Friday Fitness: CrossFit Q&A

FULL DISCLOSURE:  I’ve been participating in CrossFit for over three years and have been a member of a CrossFit Affiliate gym for the last two.

I recently received an e-mail from a guest of H3 that writes for a major Chinese newspaper.  He was interested in writing an article on a growing fitness phenomenon called CrossFit.  You may have recently seen the CrossFit Games featured on ESPN.  The CrossFit community has outgrown Bally’s, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym combined.  And, within the last two years CrossFit has inked a multi-million dollar partnership with Reebok.  CrossFit’s mentality has often been described by the following 100 words that were originally coined by the founder, Greg Glassman:

“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports.”

 

I was asked to answer the following questions about my experience with CrossFit and my thoughts on their style of training:

Ask the Expert: What's the deal with stretching?

Q: Should I be stretching before or after my work out?

A: That’s a great question - and one I get on a daily basis!  In the past it’s been suggested that we should be stretching before we work out to help prevent injury.  However, recent research points to the importance of both the type of stretching and the timing of it in injury prevention and long term improvements in mechanics.  So, what are the 2 main types of stretching and when would you use them?

Dynamic Stretching:  Stretching using speed of movement, momentum and active muscular effort to bring about a stretch.  Dynamic Stretching also increases the blood flow to the target muscle and tissue helping enhance pliability.  It’s ideal before a work out.  Examples would include:  High knees, hamstring curls (kick butts), straight leg kicks, lunges, etc.  Check out this blog on Dynamic Stretching.

Static Stretching:  Holding a stretch using body weight or some other external force.  This activates sensors within the muscles and tendons signaling them to adapt to the increased tension.  Static Stretching produces the best long term gains in flexibility.  It’s important that static stretches are performed only when the muscle fibers are warm and filled with blood.  Thus, you should be doing static stretches after your workout.  Watch the video below for basic stretches and guidelines.

Ask the Expert: Muscle Soreness

Q: Should I still exercise if I'm still a little sore from yesterday's workout?

 

A: Jessica Lynn, B.S., ACSM Health Fitness Specialist®: 

Soreness can be a barrier for many people in maintaining a consistent exercise program, especially when you are just starting out.  It is common to be sore after starting a new program or trying a new activity.  It's important to plan in some low to moderate days of exercise so that you keep your body moving.  Taking several days off after a hard workout does not help you prevent the soreness from coming back - in fact, the soreness may linger for a longer period of time. But if you try some low impact activity (swimming, biking, or walking) at a lower intensity, the day after a moderate to high day of exercise, the movement of your body helps rid the lactic acid from your muscles and will help prevent (or lessen) the soreness from coming back the next time your perform your intense routine. 

 

If you've been to H3, consider the intensity level of your Thermal walks - a leisurely paced activity to promote blood flow through the muscles and rid them of the toxins that promote soreness.  Strength training recommendations already include 48hrs rest between training sessions - if your muscles are still very sore after 1 day of rest, then try reducing your weights and still performing the exercises at your next session.  Remember, the goal is to train your body to remember these new movements and adapt - and our bodies usually need a few practice runs to do that.  

 

Have a question?  The healthy lifestyle experts are here to help!  Email cmaddox@hhhealth.com with your question and check back every Thursday for our feature column.