Sunday Story…3 reasons you get hurt at CrossFit

There is a huge amount of bad press about CrossFit hurting people. I hear about Doctors and physical therapists who claim CrossFit bought them a new Porsche or a new boat. I am going to let you in on a big secret…CrossFit doesn’t hurt people. CrossFit doesn’t cause injuries. CrossFit is a benign being. As my friend Kelly Starrett says,” CrossFit is a laboratory for finding and fixing bad movement patterns.”

Injuries are part of life. At least a life lived off the couch and out in the world. Here’s a partial list of mine…torn meniscus (Brazilian jiu-jitsu exacerbated by running), broken (displaced) finger (snowboarding), boxers break (hand) (fighting), dislocated thumb (martial arts), several non-displaced finger and toe breaks (martial arts), at least 10 concussions (football mostly & snowboarding & car accidents), cauliflower ears (BJJ, boxing, wrestling), and some more I don’t remember. This does not count any of the multitudes of sprains, strains, pulls and tweaks. Notice anything about this list? CrossFit did not cause any of my injuries. Now that I have said that I can say that my current shoulder and elbow issues are CrossFit related but they come under the tweak category and have not required surgical or medical diagnostic intervention. They are also most likely related to one the 3 reasons listed below.

But if CrossFit doesn’t hurt people, how come we read about all these injuries on various forums?
It’s simple really…and here are my top 3 reason people get hurt doing CrossFit:

You are a bleeding idiot.
You don’t know how to do a movement but you see someone else do it and now you are an expert. So you load the bar up, jump up on the rings and give it a whirl. And Bam, the whip comes down, your shoulder is torn or your back is tweaked. I mean watching someone jump off a cliff on snowboard doesn’t make you an expert does it? You haven’t been off the couch in a decade and now you are going to try giants on the high bar? Really? Don’t be that guy.

Your coach is a bleeding idiot.
If someone’s idea of a good work out is to leave you on the floor puking your guts out, run don’t walk out the door. If the instruction consists of a really strong and fit dude or dudette doing an exercise 3 times and then walking off and telling you to go for it…get out now. If the “coach” is paying all his or her attention to the hottie in the first row, get your feet moving.

The community is made up of bleeding idiots.
They all have one speed…all out. The all want to “win” the wod or see how close they can get to Froning or Khalipa’s time. The want you to prove your worthiness before they will acknowledge your presence. The programming is designed to break you down and spit you out…day after day. The work outs really are random; there is no rhyme or reason to how they move you towards your goals.

So…here is how you don’t get hurt at your CrossFit Box…
Be smart. Understand your limitations and your fitness level. You aren’t as fit as you are going to be and you are nowhere near as fit as you remember being.

Be Coachable. Listen to what the coach (qualified and caring) is telling you. Ask questions and correct bad movement patterns. Just because someone else can do it doesn’t mean you are ready to do it. Progress up to the movement before you hop into the middle of a train wreck you just created.

Find like minded people. Find people like you who want the same things you do out of a workout. Find a tribe you can commune with, people you want to hang out with, folks you like.

Scale your work. Make it fit into your fitness level and abilities. There is always a work around when you have mobility or mechanical limitations. Don’t assume that you have to do it just the way it is written.

Have fun. Get Fit. CrossFit is for everyone…if you, your coach and your community all work together to get you the results you want. 3,2,1…GO!

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfit-odyssey.com
www.martialartsnevada.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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