You have probably started to hear the buzz about the workout program called crossfit .

Well, you may not know this but, we have been including crossfit style workouts for almost 3 years at bootcamp…

Sneaky I know 🙂
We just don’t talk about it much.

However, we only include what we feel is the best aspects of crossfit.

And leaving out the stuff like this:

Why you ask?

Because, there are a lot of aspects of crossfit that involve olympic lifts and gymnastic moves that really have no benefit in fat loss or any benefit to men or women over a safer and more productive alternative exercise like a split squat or a single leg deadlift. If 2 exercises are more or less equal always chose the safer exercise. It’s just good practice.

At Crossfit, the heavy lifting with barbells and olympic lifts are considered more of a competitor or skilled exercise. Which are great for athletes and people who like to lift heavy weights. Hey, I’m a former athlete, who likes to lift heavy weights!!!

However, there is a HUGE learning curve with these exercises.. that basically means that there is
a HUGE possibility to get injured. And lots of injuries do happen unfortunately…

Olympic lifts are fast lifts, which means that is a lot of force being put on the body. Force = Mass x Acceleration, which means you can even make a lighter weight very dangerous if your body is out of alignment and you are forcing your muscles and joints to be load bearing (instead of your skeleton – which is what would happen with perfect alignment and form).

The exercises in crossfit are not the type you master in one day. These are exercises that take weeks and even years to perform correctly. And if you go to a crossfit gym you will see that these Olympic lifts (barbell exercises such as cleans, snatches, and presses) are in almost EVERY workout.

So why am I writing all this about crossfit?

Well, last weekend I ran into an old member and they asked me what I think about crossfit… It’s easy for me to talk smack about other fitness programs, I guess that would be the normal fitness industry thing to do.. But I try not to be like that, keep it positive, and to be honest, I really like Crossfit for its competitive element and how it bands people together in a great love of health and fitness. But it is definitely not for everyone, as if you lack coordination, flexibility, and stability there is a high probability that you will get injured. It’s just a fact that too many people are lacking mobility in the world that is the 21st century.

And yes, I have even heard the term used to describe our workouts as “crossboot” – a hybrid of crossfit and bootcamp and I think that is fair, because I would say we are more like crossfit than bootcamp.

The biggest difference between our workouts and crossfit is that ours are designed for muscle toning, muscle imbalances, and fat loss. You could say, I look at basically any type of workout program out there and apply the best aspects of them no matter if it’s crossfit, p90x, undulating linear periodization, dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, cardio etc.

So to sum it all up…

Crossfit’s mantra is ‘Forging Elite Fitness’. They focus a lot on performance (such as olympic Lifts) and how fast they can complete their workouts while trying not to sacrifice form for speed – which is a huge problem if you ask me. But with that said, as long as form is good, and the right exercises are used. Speed and competition is a very useful motivational tool for some people.

And of course, there is much to be said about the quality of any workout program coming down to the trainers and how much they care..and making sure you are working out safely!

Because unfortunately, the majority of the population is kinda messed up with muscle imbalances, and bad posture, and the truth is, unless this is seriously addressed, you will get injured trying to lose weight. Tight calves may lead to knee problems, tight hips may lead to shoulder and lower back problems. Weak glutes from sitting all day everyday may lead to knee and lower back problems.

There is a lot to watch and be concerned about as a trainer!

And amongst that…We still should be funny!

With that said, the #1 thing we can do is CARE about you!.. then comes everything else

That is why, starting in November, we have created the Bootcamp Elements and Bootcamp Elite programs. The Bootcamp Elements is for the general population to address muscle imbalances, posture, weight loss, and muscle toning. The Bootcamp Elite is for people that want to do the “higher risk” exercises and lift heavier weight in a competitive environment. It will be very similar to crossfit, but will be without the high risk exercises that tend to cause injury. If you would like to take part in these workouts, you will have to pass the Bootcamp Foundations, which is a list of 16 exercises that test your mobility, coordination, strength, and stability to ensure that you will be able to handle the workouts safely. BE Foundations Tutorials will be run on Saturdays. Check the facebook page www.facebook.com/thebootcampeffect or the whiteboard for updates to the schedule as this is a great time to go over the exercises with me in a comfortable, and slow paced group setting.

So in the end of the day, when someone asks me if we do crossfit at boot camp..
my answer is: no, but, we do perform full body high intensity functional resistance and cardiovascular training…

Annnnnnnd…we decided to name our workouts in November (aka Move-ember)…after California suburbs and state prisons.

And we push a lot of sled.

Committed to your results,
Josh Saunders