people even hypes me up which is really cool 😎👍
The only thing I'd be concerned about would be an out of control loaded barbell flying towards me lol
Technical movements to failure all the time is an express trip to snap city
Next video in this series: "Why I dont like my own training routine, and you shoul-.. wait"
Hahaha it would only be fair!
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one because I have a sweet spot for CrossFit. The concept of being able to deadlift 405 pounds and then go run a mile in under 5 minutes. Has always kind of been to me Testament of just true Fitness. But as always a very well spoken and thought-out video. I found your argument about the sport not being intentional/ logical in its approach for the progression of the athlete being very convincing.
I was also really glad you used the jumping example. That's just really good to know that jumping is good for training explosion where other forms of training would be better for conditioning. Just a great tidbit.
Thanks for the content!
Training to do crossfit is a great goal as it is a (as you said) good balance between endurance and strength. Training to get better at crossfit by doing crossfit is just probably not the way how you should do it.
If you train for crossfit. Guess what? You get good at the specific movements in crossfit. It's like driving the same way to work for 10 years then moving to a new city. Sure you can still drive but you won't have a clue where the hell you are going.
Why do you need to do CrossFit to be able to train your deadlift and your running?
@Daniel Farrell
You don't.
But many other sports are super concerned with Being specialized such as power lifting.
Crossfit I felt like Was a sport that more encouraged being good at a variety of things.
But you certainly do not need to do crossfit to pursue this avenue.
I agree with some things you said and offer another perspective on others. If you only do the WOD it isn't enough to help you improve or get more fit I agree.
No CF gyms I have gone to only do the WOD, they always supplemental strength work and stretching to finish. It is very easy to injure if you do the exercises and movements incorrectly, the coaches at my gym are quick to correct our form (forcing us to use less weight when exercises are done incorrectly) and offer "weight lifting" classes multiple times a week to cement good habits and lifting technique.
CrossFit workouts are very high intensity and high impact test of your fitness. As someone looking to improve and hopefully participate in group competitions, I use the WOD's as a test to find my weaknesses, then focus on specific training to strengthen those movements. I feel that this can be said about almost any sport to optimize/streamline progression.
All that pain
With no
Gain
Plus , let's be honest here if someone heard "12 Deadlifts & 12 Burpees .. in 10min" .. all they gonna focus on is to BEAT the TIME not the FORM ! ..
SPECIALLY when u tell them advanced people do it in "5min" only .. so they see the primary way of progression is the TIME here .
and NO ONE is gonna be focusing on taking care of their form , taking time for the setup , brace correctly , controlling the weight ...
they just gonna do whatever to get it done in less time and that's it .
100%. Anything that's done with a barbell in your hand for time is a recipe for disaster. There's just so much that can go wrong as form deteriorates under heavy loads.
The tricky thing is that the weights are often light enough that the athletes can power through reps through pure strength even when there's considerable technical breakdown. Rushed sub max loads on big compounds spells disaster.
@@koleary1798 Am i smelling "Bio mechanics" BS incoming of "why u shouldn't do Barbell movements" or it's just me ?
"take PEDs to your heart's content'
Bodybuilders taking this advice way too serious
what is the best way to train for brute strength, power and above average conditioning? I thought CrossFit is one way but I think I changed my mind. what's a better way in your opinion. Can I have the best of all worlds or is there always a give and take? Where and how shold I start when I want to achieve all of these goals. I would love to see a video where you explain how to get fast as a ferrari and strong like a big truck!? Thanks Alec
bada$$ question!
So basically train how Alec does? Powerlifting/performance based in the gym, no harm in doing some BB style stuff too and then do GPP and athletic cardio based workouts on the side. Not that complicated really.
I agree with everything the other commenters have said! The only other I was going to add is to take inspiration from strongman also. Strongman implements like sandbags and stones and different forms of loaded carries will be great for that "brute force" idea. You can also use sleds and carries for strength based conditioning work! All awesome tools. Maybe I will make a video on this concept too.
@@EnkiriElite I´m relatively new to the gym and thats exactly what I´m looking for. I would really appreciate a video how to build a foundation as a beginner or how to program long term to become strong, powerful and well conditioned
@@EnkiriElite video please
There are prerequisites. You have to be able to be actually able to do all the movements required well and be able to while fatigued as well. It is just like how people who want to start exercise who jump into running outdoors without making sure their systems are actually capable and end up hurting themselves due to lack of proper preparation.
Dude dies then cuts to cheerful Alec
CrossFit style x)
The true way to achieve the goal crossfit sets outs to achieve is to do strength training as well as cardio, but SEPERATELY.
The weird part about Crossfit is how jacked all the women are. They all have the same look (you can usually tell them apart from other women that lift off of their physique alone) and are much more jacked (comparatively) than the men. And don't tell me the women juice more than the men do.
My guess would be that women on gear are easier to spot than men.
Steroids is a hell of a drug
Great video. My understanding is Crossfit is (was?) poorly regulated. People are doing high volume deadlifts and squat exercises (and things similar), but without much consideration to form, or if they, personally, should even be doing these in the first place. Oh and the people training them don't seem to know much better.
I'm loving this series, keep it up👏👍💪
I can't believe CF has spectators
LOL imagine roid bulked cf girls got lot of fans
If anything alec you are an example of what a crossfiter should be.
I agree. When I’ve watched the videos Alec’s done on becoming a “hybrid athlete,” I pretty much thought that it sounded like what CrossFit *should* be.
Would love to know your thoughts on kettlebell, mace, clubs, sandbags, and rings as a “functional” training program. Conversely also would love to know your opinion on kettlebell sport style training.
One of my buddies from the army is a cross fitter. But honestly the way he approaches his workouts are actually effective. Right now we’re short on time because we’re tired from getting smoked by our cadre so we just go in the gym and train 1 or 2 compound movements and just take off. But when he takes me to a CrossFit class, it’s mainly just a circuit training thing. We do a heavy movement first then go into a conditioning circuit.
I do think a lot of the exercises they do are effective, they just do it wrong sometimes. The rope climb for instance is great, and if they fall they can just fall on that red mat, it’s all good.
What about kettlebell swings for conditioning?
I actually started crossfit after i purchase and finish ur programs.
VERY HELPFULL❤
one thing I hate about CrossFit is the damn kipping pullups, I'm like WHY! I mean if they wanted a real test of upper body strength just do regular ones in my opinion. That and hand stand walks, like what average Joe or Jane needs to do that lol! I say instead of that just do a sled drag or push.
Haphazard, emphasis on the "hazard" 😄 🤣 some CrossFit workouts are fun as occasional "tests" (I do kind of enjoy doing a Murph every year for fun), but it's not the best way to train daily/weekly
Crossfit is the perfect example of dumb stuff being sold to newbies.
But really I hate it most for the fact my local gyms are all set up for crossfit and I have ended up training at home.
Solid analysis of crossfit the idea. Most gyms of which I'm aware use progression i.e. 5/3/1 for 12 week blocks and then take a couple of weeks to test benchmark wods.
I’d think the gyms, I mean boxes, would have trouble getting liability insurance.
Sending a classic algo comment your way! 😎 Tuning in later, but good lord that intro ☠️
Much appreciated brother. I hope you enjoy it!
CrossFit is exactly like studying for a random test by taking random tests.
Just commenting for the TH-cam algorithm love your work.
Most gyms don't follow this format. They have their own strength and skill progressions, that allow them to lift heavier loads and what not.
That's good to hear!
I agree with almost everything you said, but I do think some randomness has a place in fitness. Obviously, randomness as CrossFit does it sure is silly, but I do think that always doing the same exercises in the same order is not optimal and we could benefit from some controlled randomness (while still progressively overloading) in the form of picking a random % of 1rm (and pick # reps accordingly), picking a random order of exercises (so sometimes you'll do two in a row that "interfere" with each other, like bench press followed by incline bench press, sometimes you'll be completely fresh, etc).
I agree with you! But I wouldn't call that randomness anymore...it's literally what I'm doing in my own training at the moment. Combining and rotating modalities and exercise variations is not the same thing as what these Crossfit WODs are doing. In the case of the former you would still be working within a framework and you can track everything and progress from within that framework. With the latter, the Crossfit WODs, there is no framework. You could just pull the workout out of a hat. The selection process is completely arbitrary and with no guaranteed recurrence of anything similar within any reasonable period of time then there is no way to move forward.
Doing ladders of supersetted weighted squats and push ups for 8-10 min daily will give phenomenal conditioning results
I don't disagree at all!
Hello
I absolutely agree with every point you made. now, I follow amateur crossfitters in my city and let me tell you their results are amazing. they loose a lot of weight, they gain muscle, they get very athletic aesthetic physics, and they get stronger in various lifts. Sometimes theory just doesn't reflect reality very accurately
There are some good crossfit club but alot are not so good
Maybe they have a good a knowledgeable coach who imparts proper programming and progression onto his athletes. However, that is not what is being advocated by the founder of the methodology or the snippets posted on the Crossfit website.
I think the sometimes success of crossfit comes from the one thing that they do very right, and the probable reason for success - the social aspect. We perform better and more consistently when we are part of a group with shared goals. If you can consistently train and push yourself without that, all the better, but many cannot.
I don't personally do CrossFit, but I always thought the blind hate is got was a bit stupid. I think its pretty much become a meme insult that people just say because they have heard other people say it and think it's something that a 'serious' lifter is supposed to think. One thing I have notice is that a lot of people who do general strength training or bodybuilding seem to find it unfathomable that people have other goals than their own. And the nature of the insults is always weird to me, bodybuilders who do no cardio or have no overall fitness would insult it as a 'pussy' style of training when Crossfit training is generally a lot harder and crossfitters would smoke bodybuilders in most athletic competitions apart from pure static strength. My theory is part of it is because it seems to attract opposite types of people. I'm obviously generalizing a bit but CrossFit seems to attract more 'normies', people who like to train in groups where its almost kind of a social club whereas a lot of people in the (especially online) bodybuilding seem to be kind of introverted or ex-nerdy types who seem to have a natural dislike for sort of people who do crossfit.
Excellent, articulate and intelligent
Thank you sir.
I wonder, aside from those occasions when they shoot promotional material, how many top CrossFit athletes do many or even any of the daily WODs.
The daily WODs? Man, I would bet almost none of them. And if they do, probably as a finisher after their real training. You just can't build through chaos. It has to be directed and focused.
Rich Froning is considered the best/one of the best of all time and he puts out programming that people can buy and it’s actually the programming that he/his athletes do.
They do WODs, generally multiple a day while programming strength training cycles which most CrossFit box’s have been doing for years.
Every top CrossFit athletes do WODs throughout the year. Generally multiple a day with strength cycles
Do they do main site WODs? Generally no but that’s not really an expectation or part of the CrossFit methodology anyway. It’s just something CrossFit HQ puts out as an option for anyone to do for free
Next time I’ll skip the intro video. Looks like the last guy was paralyzed. Could of done without any of it. But good content as always.
So nasty that there's one right next to my home and I see instagram posts from them
Knees kissing on squats, muscle up kips, fish out of water on regular lifts. 10s of dudes running smelling like ass. Trying to do too much for their "competitive games"
It ego lifting was a sport it would look just like CrossFit.
And this is the form of exercise they put in schools.
Crossfitters today are basically just metabolically conditioned Olympic lifters.
I don’t think the full Olympic lifts are generally useful to a wide variety of athletes and you can seriously hurt yourself in the full Snatch especially.
I’m completely bought in to your training style Alec and I don’t see why I would do anything else.
I always shared the same beliefs you’ve had I just wasn’t sure how to articulate it as well as you do.
"Take your PEDs til your heart's content"
Heart: *pls dont*
I believe you could modify CrossFit to make it cross-training take the different components and just slow it down you don't have to follow the CrossFit games model. I do kettlebell work and mix it with bodyweight and that's my own little version.
I agree. There are many positive aspects of crossfit.
@@EnkiriElite loved your analysis 👍👍👍
"Snapping their sh*t up". Shout out to The Hodgetwins
I bet you've never even made me.
Yeah. Top level crossfitters dont actually do crossfit. WODs are dumb shit for casuals who get zero gains and in return are milked for money so that some guy who was not good enough to get a sponsorship as an athlete so he opened a gym can continue not having a job and working out for a living. People who are actually good at crossfit absolutely do segment their training so that they are training different qualities and skills in separate sessions using intelligently planned quantifiable progression and then they maybe do one WOD per week in the off season to remain adapted to that kind of strain and only start bringing in more of that style of training when peaking for a contest. In powerlifting and bodybuilding, complete newbies can find real training programs used even at the high levels of the sport online for free or for attainable sums. And it will be the real stuff, only the weights will be lighter. In crossfit, if you are not coming in as an already advanced athlete from a different sport that merits attention from a real coach, you will never progress to that level, because the stuff that is sold to you in crossfit gyms for the general population is not what the people you watch on the games do. Listen to the Chris Hinshaw podcast episode on Mark Bells Power Project, listen to how he describes improving the aerobic conditioning of top level crossfitters. Guess what, he does not just tell them to do more randomized WODs and hope that this time next year their mile will be faster.
There was a CrossFit video circulating ages ago with many people in a room all doing olylifts with not great form for far many more reps than was healthy.
Next video in the series: Why I don't like Fitness (And You Shouldn't Either).
DUN DUN DUN!
I see crossfit as a potential thing to try on something like a pivot week
Can you do a video on bench press vs dips? Kinda bored of benching and looking for a replacement
He has a video on Bench vs Push Ups
@@Hhhlll7778 thanks I will check it out
@@petar.dj98 just do both! I added weighted dips into my bench day recently.
Excellent points, sir.
Thank you!
I love this series
From someone who did CrossFit solo in a normal gym from 2019 till 2022 and then joined a CrossFit gym in september 22 I can really say the coaches pay attention to the form and guide to improving it.
I do agree with the videos during the CrossFit games they neglect form due to the competition (see bloopers) but I'm sure no one has even tried to do it themselves.
So what did I notice from CrossFit during all those years?
- stronger
- faster
- more energy
- mental and physical confidence
- limit breaker (you stop overthinking things)
- feeling good in life
- ....
You don't need to do CrossFit for those benefits. Take the dangerous stuff out of CrossFit and you basically have a strength programme that gives you those benefits you listed.
30 second in i`m already in pain :V , so horrible those accident are
I'm just waiting for the day he does my favourite spot strongman
We're getting there!
Other than stimulating obesity (and the usual drug problems of high level sports) there's nothing not to like about strongman
@@ronaldjr3092 drugs are in all sports to some extent but fair enough in strongman it is bad at the top level
"snapping their shit up"
spare me the medical mumbo jumbo. In layman terms? ;)
Shots fired.
This could have also just been a 24 minute compilation of clips
Also 3:28 was a missed opportunity not to botch the jump
everything ventured nothing gained??
Haha in some ways!
You know that's Kevin Ogar getting paralysed at the end of the opening montage, right? I might have cut it before that one
I am aware. It's inclusion was not meant to be funny. It was meant to highlight things that can happen when modalities are used inappropriately.
@@EnkiriElite fair enough man, I appreciate the reply. Fan of your stuff!
😰😰😰That last one is the intro is TERRIFYING!
I believe he was paralyzed by that incident. It's very sad.
@@EnkiriElitefuck man how sad to hear. Looked like an older fella, he should’ve been evaluating risk vs rewards
I already waited for this one XD .
Great video and all, but ngl...... That intro could've been the whole video.
Great video and i agree. I have i question how would one then smartly, effectively and efficiently train for cross fit? (all around fitness as i interpert it). Do you have any recommendations?
I think the ideas of traditional periodization would play a vital role here. Build different physical qualities and capacities sequentially over time. So focus on strength and power on block, hypertrophy another block, conditioning another block, etc. etc. Build each quality to an appreciable degree and then when you have a good base start to combine methods and modalities together to get used to that style of "play."
12:12 I agree that combining highly technical movement with fatigue is a bad idea. But don't you think it's a valuable quality for an athlete to have the capacity to be explosive even when fatigue sets in? I'm not advocating for Olympic lifting to be thrown into GPP training. But I think it can be beneficial to use less technical explosive movements (sand bag tosses, KB swings, DB snatches, etc.) as conditioning tools.
@dr77 I'd be willing to bet that the risk of injury during a med-ball toss is extremely low. Even if it's done under fatigue.
Any chance you're going to do weightlifting next?
crossfad will go away eventually once enough people snap their necks.
You are Biggest Crossfiter on youtube)
Not sure how I feel about the Kevin Ogar injury clip at the end of the montage at the beginning.
I hate CrossFit and think it's training principles (and not only those) are stupid and I get the funny Part about these harmless (I hope) other bloopers, but that was still a tragic accident that I didn't wish anybody...
Otherwise I agree with absolutely everything in this video.
The inclusion of that clip was not me trying to be funny. The entire overtone of this video is that crossfit combines potentially reckless methodologies with improper usage of specific tools, the results of which can potentially be quite dangerous. That accident, while incredibly unfortunate, was likely a direct result of those haphazard protocols. I was not in any way making light of the gravity of it, but the gravity of it is precisely why it's inclusion was warranted.
Do you like strongman? I don’t know much about it but I might look into it and train it
Excellent video
Hairline is fucked bro. I say it because I care.
You gotta admit that the top competitors are jacked af, men and women lol. But they don't get that way from doing stupid crossfit workouts that are sold as crossfit to the general public.
🔥
Glad you enjoyed!
Multiple sets of Overhead squats followed by 2000m row? You NEED to be on PED's (or other ill'icit subztances) just to be crazy enough to even attempt that shit......
23.2 open: 15min amrap of burpee pullups and 10 shuttle sprints. Every round you add 5 burpees.
Directly after that you get 5 min to hit a one rep max thruster.
Was actually really fun 😂
Imma have my coffee while agreeing with every point.
thoughts on weightlifting? will it eventually get a video?
its elite
@@W1LDtracer agreed
Will you be making a series like this for Olympic weightlifting? 🏋️♀️
Perhaps! I'm undecided if I will continue with the "why I don't like" series or not.
Now, while I'm no crossfit advocate, I think your argument that "You don't get good at CrossFit by doing CrossFit" and your assertion that it doesn't apply anywhere else is a little weak, if you treat "CrossFit" as the competition and not the modality. I come from a rowing background where our race is the 2000m (longer Head races exist, but most focus on the 2K), but almost none of our training is 2000m pieces. Roughly 70+% is long and slow, 20+% is at higher than race pace, and MAYBE 10% is race pieces. You don't get good at rowing 2000m by rowing 2000m, you get good by rowing longer and slower, and by rowing shorter and faster, with some race pieces to practice the event. Viewing CrossFit through this lens, you don't get good at the WODs by doing the WODs, they're more of a measure/expression of fitness and your training outside the WOD is what will make you better.
The problem is that CrossFit markets the WOD as the thing that will get you fit, which it won't. It all stems from the term "CrossFit" wearing two hats: the training modality and the sport. As a sport it's fine, but as a modality it should really just be a small part of a well-rounded training program, with some adjustments (e.g. no high volume ballistic exercises for time).
I agree with the rest of your points though.
You still get good at rowing by rowing....you're just amending the pace.
That's impossible to do with Crossfit because the modality/objective/style shift every single day.
And I agree, as a sport it's fine. Not as a method of training. This is basically what I was alluding to in the video.
@@EnkiriElite You still get good at Crossfit by doing the specific movements in Crossfit, you just amend the pace/intensity/volume. It really comes down to what one means by Crossfit. If we're going by the CrossFit organization's official WODs, then you're totally right, but if we go by what many Crossfit boxes do, then things get a little murkier. Most good Crossfit boxes will have more focused training that's intended to get you better at Crossfit, rather than just the official random workout of the day. It's usually some kind of strength workout accompanied by a complimentary Crossfit-style WOD, which is a little less random and has more scaling options.
If you asked "What is crossfit?" to a random sample of people who have tried crossfit, you'll probably get something closer to what boxes are actually doing than the official definition.
I'm only being this pedantic because I've made this exact "you don't get better at crossfit by doing crossfit" argument with an ex, and it really boiled down to our individual definitions of Crossfit. She thought of it as "the stuff I do at my CrossFit gym" whereas I saw it as "doing crossfit WODs" and I think that's probably going to be a pretty common issue if you try to make this argument with people familiar with Crossfit.
The reason I think the argument you make is a little weak is because it's a video seemingly trying to dissuade people from doing crossfit, but it's arguing against something that doesn't align with how many people define it. I still believe the argument is valid on that broader definition of Crossfit, just not necessarily the way it's stated because someone could easily say "well that's not what MY gym does, so it doesn't apply" and dismiss it outright. A simple caveat like "I understand that many gyms do more than the random WODs posted on the website, often incorporating specific training before the WODS. However, the very nature of offering continuously varying group workouts on a drop-in basis negates their ability to offer proper, targeted training aimed at improving overall fitness for any one specific person with their own unique strengths and weaknesses" or something along those lines.
Love the channel btw
My god! Some of these people look like they almost broke their necks.
CrossFit is awesome for people with an athletic background and a strong foundation existing of strength. Obviously stupid for novice
I love CrossFit.....just because I get to watch people hobble themselves in a variety of amusing ways 😂
This is why i love it :D
Fair play bro
thou shalt like each video degrading crossfit
I had a friend working in a hospital, the most injuries that he saw from a sport were from crossfit
It’s like all they’re trying to do is show off
Def keen on a "Why I Like" series, why can't we all like get along maaaaan? ✌☮🕊
I think I'll kick it off with why I like bodybuilding!
In crossfit.... Thing's tend to get.... Thpinal.
"Zero!"
Are monkey bars CrossFit?
Lol I'm sure crossfit uses them but that doesn't make the modality itself "crossfit " any more than any other modality it has borrowed from.