I remember reading about Crossfit about a year and a half ago when the movie "300" came out. The actors and stuntmen trained with a similar program and got into tremendous shape. The guy who coached them was a mountaineer and routinely trains professional football players and MMA fighters. As far as being able to train for an Ironman with only short workouts of maximal or threshold intensity - I/m with you, I don't believe that either. Strength and strength endurance have a very important place, but when it comes to an Ironman, the majority of training is based on a large aerobic foundation. New vasculature is formed your metabolic pathways are stressed, all in preparation for the long endurance event. The notion that these physiological changes also take place when you workout "really hard" for an hour or two just isn't reality. Physiologically it just doesn't happen.

That said, programs like CrossFit get you into EXCELLENT condition and the added muscular endurance and strength you will get out of it will benefit you at every triathlon distance, as well as in karate. You already have a what, 13 and change Ironman anyway right? I can do around 30 pullups at once, I'll trade you.

11 and change...that's extremely impressive.

I would tend to think that the athletes performing very well after CrossFit training already had a substantial background in those distance events. If not, maybe there is something to be said about the CrossFit training that I don't know about. Either way, please keep this thread alive with updates of the program and how it works for you.

Just be careful....crossfit type of explosive performance can also lead to explosive - and a very rapid onset - of injuries.

I would be interested in hearing how it works for y'all. Like Ironmom, I can't do a chin up to save my life, and don't have a lot of speed.

Ironmom, is your class at a local gym?

I've been really intrigued by Cfit. I did p90x over the winter and definitely feel better as i'm starting my base training. I've added a lot of noticable functional strength and i think Cfit brings a lot of the same. I look forward to hearing how it goes.

i have been doing select crossfit workouts, as i check the workout of the day pretty regularly and will work the ones that i can do into my training schedule. if you have never done any of the olympic power lifts (cleans, jerks, etc) i would beg you to take a course because you can really hurt yourself very easily if you do not have the right technique. anyway, crossfit really kicks your butt in a short amount of time. it is a pretty fun way to throw some cross training in during the winter months if you have the resources. they have a very good group of video examples of their workouts because some of them have funky names that i had never heard of.

Everyday there are more endurance oriented sport enthusiasts getting interested in Crossfit.
Nowadays the whole thing has became very popular all over the country, particulary after those dudes from Gym Jones literally transformed the actors for 300.
I was reading the resume of the founder and he is one tough endurance athlete, you name it, ultrarunning, bicycling and so on.
I was checking the site of Crossfit Endurance, and they are all oriented towards running and such, with postural routines, technique, and so on. There are plenty of ultra runners and triathletes that are incorporating this type of training in to their workout schedules and programs.
This is still to be seen. People say that with crossfit they are better conditioned, more fit physically and mentally. I still think that no tri pro will try to do this stuff, but again results are yet to be seen.
MMA profesionals are the ones that used as the back bone of their physical conditioning this crossfit stuff.
I think that for the recreational oriented tri enthusiast this will refresh and revigorate the sometimes dull routine programs that are more "classic"
I do not think that crossfit will be better than long training runs, long bike rides or swimming drills, but I do think they can coexist.
For some even more purist of the sport of triathlon, I think the mere idea of this new trend will be like doing speed work with headphones and music, because music will not allow them to concentrate.
A few months back there was an interesting argument about crossfit and the other more classic ways to streght train. Very interesting and passioned from some trifuelers defending each side of the argument.
The most feared thing about crossfit...the potencial injuries with those crazy olympic lifts or fliping huge truck tires, and also the attitude, the sort of agresiveness, that comes with the territory.
So to satisfy my own personal curiosity I went to a local crossfit facility here in town, and the owners and coaches agreed to talk to me about their injury rate.
First, interesting enough, the owner/head coach is an adventure racer/ultrarunner, he looks wayyy far different than a Spartan, pretty skinny guy, but with an aerobic and anaerobic conditioning of elite level. The way to avoid injuries at their "box" is by providing safe and detailed training in technique and form to all of their students, and a systematic way to increase the weight loads and difficulty level of the WOD as they call their routines and drills. I noticed lots of regular people, soccer moms, IT geeky guys, overweight individuals, triathletes and runners, even one from my running club. I did not see any spartan looking creature.
The usual injuries are more like in the neighborhood of blistered hands, peeled fingers and such. But for example back injuries, there are zero casualties. Interesting and reasuring I found this.
Personally I do some of the bench mark WODs and I like them, I try to be very careful on the form and weight loads are light, but I have so much fun with them and I feel good afterwards.
I remember someone told me that I was on my way to get injured, so far...so good.

I sounds like if you have correct instruction it could be an cool alternative to regular weight training.

Well I guess I am bringing back an old thread. I started Crossfit a few weeks ago at a local Crossfit gym. I love it. In the class I attend you must master any movement that requires a barbell with PVC pipe first. This may sound easy, but most of the barbell movements (e.g. clean jerk) are easier to do with weight as you naturally tend to put your body in a position to best support the weight. This attention to detail is their best form of injury prevention as concerns were voiced earlier in this thread. This method is a lso very succesful for injury prevention. The CF community is like the tri comunity in that everyone is very supportive and it takes a certain type to enjoy this sorta training. I strongly recomend it to everyone. It will kick your ass and leave you begging for mecry all in less than 20 minutes.