I moved jobs about a year ago it was the same kind of work just the other side of London
I was soon in the gym doing my Crossfit thing. Lets face it, it gets you noticed and if we are honest we kind of like that. We are different and revel in it. But I never conduct myself with an air of superiority. I love to talk about Crossfit but only if asked and I never preach. But you must have noticed how gym monkeys can be a little anti. Often making statements about things they have no knowledge of. “Those pull ups are cheating” How often do you hear that? Or sometimes the reverse, they will make a statement in support of something but will not be able to explain why it gets their support.
I saw a colleague stood in front of the mirror performing a forearm exercise. Arms locked out in front at shoulder height with a plate dangling from a string attached to a thick piece of dowel. He slowly rotated the dowel to wind up the plate. He was pulling faces and gritting his teeth. He was working hard at the exercise. I wanted to know why he positioned his arms where he did was it different, harder or easier with the elbows bent and fixed at the sides or above or behind the head? He said he did not know and that he just did what he was instructed. But it was the tone that amazed me. He was dismissive, perhaps he was busy, but I think he felt he was being criticised but I was not, definitely not. I was intrigued by the mechanics.
I have often given a little advice, mainly on safety, or on where I think they could benefit, I am a qualified PT after all. It is my job. However, having asked and attempted to understand I soon realised I was getting no where. Later I did a little research, good old Google, I came up with lots of alternatives but generally pointed towards performing the exercise just like I had witnessed. But why!? Any way I emailed off a few links to my friend and titled them food for thought. A mutual friend then reported back to me that the forearm exerciser had been criticising Crossfit. In the spirit of a good wind up I emailed a response to his criticism. It was like throwing a grenade. I did actually try to address his issue but also with a sense of humour. The response was a rant.
The argument centred on Crossfit does not make you big, not bigger, but big. Well, yes and no, I think is the right answer? I have seen some real big blokes in a Crossfit gym and I have seen some already big blokes get bigger. We are amazingly visual creatures. Massive amounts of our responses are affected by visual stimulus, colours, shapes, sizes and body language. Did you know that 55% of communication is body language? How does this affect us? Well if we only ever measure our improvements with our eyes then surely we are on the road to disappointment. We can measure our health with lowered blood pressure, heart rates, improved energy levels, endurance, strength, power, flexibility…Wait a minute that sounds familiar! But does the typical narcissistic trainer give any of these more than a casual thought?
Pick up any fitness industry magazine off the shelf and bam you will be hit with one visual statement after another. A bombardment of perceived perfect bodies, huge muscled men and slim toned women. On the whole does this help to inspire, encourage, motivate or does it ultimately have a negative impact? Do people see achieving anything less than front cover man/woman as failure? Will this ultimately deflate and deter you, having led you down a path of wasted time, effort and money? Where is the balance? You will find some if you really go looking for it. Success stories are sprinkled in some magazines but on the whole it is a constant flow of subliminal brain washing, money spinning, product endorsing, fantastical dirge.
Crossfit does a lot of things right. But this whole examination got me thinking about how people are constantly measuring Crossfit success by whether the WOD was “Rx’d or not. This cannot be good for everyone. I am constantly being asked what is the required weight? Well the first requirement is to be able to perform the movement with excellent form. How many times have we seen people perform ugly reps just because they want to write “Rx’d”? I think this can be a big problem; it too can lead to wasted time and effort and of course injury. This then reflects badly on us. Crossfit is scaleable but some how this gets forgotten. I believe “Rx’d” is our version of the front cover man/woman. A suggestion of what is expected and what is perfection, the ONLY standard. We have to be aware of this, because it is NOT the only standard and it is not perfection. It is a goal for some but not for all.
So what is the lesson? Well size is not everything (heard that before) well not for everyone any way. Standards of movement should be broadly applicable and standards of weight should be more specifically applicable.
