…gets some popcorn ready
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How old are you?
I was told you don’t need to s/b/r if you do CrossFit.
I’m 26 I don’t see what that has to do with anything I asked in my original post. I’m not looking to debate on wether crossfit has benefits or doesn’t benefit triathlon training. This question goes out to those who do crossfit and also s/b/r. If you’re here to judge, simply don’t reply
Brian,
I would highly suggesting searching this topic or you are going to get way more than you bargined for…
Additionally, perhaps the crossfit endurance message boards would be a better place for you to ask this question.
I’ll bite. I’ll start by saying that I’m a 46 year old female. Been doing tris for 20 plus years. Generally am top 10 in AG in bigger races (IM, WF, 70.3 stuff). Even made podium at IMAZ once. (note: I ALWAYS lift weights in the off season and have since 1996 (along with XC ski racing). For a small female, and now one dealing with age and loss of muscle mass (menopause sucks), I find it is imperative to maintain leg strength with weights, and it works for ME.
I started going to Cross in Nov as a “try something new” - strength training in the off season with a group of triathlete girlfriends. I’ll admit. I loved it. I loved the challenge, the WOD’s, the wendlers, the wall balls, the running, the whole enchilada. I could hardly do a few push ups and pullups were not even in the ball game when i started. By the time I had to quit (January), I could use the smallest cheater bands for 100 pulls, and do 200 guy pushups. And yeah, the nay sayers will say so what, what does this do for tri… well, I had been dealing for rotator cuff issues for about a year. could not swim more than 2000 yards without pain. Within 4 weeks of cross, they were totally gone. something PT and everything else i did was unable to fix. swimming also just felt easier and shoulders so much stronger.
I also felt stronger on the bike in forever. My Dec. Sat. morning CT efforts definitely showed improvement, could easily hold 185w and up for 20 min intervals (even when i was wasted from cross). My LT test (blood) in late Oct was pathetic, like 167w. Worst I had even tested. ever. Yes, I was still doing bike work, 3 days per week. so no, I can’t contribute all the power gains to cross. that would be silly.
Anyhow, I had hoped to write a post one day about my winter experience with Cross, but I let my ego get the better of me with some max thrusters in early January, and ended up herniating a disc (again, 3rd herniation), and had surgery Feb 7. i have strutural problems with my back and had no business doing what i was doing and knew better. i am a huge idiot.
in my limited experience, i do not think the average Crossfit gym owner understands endurance tri and that you just can’t go squat a shit ton of weight for 6 months and then hop on the bike in May and ride a 5 hour bike split. not gonna happen, but somehow they think this is possible. you have to do both. and they can compliment each other.
if you are going to try to race, you need to scale back on the weights and just do the WOD’s with body weight. if you are doing something like Fran, I would drop the weight you are using on the thrusters, and definitely not increase until race season is over.
i will also say that i don’t think i could ever go back to a normal gym after doing cross. i’m sort of hooked. i will go back to cross in the fall, once my core is stable enough to handle the WOD. for me the Olympic style lifting is forever gone. i am just not structurally sound (not many are except the young and dumb:) enough to handle max anything (squats / deadlifts / thrusters) again. i will just do light weights and body weight. for now, i bought a TRX and am getting personal instruction on that to deal with my back issues and rebuild the deep core.
i’ve outted myself and the flameproof suit is now on…
hi, my name is Sue, and i love crossfit.
Ohhhhh…they have crossfit endurance forums?
Quick ten reps picking up a tire, run around the building jump on the rower , do some chin ups
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What’s your training schedule like between s/b/r workouts and crossfit?
Swim: 30%
Bike: 40%
Run: 30%
Crossfit: 0%
I would say, this is quite optimal for triathlon, if anything, you might do a bit more bike/run instead of swimming.
Now if you prepare for crossfit games, I would change that to:
Crossfit: 100%
Specific training trumps general training most of the time, so crossfit is a good preparation for crossfit games and little else.
Just a reality check: How many of the Ironman Hawaii Top 20 finisihers are training crossfit on a regular basis?
Easy there, big fella.
I ask how old you are because CF is very taxing on the body. At 26 you could probably go 6 months doing what your instructor tells you before you get injured. Once you hit 40 or so (like me) it’s time to choose. Do you you want to CF, or do you want to do (insert any other activity here).
Ask anyone who is doing or has done CF regularly (really pick away at them and get to the story beneath the story) and you will find most, if not all, CFers have been injured eventually.
I am not saying that CF does no good. It will make you very “fit”. I’m just saying that most mortals will start to break down after a while. Do 6 weeks, take a break, etc. and you may be fine.
Add a s/b/r regimen in addition and, well something’s gotta give.
As a side note, you seem really defensive about it. If you think I’m “judging” or attacking you (common with CFers when anyone says anything negative about it (which is even more reason for concern)), you’re off base. It seems fairly logical that if you’re doing several, hour long, high intensity workouts per week (not mention s/b/r) your going to break yourself.
At 26 years old you could probably tolerate a lot. When I was 26 I did tons of crazy shit. I am paying for it now. Pain is not fun. I’m not talking about mile 22 of an IM run type pain (that is fun), I’m talking about pain pain.
You can go ahead and dismiss what I say. I don’t really care.
You are going to get flamed on ST. I’m not flaming you.
Good luck, be careful.
PS: When “sto” Sue goes back to CF after she rehabs her herniated disc (how did she get that, again?), she will injure herself again.
I agree with alot of what you say. Esp. about the injuries. Esp. for the over 40 crowd.
And alot of Crossers have drunk the koolaid and will defend it to the death. Agreed.
Hour long workouts? Not once did I ever do a workout that was this long. The average crossfit workout is about 15 minutes of ass kicking. The longest I ever did was 47 minutes which included 2 miles of running.
considering the first 2 hermiations happened riding by bike, i’ll take that bet.
Sue
considering the first 2 hermiations happened riding by bike, i’ll take that bet.
Sue
Even if I was a gambling man I would **not **take that bet. I don’t want to make personal gains from the misfortune of others.
Like I said to “briandelmo”, I don’t really care what people do. If you want to do CF go right ahead. When you injure yourself again you will haunted by the name, “Bigpuss”. And for that I apologize in advance.
I wasn’t really being that defensive. The only reason I got a bit defensive is because I wanted to keep on track with the question and not turn this into a flame war, which it already has.
sto brings up a good point though, pointing out injury potential for either sport is basically a wash. Pick your poison. 
I wasn’t really being that defensive.
To quote yoda, “You will be. You will be.”
If you think you’re getting flamed now just wait until some of these guys get a few drinks in 'em.
You haven’t seen shit. I’m waiting for the entirely new post put up for the sole purpose of mocking this post.
I was actually trying to be helpful.
sto brings up a good point though, pointing out injury potential for either sport is basically a wash. Pick your poison.
In a round about way that is what I was trying to say (conveniently leaving out s/b/r injury potential). The op wants to CF and s/b/r. I was just pointing out the almost certainty of injury in that case.
I know a lot of people that do s/b/r training (for years) and have never been hurt (maybe some blisters, sore calves, etc. that healed with a couple days going easy).
I know a lot of people who do/have done CF and all have been injured fairly bad within 10 weeks.
I tweaked a calf muscle training for an IM. It was after doing one of those long double bricks. Two days later I’m doing an “easy” run and something gave.
But, hey try doing a 7 hour CF workout and see what happens.
A valid question is: why are you doing crossfit? Ie: what are the actual goals you wish to achieve and this will guide how you schedule SBR and crossfit. FWIW I don’t crossfit but do “ordinary” weights (squat, deadlift, bench, cleans etc), twice a week usually before my easy bike session for the week.
I only lift because I am required to have a baseline strength. If could ditch the weights I would. Except lifting heavy things is waaay cool.
Just out of curiousity, for how long did you do Crossfit?