I read quite a lot of US running blogs and many of them mention the phenomenon of Crossfit which has recently made it's way over to the UK.
The idea is that of "functional fitness" where you do heavy lifting, running, climbing etc tutored by private personal trainers in small groups (boxes).
http://www.crossfitoptimus.com/
People seem to like the positive group atmosphere, the focused attention from the coaches and of course the improvement in their fitness. The negatives are generally the cost, and the scare stories about people getting injured through doing the moves wrong.
I was just wondering whether anyone here had come across it or even tried something similar as a compliment to running? I know there's various schools of thought, but general opinion is that cross training and strengthening/weight training is an important part of a fitness routine.
Thoughts on CrossFit?
Thanks
Comments
I haven't tried it but I went to have a look in a crossfit gym in Norwich http://www.crossfitnorwich.co.uk/
The trainer was a really niice guy who seemed to know what he is doing. Depending on what you want out of training you might be able to mix the 2 but all the crossfit guys seem to be a bit big for long distance running.
A couple of guys do it on a boxing forum I post on. As Seths says the are little "built" for long distance running but a couple have got decent, but not great, HM times considering they don't seem to do that much running (1:45 ish).
Thanks guys- I might go and check it out, and see what I think. As a female I'm not looking to get "muscly", just tone up and bit and get stronger for every day things- moving house in a couple of months, and I'd love to be able to lift the boxes easier! lol.
Brian mckenzie is a big advocate of using crossfit, especially deadlifts, to improve running performance. You might want to research further - interesting reading as he has improved performance of many long distance runners.
Thanks Rob, I'll look into it.
Just looked up Brian MacKenzie here's the link.
http://running.competitor.com/2011/05/training/brian-mackenzies-12-week-crossfit-endurance-advanced-training-program_28400
Are crossfit and crossfit-endurance slightly different? hope I'm not splitting hairs.
I think it's geared more towards endurance sports (such as running), whereas regular CrossFit is shorter sprints and quicker workouts. Although it still doesn't incorporate LSD training, and states that "Long slow duration results in athletes being less powerful, less lean and more prone to injury, low energy and abbreviated sport longevity"...
See here: http://www.crossfitendurance.com/whatiscfe It was founded by Brian MacKenzie.