So you may remember in this post that I mentioned that I had signed up for the Crossfit Fundamentals course, well I signed up so I had to go. A point to note is that I was quite sore after my tester Crossfit session so actually nearly wimped out of the Fundamentals course! The fundamentals course basically teaches you the correct form for the different lifts and moves that they do in the classes.
The Fundamentals course that runs at Limitless Health Crossfit are completed over 5 sessions – two are private sessions and then three are within the Crossfit class but you have more of a one on one session that just being in the class. So it is a pretty good way to learn some of the techniques without feeling overwhelmed. They also had a clear focus on safety and how to pick up an item correctly and how to modify movements according to what you can do.
In the first class which I was, to be honest pretty terrified to go to, we started with a 1,000m row to warm up then moved onto proper squatting technique, and kettlebell swings. That may not seem like a long workout, but we also learned all about Crossfit, what the sessions are like, what a WOD is etc. And I also quizzed them about cool down exercises and the risk of injury – all of which our coach was more than happy to talk to us on. I was SO sore for the next two days and then it was onto Fundamentals class 2!
In the second session, things certainly stepped up. We did a 1,500m row to warm up and then moved onto how to properly do deadlifts, wall balls and overhead press. It was all about technique and nothing like the crazy things you see at the Crossfit Games! I also attempted a pull-up – I say attempted as I do not think what I did could be considered a proper pull up – I believe I was off the ground for a whole 1 second. 😛 But nevertheless, I went and I survived.
The next few sessions are done as part of the normal Crossfit class. And the people were so supportive. I have to say that I have never been anywhere where people genuinely seem to help totally off their own back and compared to the regular gym it is totally different. I think that the reason that this so far has worked for me is that I am not made to feel like a dumbass or weak etc.
The workouts are scaled WAY back, meaning that in one session for overhead press I was using a PVC pipe to get my form correct, and literally, everyone else in the class was lifting a strong weight. But I didn’t feel ridiculous as I was still doing the movement and not one person (that I seen!) batted an eyelid. I had heard horror stories about people getting injured and lifting more than they could before they were ready but that is certainly not the case at Limitless. It seems to be all about you not getting injured and scaling everything back to a level where you only do what you are able to do and that really appeals to me.
So have I signed up to go to normal classes? Well…. the answer is yes. 3 classes a week to be exact – Crossfit is not cheap due to the small classes and the more attention that you receive that in a normal gym/class situation so as much as I would like to go more, right now this is what I can do. And to be honest I think that for my own body – going from doing very little to 3 classes a week will be plenty. Have you tried Crossfit? If so what is your box like? 🙂
