Rehash from five years ago? Doesn't this guy know that the new scandal is high-rep box jumps?
The "dirty secret" of Crossfit is that they don't do much to actively ensure the quality of local affiliates, and therefore the brand doesn't always mean much. My personal experiences have all been great, and my coaches have always been extremely safety-conscious, but in light of the nasty things I read on the internet, I wouldn't encourage anyone to blindly trust whatever local Crossfit affiliate happens to pop up down the block. Rather than thinking of Crossfit as a guarantee of a certain standard of quality, think of it as an approach to fitness that is interpreted in various ways by coaches of varying competence.
Also keep in mind that the coach can't always see when you need to ease up or stop. Sometimes they can, but they can only see what is apparent on the outside; they can't feel what you feel.
Not ensuring affiliate quality isn't really a dirty secret. They're pretty open about it.
From conversations I've had with higher-ups at Crossfit Headquarters, they're _terrified_ of a court finding them to have a franchise model, because that would open them up to all sorts of liability each time one of their affiliates does something dumb.
Per their legal interpretation, they become a franchisor if they do things like ensure quality or consistency.
I'm not a lawyer, so I can't comment on the soundness of their legal reasoning, but the negative effects for the clients are pretty obvious.
They're under an affiliate rather than franchise model. I don't know enough about the differences to describe the differences other than to say that it seems to make Headquarters think they're unable to enforce standards once someone opens a gym.
I haven't done it myself, but to open an affiliate you need to:
(1) Write an essay.
(2) Pass their Level 1 certification class
(3) Have a website with a link to the Crossfit Journal
You need to pay HQ a sum ($3000, iirc) to license the name "CrossFit". They will only agree to that if you've completed their Level 1 certification. Once you've done that and paid up, you're on your own...
Interestingly enough this video was posted to the FB group of the CrossFit gym I go to... a gym I chose because of the quality of programming and emphasis on technique and mobility. There's no bravado there.
Here was one coach's response:
"Haha, this video is infamous! It's the "proof" that critics of CrossFit use to try and show that the entire sport is dangerous and that we don't know what we're doing.
There are definitely examples in the video of athletes losing their midline, and going heavier than they safely should, but the point that is completely overlooked is that these athletes are trying classic strongman lifts for probably the very first time. The lift they're practicing is called the continental clean and, believe it or not, they're doing it more right than wrong. It's an awkward lift that's used for cleaning axle bars that are too fat to grip and clean conventionally. Anyone trying that for the first time will look similarly awkward. It's part of learning something new. Whoever originally shot and posted this video never meant for it to be taken as a typical crossfit class full of elite athletes. It's just a video of a group of people who aren't afraid to try something new, regardless of where are on the learning curve they had to start."
The coach's response is not reassuring. Anyone trying it for the first time should start with a weight light enough that they can hold the correct form and not lose control.
Absolutely. I'm grateful that our coaches always tell us (and other new people) to do bar sets, and even do the workout lifts with either PVC or the light bar only when we are still mastering form. Safety > all.
Yep, that's a pretty nasty example. I guess I got lucky; I originally joined Crossfit for the sole reason of learning the Olympic lifts, because they were the only local gym that had bumper plates. Not only did I get good instruction on the Olympic lifts, but I improved my deadlift and squat PRs considerably in the very first month because of corrections my coach made in my form.
The coaches I've had have often been gung ho, yelling "GO GO GO" and "DON'T STOP WORKING" at us, but they also made me take plates off the bar when my form slipped. I can see how the first thing without the second could be dangerous.
This isn't actually a Crossfit move per se, it's a strongman move called a "Continental Clean" or "Axle Clean/Jerk". The form still isn't great, but I just wanted to point out this isn't a power clean and jerk.
Edit: I missed that someone else posted this below, but thought it deserved it's own easily seen distinction.
I've always though push-ups would be the next thing. People can do them without a solid fitness base, the low effort means they usually have a high rep count attached to them, and a lot of people don't know how easy it is to do them wrong. The thing about muscle-ups is that most people can't do them without a little bit of coaching, so by the time they're doing them for reps, they know how to do them right.
Gymnastic rings are inherently unstable: If the rings go too far back you can tear your shoulder. Being tired increases the risk. Even, strong, experienced people have sustained shoulder injuries doing muscle ups.
The "dirty secret" of Crossfit is that they don't do much to actively ensure the quality of local affiliates, and therefore the brand doesn't always mean much. My personal experiences have all been great, and my coaches have always been extremely safety-conscious, but in light of the nasty things I read on the internet, I wouldn't encourage anyone to blindly trust whatever local Crossfit affiliate happens to pop up down the block. Rather than thinking of Crossfit as a guarantee of a certain standard of quality, think of it as an approach to fitness that is interpreted in various ways by coaches of varying competence.
Also keep in mind that the coach can't always see when you need to ease up or stop. Sometimes they can, but they can only see what is apparent on the outside; they can't feel what you feel.