Pro and Cons of CrossFit Training.

In less you have been living under the sea you have heard of CrossFit and all it great benefits.  Maybe you have heard co-workers or family members brag about how CrossFit has taken their workouts and body to the next level.  You may have heard from other co-workers, trainers, or family members that CrossFit is just a bunch of meat heads trying to out do each other with no guidance leading to a greater risk of injury.

If you are on the fence about trying it out here is a short Pro and Con list to help you decide, and if you fall in the group of wanting to try CrossFit will give you a few things to look for in your CrossFit gym choice.

PRO	CON
Trainer Led –certified trainers lead Classes. You will get the benefits of having a trainer, at a lower cost.	Not all trainers are created equal. Yes classes are lead by trainers, but as in any profession some just aren’t as good as others.  If the trainer doesn’t take the time to show you the basics and work on your form with your, or pushes too hard or too far for you abilities then you could end up on the injury train.
Total Body Fitness: Crossfit works every part of your body and forces you to change up your workouts on a regular basis so that the body doesn’t get accustomed to the same exercise	Lack of instruction. This con piggybacks on the first one. Some classes and trainers will focus on the class as one big person and monitor that you are doing the exercise with the correct form.
There is a sense of camaraderie within the classes that help you push yourself forward, and well it is always nice to suffer with others.	Competition breeds injury. Having a class full of people can push you further than you would go on your own, but if the since of competition is too great you can also push yourself too far and hurt yourself.
Varity- granted this may be a cheat as it is similar to the reasons behind total body, but variety will keep you from being bored so you are more inclined to continue on working out.	In some cases the CrossFit programs are a bit random and will have you working the same muscle group too for it to have recovered from the first round leading to an increased chance of injury.
Fitness based results vs. Look based results.  While you can’t help but look better doing Crossfit, the classes and your peers look more at your fitness improvements instead of how you are looking in your gym clothes.	CrossFit only gets you better at Crossfit.  Not necessarily a con (or a bad thing), but if you are training for a marathon, cycling event or any other sport CrossFit won’t really make you better at these. A body needs to learn to adapt to the demands that are placed on it, i.e. if you are training for a marathon your body needs to experience demands that will improve endurance running. Crossfit will not do this.

As with any fitness routine there are pros and cons, and the above list could go on and on, but at some point you just have to make a choice of what is right for you and your fitness goals.  If you a beginner or just coming back from an injury CrossFit may not be right for you  (now) you may benefit from a few personalized training sessions or group classes with other beginners. However, if you have been working out and in pretty good shape maybe CrossFit is what you need to get over the boredom of your work out or over come your fitness plateau.