it's a Gym Jane
Man,
I don't have anything against Cross Fit or Gym Jones but it saddens me when people discover these two groups and think that they have somehow hit the mother load of fitness wisdom and need to go no further.
Like any journey worth taking one must realize that in discovering what appears to be a fountain of information one has usually found just a trickle that springs fourth from a far deeper well.
TAKU
Taku,
No truer words were spoken. People too easily become groupies and blind followers of what virtually become cults and proceed to shut down any further exploration of truth.
I love Crossfit, admire coach Glassman for his conditioning knowledge and contributions, hell, I even have a Crossfit certification which I got in '04. However,
I view it as one more tool in my coaching toolbox, not the be-all and end-all of training.
Could you do only Crossfit WODs and become extremely fit and conditioned? Yes. Could you do only Taku's intervals or Tabata cycles and get super fit? Yes. Could you do only Olympic lifts and get incredibly strong and explosive? Yes. Could you just wrestle and become a monster of conditioning? Absolutely.
It is not the methodology, it is the work ethic.
Taku and ILVQLOS...you two just brought tears to my eyes. True all around. To the innovators and indivduals who bring a certain training style to the forefront, give respect where respect is due. But realize that each training methodology is just a tool, of which there are many.
Just as professional fighters seldom if ever train in only one style, so should those looking to maximize their conditioning and physical prowess. What works best for one person isn't necessarily the answer for another and different sports require different training.
Good posts, boys.
Honestly, though...I just wanted to use the word "prowess" in a post.
Cheers!
Taku and ILV are correct (as usual). Even though I'm "Crossfit Honolulu", I keep in mind that it's still "Scrapper Athletic Club" and that means we use whatever works best for the client/athlete.
Crossfit is an excellent resource for trainers, but it would be foolish to think you can obtain all of your knowledge from one source.
Train hard,
SCRAP
Great post Scrap
"Crossfit is an excellent resource for trainers, but it would be foolish to think you can obtain all of your knowledge from one source."
I doubt anyone at CrossFit would argue that either. I've certainly never heard anyone say that. CrossFit is an always evolving program. If you go back and look through the archives, you can see the changes it's undergone and the various influences that are credited along the way.
In addition to that each CrossFit school is different - every head instructor has a different background and therefore a different emphasis. It's part of what keeps the program live.
The woman on the blog also thanks DragonDoor and a whole list of people associated with it, and says it was the gateway to her learning -- sounds like she's not saying any single source is the only source, but rather is in the middle of exploring and crediting the three organizations that have helped her along the way.
Seems like a few cool people who enjoy crossfit style workouts and are busting their butts. I found the site pretty enjoyable
I doubt anyone at CrossFit would argue that either.
I'm with you on that one, but you know how the CF "haters" accuse anyone that is associated with CF of being a cult follower.
if you only look as far as the workouts and marketing you may be missing some of the biggest payoffs of GJ/CF. most of their equip and exercises have been around for ages, no one has really reinvented the wheel between the two of them.
reading, research, personal experimentation all inspired by these two gyms has all been almost as much fun as the workouts themselves, for me. 10-12 yrs ago i had some experience and success with oly lifting and especially plyometrics. there's nothing like being around other dedicated athletes(at the time) and having them notice the results of your training- them:"wow, your fast and strong", me:"aww shucks".
what i was lacking was variety, disguised repetition, and a little personal creativity. i don't kneel at the alter of either outfit but they are equally responsible for providing me with motivation, inspiration, and a heavy duty springboard to start from.
"I don't have anything against Cross Fit or Gym Jones but it saddens me when people discover these two groups and think that they have somehow hit the mother load of fitness wisdom and need to go no further."
"Crossfit is an excellent resource for trainers, but it would be foolish to think you can obtain all of your knowledge from one source."
I'm curious about what this says about the people that founded or belong to these groups? Isn't there an aspect of insular group dynamics present here to begin with?
I don't get it, am I supposed to think that this blog is just a journal of thoughts or an actual resource? More power to the person who has the time to write on a blog like this. It didn't seem that interesting.
"I'm with you on that one, but you know how the CF "haters" accuse anyone that is associated with CF of being a cult follower."
True, but if you were to perform a cursory read through the Comments section on the WOD and the heavily moderated Forum ("cursory" is the operative word here), one might make that assertion.
Unfortunately, the more fanatical fringe of anything tends to be more vocal and protective than the level-headed types.
"Unfortunately, the more fanatical fringe of anything tends to be more vocal and protective than the level-headed types."
You are probably right about this. The level headed ones take a look and then just think "why bother commenting".
TAKU
The reason some people may act cultish is because we live in a materialistic, consumer oriented society where everyone is looking for the "best" product. By a strange twist of logic, if one finds a product that is the "best", everything else must be "worse".
You see the same sort of attitude in martial arts in the US as well. Everyone tries to find/buy/acquire the "best" and then feels obliged to deride those other than themselves.
Taku has RNCed the correct out of the fandom. I have refrained from posting my own comments on certain issues numerous of times. It ends up becoming a session of banging my head against a brick wall.