Results

[mcjag4402]

What kind of tangible results (i.e. faster time at _x_ , increased PR in _y_ ) have you seen from following the NavySeals WODs?

[deadly nedly]

Crossfit wouldn't be the chosen core conditioning program of numerous groups -- SOF included -- if it didn't work. A number of marines out in Camp Pendleton use it, depending on your DI. I know I've met marines at crossfit seminars who are there to learn how to PT the nuts off their unit or whatever. I personally know SEALs, PJs and SF soldiers who use it. I don't know any CCT or MARSOC, but if they aren't, they should. UFC athletes, olympians, wrestlers.. the list goes on.. if they aren't crossfitting, they are doing something similar, or getting rolled at this point.

Crossfit isn't really new, if you were trained by a decent wrestling or rugby coach at the collegiate or professional level, you probably got a taste of something similar. Crossfit is a very highly developed program though, and is more well rounded than anything you've done before.

Do a WOD and see how your time stands against the rest of us... if it's pathetic, logic dictates that you have something to gain from the program. If it's not.. then you're a stud, welcome to the club and keep doing what you're doing.

[sandwich]

I haven't seen tangible results from doing any...to be honest, I've only attempted one WOD, and that was the thrusters, KB swings, step up, pushup, run 400m day.

IT KICKED MY ... I couldn't believe how challenged and tired I was. Coincidentally, I also injured my knee, and set my training back a couple of weeks or even months. I'm still recovering and that was a while ago. SO, make sure you're doing it right and know your limits.

I think if you aren't seeing improvements, you're either not doing it right or haven't been doing it long enough. The only downfall I see to crossfit is there is a large potential to sacrifice form for speed, and that can lead to injuries.

[scskowron]

I haven't seen tangible results from doing any...to be honest, I've only attempted one WOD, and that was the thrusters, KB swings, step up, pushup, run 400m day.



You're not going to see results from one WOD...that's for sure.

[dive doc]

You're not going to see results from one WOD...that's for sure.

Nice puddle of sweat maybe ... brings back memories of my first Friday beatdown ..... ahhhhhhhhh :D

[jltiger143]

I've definitely seen an increase in my 400m sprint speed and an increase in the number of dead hang pullups I can do (not to mention beginner, or jumping pullups).

The best way to tell if it's working for you is to keep a detailed journal of your workouts. I can definitely see progress through mine.

[bigv123]

The best way to tell if it's working for you is to keep a detailed journal of your workouts. I can definitely see progress through mine.

Are there folks here that aren't actually doing this already?!?! I can't even fathom not keeping a workout log. Think of it this way...would you dive with a blacked out faceplate? Would you navigate without a compass?

If there are guys out there that are too lazy to keep a simple workout log I would think their fate may already be sealed. If anyone reading this is in that crowd, start one NOW.

If you don't know what direction you're going, how in the hell will you know if you're making progress to your objective??

just my $0.02,
V

[sandwich]

You're not going to see results from one WOD...that's for sure.

yeah I know...and I'd do them regularly if I weren't afraid of permanently injuring my knee.

I just wanted to comment that even though I'm regularly doing strength training, swimming, and running, doing a crossfit taxed my limits...which I thought was pretty cool.

[coronadodreamin]

Jag,

I've seen some very respectable results from crossfit. Give it a try and see if it's for you :)

[gmt-nyc]

yeah I know...and I'd do them regularly if I weren't afraid of permanently injuring my knee.

I just wanted to comment that even though I'm regularly doing strength training, swimming, and running, doing a crossfit taxed my limits...which I thought was pretty cool.

Yup. Training across multiple modalities really taxes the system beyond the norm, especially if you can maintain intensity. At high intensity, or heavy weights (like a 1RM attempt) technique will break down, it's inevitable. Learning the proper movements, practicing with lower weights, stretching, etc. will help prevent injuries when you're really pushing yourself to the limit; however, injuries still do occur and when they do take the time to recover.

As for the OP re: "Results," BigV and Jltiger are spot on - get/use/keep a training journal. It would also be wise to track your nutrition as well seeing as how important nutrition is to the entire equation.

In my case, I eat raw meat, and track my performance by the height of the building I can leap in a single bound, or whether I can outrun the locomotive, which in my case means I'm now chasing down the Amtrak Acela ;) JK of course, or am I?

[bigv123]

Another thing you guys should understand about cross-fit workouts is what you're actually going to get from them. Sure, there will be some limited amount of neuro-muscular conditioning that occurs (read: strength and muscular endurance). But the primary thing you'll gain from Cross-Fit is improving the efficiency of 3 of the 4 primary energy cycles used during exercise. Those are:

Creatine Phosphate
Anaerobic Glycolosis
Aerobic Glycolosis

You guys probably refer to this as "conditioning" or being "in shape". Well, those ideas are rather nebulous and intangible. On the other hand, energy system efficiency is real and specific. The point being, these are all very small, very discrete fitness improvements that act together synergistic. What I mean is that if you make, as an example, a 1% improvement in each of the 3 energy systems listed above, the total "benefit" would NOT be 3%. This would be an additive effect (1% + 1% + 1% = 3% obviously). A synergy exists when those individual effects help to improve the function of each other in addition to themselves. Increasing your anaerobic capacity (read: all anaerobic energy cycles - CP and AG) WILL in fact help your aerobic performance to a degree. Likewise, improving your aerobic capacity does indeed impact your anaerobic capacity. This is because during most forms of exercise each of these energy systems are running concurrently. They may run at different RATES based on the type of exercise I'm performing, but they're all most certainly running. Therefore, improving the capacity of any one reduced the load that the others have to carry...thus making it easier for them to go faster, harder, longer. Make sense?

This is where the real brilliance of Cross-Fit shines. It really is designed to hit each of these energy systems multiple times with great intensity. So, you probably won't add that extra 25 push-ups or those 10 pull-ups to your PST scores that you're looking for, but, it's not designed to do that. That's not it's purpose. Those performance-specific activities should be trained independently of Cross-Fit imho.

V

[deadly nedly]

V brings up a point where I would say.. your mileage may vary. While true that hitting the 3 energy systems is one of three standards of fitness by crossfit, there are two more to go through before you get something which is "crossfit" and not simply "metcon." You can get well rounded metcon by something as simple as running different intervals. Crossfit is clearly more complex. However, I do say that your mileage may vary because if you have already developed a certain aspect of fitness highly, you won't be interested in the familiar stuff, it will look like everything else you've done. I would guess that V has developed various aspects of his fitness highly, so MetCon becomes the draw, and biggest advantage of the crossfit program for him.

For instance, let's say you're an olympic lifter looking for some MetCon, and don't really care about the rest of crossfit. Turns out that a little gymnastics training goes a hell of a long way towards learning how to generate more tension throughout the whole body, which translates into a bigger lift. This effect has been noted many times, but it is not common practice to put an olympic lifter on a high bar and teach him front levers to get his C&J up. But, our athlete crossfits, and not only gets all the metcon he will ever need, but also learns about generating more tension and a myriad of other things about his body which he will use to dominate at his next meet.

Personally, I've gotten better at everything that isn't strictly skill based. My pushups and pullups have all gone up. So has my deadlift and clean and jerk. Virtually everything has improved. Something like swimming I would say is primarily a technical skill. You can see this by putting marathoners in the water and watch them gas at 50m. It's a skill. The nice thing is, with a highly conditioned body, you can learn new skills quickly, effectively, and injury free.

But it is true that depending on the WOD, you get to a point where you're primarily working on work capacity and power-endurance. If you can do something like Angie straight through, you can do 100 pushups, and it's not necessarily going to make you able to do 200 even if you can do Angie really really fast. But, take Cindy for instance. There is no limit to the amount of pushups you could do during that workout, and some 16 year old kid has the record at 39 rounds. That's 195 pullups, 390 pushups and 585 squats in 20 minutes. That's enough calisthenics for anyone. Or if you need more, you can race to 500 (or just do the last week of the warning order, for time :) ). There really is no limit to crossfit programming, it's more of a philosophy than a program, which may be freely tweaked to the needs of the individual, so long as you don't sacrifice the core of the program... but I digress.

If skill training is required of the athlete, it will probably be better to put the SPP in a different workout than your GPP which would be crossfit. So cramming an olympic lifters oly training into his GPP program would yield limited results, because while you're shaking from the MetCon isn't a great time to work on the finer points of your 3rd pull. It might even screw it up, which is another reason to do things different than your skill-based event for MetCon. You don't want to dirty up your technique. For crossfit.. you want to be jacked enough during the WOD to have about 80% perfect form. If your form is 100% perfect, you should be going faster. If it's at 70%, you risk injury. So... knowing what perfect is and knowing what 80% is... is important. The movements, while unconventional, are functional and by definition 100% safe. Your own limitations are what put you at risk of injury.

Apologies for my reactive words earlier mods and OP.

[Shar36]

Apologies for my reactive words earlier mods and OP.

You're G2G and Thanks!

~Shar

[montana]

I have honestly seen better results from just regular PT. Doing Crossfit I could only manage in the low 80s in the PST on the push ups and sit ups. Now on my own and other stuff I can achieve in the low 100s usually. A few times a week though I will do circuit training with no rest which is about the closest I come to Crossfit.

[wcor]

Everyone reacts differently to different stimuli. So what might work for someone may not work entirely for you . I can tell you though, that by doing the WOD's, I have seen some dramatic increase. I went from only being able to do around 12-15 pull ups, to today being able to complete 45 non stop (new PR. today :D). My mile time has gone from non-existent to being able to run them consistently at a sub 6 mile pace. I guess the key is that you have to find out what works for you.

That my .02 cents

[deadly nedly]

The problem is that "regular PT" might make you score well on the PST quickly, but is all but useless for general fitness. I would recommend a PT program if someone hasn't prepped at all and is due to ship in 6 months. That's the usefulness of the warning order / generated workouts in my mind. If you already destroy the PST, better to get generally prepared than become a specialist in the PST, which won't get you very far. For someone who's been crossfitting for a good length of time and can swim, the PST is a joke.

Personally, I stopped crossfitting to run through the warning order and was then like.. uhh.. now what, I still have a year.. back to crossfit. Now the PST is cake, and I am better at everything than everyone else who just did the warning order. Plus, I run a hell of alot faster than I used to. CF just sets the bar higher. You can be "good" at PT and still be a sissy by crossfit standards.

[coronadodreamin]

Plus, I run a hell of alot faster than I used to. CF just sets the bar higher. You can be "good" at PT and still be a sissy by crossfit standards.
What do you average per mile, time wise? I've been trying to get my times down, and I'm just curious. On average, I'm probably running around 20 miles or so a week. Anyways, no real point to this added fluff. Again, just wondering what you average out of curiosity so I can gauge where I'm at.

[deadly nedly]

PR for 1 mile is just under 6:00, mile splits for 5k are around 7:00, 10k hasn't been measured lately without a ruck. To get faster, just do intervals. www.crossfitendurance.com (http://www.crossfitendurance.com)

I'm a pretty average runner by the standards here, but when I had just done the warning order, PR was 7:45, 10k splits were around 8:30. What can I say.. We didn't run much in gymnastics :) To me, I'd rather be good at everything then be a pro distance runner at the expense of everything else.

And sorry for the fluff.. this stuff is my religion, feel free to not read my giant posts if you don't find them informative.

[coronadodreamin]

PR for 1 mile is just under 6:00, mile splits for 5k are around 7:00, 10k hasn't been measured lately without a ruck. To get faster, just do intervals. www.crossfitendurance.com (http://www.crossfitendurance.com)

I'm a pretty average runner by the standards here, but when I had just done the warning order, PR was 7:45, 10k splits were around 8:30. What can I say.. We didn't run much in gymnastics :) To me, I'd rather be good at everything then be a pro distance runner at the expense of everything else.

And sorry for the fluff.. this stuff is my religion, feel free to not read my giant posts if you don't find them informative.

Respectable :) I think I'm a little slower than you are at the moment, but not by a whole lot. However, I'm sure you'd kill me other areas lol. I've been working on upper body quite a bit and I've seen some really good results, so I'm sure it'll all come with time.

As far as your posts go, I enjoy them. I'm realling into working out and reading into the science behind it, so the more 'fluff' the better lol. As far as speed is concerned, I've definitely got that covered. I went to state for the 400m and also the triple to jump. Just trying to improve on the endurance side, as I know how much running there is in BUD/S!

Off to go run 5 miles or so :) Look forward to your future posts!