Happy New Year to everyone, may 2011 bring you whatever it is that you are hoping for; I personally am hoping for about 5-7lbs. of muscle while staying reasonably lean.
I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions; if you want something so bad, why did you wait until an obscure date? Did you ever hear a cancer patient saying, “I think I will wait until after my birthday to start chemo therapy”? If you want a better physique, go for it now. On the other hand, any motion is better than none, so if the January deal at the local gym is what gets you motivated, so be it.
The one instance where no training might be better than some, however, is CrossFit. Yes, there, I said it. I think CrossFit, for the most part, is at the very least dumb and often downright hazardous. It is simply not possible to have 10+ people performing Olympic lifts under the guidance of a trainer who took a weekend exam. I understand the motivation behind CrossFit and how it started. I am also aware that there are some great athletes using CrossFit.
But it has gotten out of control. Wearing a “I’m a badass because I took a CF class” t-shirt still does not enable you to deadlift 500lbs. so stop acting tough. If you cannot do a body weight squat, hitting things with a hammer will not turn you into the Hulk either.
I think the whole machismo thing has gone too far and I am curious to see the amount of injuries CrossFit produces down the road as the quality of coaches continues to deteriorate.
Perhaps your one resolution for 2011 could be to avoid CrossFit at all costs.
Until next time,
Maik Wiedenbach