re: Friend wants me to join a crossfit gym, what do I need to know about it?

I did crossfit for 2 yrs. The gym I went to stressed form to the max. If you couldn't do to the weight with a straight back than they made you drop to lower weight or do something else. 99% of the form part is keeping a straight back and pulling your shoulders back. As long as you remember that than youll be fine. The place I went to was nothing like what most people on here claim. Very good coaches and they aren't in your face screaming at you.

Best thing to do is find a good old fashion gym with squat racks, deadlift platforms and benches. Focus on bench press, squat and deadlift with auxillary exercises to support them and get fricking big.

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Focus on bench press, squat and deadlift with auxillary exercises to support them and get fricking big.

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boom. best workout routine i have ever read

Don't do it. They care more about quantity of reps rather than proper form. You can save yourself $80 a month by going to a regular gym... and save yourself a trip to snap city. Go watch ESPN "Crossfit games" on youtube and see how many people get injured.

absolutely agree with your. I have maintained major success in the gym by sticking with a simple routine for almost 5 years now. The only variations I do are usually switching from barbell to dumbbell/cable on my auxillaries.

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be patient

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is the part most people cant handle along with eating right

Unless you really want the social aspect there's no reason a normal weightlifting routine wouldn't work for you.

If you do want to go down the crossfire route read up on proper form independently, find a crossfit gym that cares about form, and refuse to do anything that seems incorrect/unsafe.

A lot of crossfit gyms believe that beginners should be doing high number of reps on complex Olympic lifts, when in fact beginners probably shouldn't do those lifts period.

Most instructors are not particularly strong on lifting form and you shouldn't take their word on anything.

I would recommend a normal gym and doing the standard strong lifts 5x5 or starting strength if you are a beginner.

Also

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Covington

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CF No Surrender?

I alternate exercises depending on the intensity each week. Like if I'm doing upper body for reps, light hang clean, bench, close grip bench, shoulder press, incline dumbell bench and I'll work in like two tricep isolation lifts. If I'm going heavy, then out lower the reps and substitute close grip with pause bench and shoulder press for split jerks.

It is one of the most ridiculous excersises fads I have seen. And with the unorthodox excersises, it can cause some major injuries. A Co-worker of mine who is mid 30s was talked into doing CF, and apparently had some weak sections in his lower spine. During a routine, he broke this weak point, and is in rehab learning to walk again. Be careful, and know your limits.

I've been doing crossfit for about four months now. I know if I had just joined a gym, I wouldn't go as often or push myself as hard. Social aspect is huge and having a good coach/trainer that will make sure you are using correct form and scaling your workout until you are up to speed. Mine wouldn't let me scale up to any weight until I was using proper form on a PVC pipe.

I only go twice a week and mix that in with running on the other days. Still have days when all the squats have me walking like a baby giraffe.