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Robb
This is top stuff! I have read through the foundations document and for
those who have yet to do so, here are a few quotes:
# the chief value of any routine lies in abandoning it for another
# For a combination of strength, flexibility, well-developed physique,
coordination, balance, accuracy and agility the gymnast has no equal ...
# Earlier we faulted isolation movements as being ineffectual. Now we can
tell you that one of the critical elements missing from these movements is
that they evoke essentially no neuroendocrine response.
The second .pdf "What is Fitness" is also a beauty! (It's the October 2002
edition of the monthly CrossFit journal). Not many people are game to define
"fitness" [Who would when our politicians talk about "Health programs" which
are really "injury/illness" programs!]. Crossfit does this. Here again are
a few quotes:
# .... disinvest in any set notions of sets, rest periods, reps, exercises,
order of exercises, routines, periodization etc. Nature provides largely
unforseeable challenges; train for that by striving to keep the training
stimulus broad and constantly varied.
# Robb mentions below "community". In "What is Fitness" Crossfit refer to
mental health being underwritten by physical fitness and overall fitness
embracing the two.
There are references, too, to the importance of diet and although the detail
is lacking in these paers (it's promised as being elsewhere), the direction
is clearly Paleo.
Both papers regard the Olympic lifts as being the epitome of exercises and
leading to the best level of fitness. At the same time, the papers make it
clear that the same exercise principles apply to young and old adults.
Women feature as prominently as men in the illustrations and I'm assuming
that the program is targeted to both men and women equally. As an
Australian, I found the repeated references to police and firemen a
recurring reminder of the US home of Crossfit and its target audiences.
Likewise the music with the exercises on the site - our gym has music at a
low volume and they turn it off when I ask them - which is usually. I found
the suggestion of "just an hour a day" being required for exercise
misleading. Yes, an hour a day in the gym, but the clocl really starts
ticking at home when you prepare and pack the gym bag and it runs right
through to the after-gym stretch, shower and return to home or the office.
It takes more than an hour and we shouldn't undersell the time investment
required.
Crossfit also advocates rowing. I rowed until the end of last year
(including winning a medal at the world masters' championships) and can
endorse all Crossfit says about rowing. However, I'd have to add that
rowing at the elite level requires intense discipline and focus on 'correct
form' so as to maintain the stability of the boat and the rhythm of the
crew. This lack of variation cuts across the other suggestions of Crossfit,
but I wouldn't discourage rowing as a part of a rounded exercise program.
Crew rowing certainly encourages conviviality and good mental health!
Keith
----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Wolf
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 6:44 AM
Subject: [paleo] [EVOLUTIONARY-FITNESS] Crossfit
Hi all-
A paleo perspective on the exercise....Well, crossfit is built on functional
movements, performed at high intenstiy with constant variation. We pull
from gymnastics, olympic lifting and sprint modalities, vary load, volume
and intensity randomly but with an eye towards metabolic conditioning and a
neuro-endocrine response.
Foundational to the exercise is paleo nutrition with a bit of caloric
restriction compared to energy expenditure. Lifestyle factors such as
community and adequate rest are obviously important as well.
We post a workout of the day every day on the crossfit front page
(www.crossfit.com) and there is the crossfit foundations available here:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-foundtn.html
and a free copy of the crossfit journal here:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-fitness.html
Hopefully this is interesting!
Robb
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