CrossFit Journal Articles (general)
Exercise-Specific CFJ Articles
“Permission to Fail,” by Again Faster
Give a guy with four pull-ups and two dips a set of rings, and he’ll pine for a muscle-up. He’ll pull on those rings two or three times, confident that the next rep will be the one. On rep five, his gaze finds the ground, and the little muscles surrounding his eyes relax. By attempt ten, he’s defeated, and the swearing starts.
The curse of the novice is two-fold. Along with a wanton desire for progress comes a concomitant failure to realize that advanced skills are not the province of the beginner. [keep reading]
“CrossFit and the Warrior Within,” by Lisbeth Darsh
Most of us are not Marines or Navy SEALs. We’re not cops or firefighters. Most of us don’t live heroic lives or even talk about bravery in any real context. We know little of real need, and less of sacrifice. Instead of facing danger daily, most of us face boredom daily; there is too much of everything in America. We have wants and large appetites. Discipline is relegated to putting half a teaspoon of sugar in our tea, or buying a smaller car to save on gas, or skipping dessert. Like it or not, this is modern-day America. We are not warriors. Yet, within our microcosm of daily abundance, we CrossFit. We willingly subject ourselves to a rigorous, demanding program that brings us to our knees. Why? [keep reading]
Affiliate application essay/mission statement (or, “Things I Would Never Do”) from Pioneer Valley Crossfit
When people ask me, “What is CrossFit?” I do my best to give them a concise and non-technical answer. I eschew Coach Glassman’s classic “constantly varied, if not randomized, functional movements performed at high intensity” (too many terms to define) in favor of something like, “It’s kind of a mix of Olympic-style weightlifting, basic gymnastics, and sprint training.” Usually that satisfies their curiosity–most people, especially the sedentary, seem to then immediately mentally file CrossFit under the heading “Things I Would Never Do.” I can never let it go, though. I always go on to say, “The genius of it, you see, is that by requiring its athletes to perform for time or for points, CrossFit turns fitness training into a competitive sport. You end up killing yourself to get those extra couple reps in, to shave just a few more seconds off the clock. And then you flop to the ground. Wrecked. Like, you couldn’t stand up even if you wanted to.” To which most people can’t help but respond, “You think that’s fun?” I’m sure my “Hell yeah!” does nothing to stop them from further filing CrossFit under “Things I Most Definitely Would Never Do.” [keep reading]
“The Land Before CrossFit,” by Lisbeth Darsh
Imagine we had to go back. Back to the Land Before CrossFit. Before wall-ball and thrusters and burning lung metcons like Fran and Helen. Back to a place without our friend Pukie or Uncle Rhabdo or the legendary Nasty Girls. To a time when the only language spoken was “Is it Legs or Chest day?” Back before we realized there was a madman in the tower, dreaming up workouts that combined both, and, in the ultimate piece of twisted depravity, adding a stopwatch to the whole mix. Back before we knew the madman’s name was Greg Glassman. [keep reading]
“Honesty is the Best Policy,” by Krista at Stumptuous.com
I often get emails or see trainees who are frustrated and pissed off. They aren’t achieving their goals and they tell me they have “tried everything”. They’re about ready to throw in the towel on exercise and nutrition. They feel that nothing is working. They start to buy into the idea that “diets don’t work so there’s no point in trying”. [keep reading]
