Cross Fit Fitness and other fitness questions

[curves2000]

Hi all,

Thought this would be a good forum to ask what anybody's opinion of any local Cross Fit gyms were?

I am a 31 year old who always grew up being fairly athletic and active. The last few years I packed on some serious weight and hit the scales at around 230lbs for a 5'11 guy.

The last 18 months I have been working on a very consistent basis and have lost 35+ lbs and added a little muscle and some decent strength, especially in my lower body.

I have noticed that even with my diet and commitment to the gym I am struggling a bit to lean out for the last 10lbs give or take and add the proper amount of lean muscle.

Getting my cardio and lifting ratio seems to be an issue for me. I am either leaning out a bit too much and chewing up what little muscle gains I have made or I turn down the cardio and then get a little larger but not lean enough.

I haven't ever had a personal trainer and most of the ones I see at my gym and elsewhere are marginal at best. Mostly charge $60+ an hour to watch somebody do various exercises with little to no gains.

I figured maybe Cross Fit would be a good compromise where you do the group classes for lifting along with actual advice and training info to go along with the workout/membership. Anybody have any experience with it? Any issues with the reported joint and muscle issues some other users have suggested?

Thanks in advance,

[blankall]

I've been doing crossfit for about 5 years. If done properly there are no joint and muscle issues. My coaches stress mobility above all else. Prior to joining crossfit, I had serious issues. Nothing could have been worse than the combo of desk work and repeated and limited range of motion weight training.

[GGG]

That sounds like 100% diet and not an excercise problem.

[Frequitude]

If you work downtown by far the best option is CityScape Crossfit. It's just over on 7th by the Hyatt.

[Tron_fdc]

Been doing it for 4 years now I think.

Diet is everything. The only time I've ever been able to eat anything I want and not worry was when I was playing hockey 5 days a week and lifting 3 days a week.

I do crossfit 4 or 5 days a week and although my strength is excellent, if I don't watch my diet (I'm 41) I make almost no gains in the aesthetics department. In fact, the first year I did it I actually got fat because I thought I could eat anything and burn it off. WRONG. You can't out train a bad diet.

Be very selective of the location you choose. Do a lot of research into the coaches, and most importantly into the programmer. Anyone can program a WOD, not everyone can do it with a plan. That's very important to avoid volume injuries.

I will also add that as a young male, there are no better places to meet attractive females than crossfit locations. I wish I had of discovered this honeypot before I went and got married and had kids.....!

PM me if you have specific questions about locations or pricing. Lots of options out there.

[Language]

I know a few people doing Crossfit and they seem to really like it. The gym they go to stresses technique which is a good thing if you're doing Olympic lifts, etc.

Also, whenever we get together, all they ever talk about is Crossfit, which is also incredibly annoying. I don't care about your WOD, whatever that is.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Language

I know a few people doing Crossfit and they seem to really like it. The gym they go to stresses technique which is a good thing if you're doing Olympic lifts, etc.

Also, whenever we get together, all they ever talk about is Crossfit, which is also incredibly annoying. I don't care about your WOD, whatever that is.

The first rule of cross fit is don't talk about cross fit. Please. In here, great! Cross Fit gym? Fair game. Everywhere else? No one cares.

[Tacopuck]

Related question, Is it really crossfit if you don't Instagram it?

[Tron_fdc]

Hahaha that's totally true. I make a point never to talk about it unless asked.

A lot of people start it and it can be pretty empowering. Hence the need to post all over instagram the amount of pull ups you did to rip apart your hands.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Your age suggests that your endocrine make up might be changing. Like many have said exercise is a key piece, but your hormones are changing - you seriously need to learn how to adjust your diet, sleep and stress management habits on top of it all.

Kevin Kwan at Athlete Inside (formerly CrossFIT AI) in Ranchlands is an excellent crossfit coach but also can coach you on diet and lifestyle management. If you're in a different part of town I can recommend others. Your experience with CrossFit is 100% dependent on the philosophy of the box and the quality of the coaching. Calgary is pretty lucky, but there are a few to avoid. PM me if you want more details.

[petoria]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Kevin Kwan at Athlete Inside (formerly CrossFIT AI) in Ranchlands is an excellent crossfit coach but also can coach you on diet and lifestyle management. If you're in a different part of town I can recommend others. Your experience with CrossFit is 100% dependent on the philosophy of the box and the quality of the coaching. Calgary is pretty lucky, but there are a few to avoid. PM me if you want more details.

Totally agree, went to a few other boxes in Calgary and I find Athlete Inside an awesome place to go to. Kevin is very knowledgeable about nutrition and coaching. The other coaches at the Ranchlands location are knowledgeable as well and stress a lot about form/quality over quantity. Mobility/stretching is encouraged everyday. What point is there to go hard and injure yourself and not come back? Develop your skills, strength, and progress.

OP, there are two AI locations in Calgary, one in Ranchlands as mentioned, and one in the SE (Douglasdale-ish, Deerfoot). Definitely go to a few boxes to try it out. I believe a lot of CrossFit gyms first classes are free.

[Nufy]

Have you tried crack / meth ???
I have heard it works wonders in helping get rid of those last few pounds...
And your teeth��

[blankall]

Originally Posted by curves2000

Hi all,

Thought this would be a good forum to ask what anybody's opinion of any local Cross Fit gyms were?

I am a 31 year old who always grew up being fairly athletic and active. The last few years I packed on some serious weight and hit the scales at around 230lbs for a 5'11 guy.

The last 18 months I have been working on a very consistent basis and have lost 35+ lbs and added a little muscle and some decent strength, especially in my lower body.

I have noticed that even with my diet and commitment to the gym I am struggling a bit to lean out for the last 10lbs give or take and add the proper amount of lean muscle.

Getting my cardio and lifting ratio seems to be an issue for me. I am either leaning out a bit too much and chewing up what little muscle gains I have made or I turn down the cardio and then get a little larger but not lean enough.

I haven't ever had a personal trainer and most of the ones I see at my gym and elsewhere are marginal at best. Mostly charge $60+ an hour to watch somebody do various exercises with little to no gains.

I figured maybe Cross Fit would be a good compromise where you do the group classes for lifting along with actual advice and training info to go along with the workout/membership. Anybody have any experience with it? Any issues with the reported joint and muscle issues some other users have suggested?

Thanks in advance,

I should also add that unless you are running marathons, you aren't "chewing up" the muscle you have with moderate cardio.

You just don't have as much muscle as you think you do. Putting on lean muscle without drugs is very hard to do. The media has also heavily skewed our ideas of what is attainable naturally. Every fitness model and many actors are on drugs these days.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by blankall

I should also add that unless you are running marathons, you aren't "chewing up" the muscle you have with moderate cardio.

You just don't have as much muscle as you think you do. Putting on lean muscle without drugs is very hard to do. The media has also heavily skewed our ideas of what is attainable naturally. Every fitness model and many actors are on drugs these days.

Alright, so the answer is to get our hands on some of these drugs!

[Tacopuck]

Originally Posted by Locke

Alright, so the answer is to get our hands on some of these drugs!

mmmmm drugs

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by blankall

I should also add that unless you are running marathons, you aren't "chewing up" the muscle you have with moderate cardio.

You just don't have as much muscle as you think you do. Putting on lean muscle without drugs is very hard to do. The media has also heavily skewed our ideas of what is attainable naturally. Every fitness model and many actors are on drugs these days.

This is an insane statement to make without evidence to back it up.

[Fuzz]

Yup. There is nothing to indicate that is a new trend. Cocaine has been around for decades!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Yup. There is nothing to indicate that is a new trend. Cocaine has been around for decades!

In the grand scheme of things, it might be considerably more expensive but it also just seems easier.

It might just be the way to go.

[Fuzz]

Ya, I dunno. I had a couple friends go coo coo for coco puffs a decade ago. It almost didn't turn out well for them and took a herculean effort to turn that dump truck around. Though one of them was a model at the time, and did clean up and get pretty heavy into crossfit...so.....

Hrmm, actually the other one married a rich doctor and has a family now, living in Colorado. Huh.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Ya, I dunno. I had a couple friends go coo coo for coco puffs a decade ago. It almost didn't turn out well for them and took a herculean effort to turn that dump truck around. Though one of them did clean up and get pretty heavy into crossfit...so.....

Hrmm, actually the other one married a rich doctor and has a family now, living in Colorado. Huh.

So far this is sounding like a promotional ad for cocaine.