D-FENCE

The Case Against CrossFit Charles Poliquin

Regarding Poliquin's article.

It seems like his main concerns are the oft repeated lack of testing, proper coaching, focus on form, etc. It's pretty much the main point of every Crossfit basher. If you step back and look at what they are saying, it seems that what they are really complaining about is shitty coaching. I am sure there are some shitty coaches in Crossfit, I haven't worked with any of them yet (thankfully) but I am certain they are out there. Find me a training protocol or athletic endeavor where this isn't true. In my own experience I have worked with shitty Track coaches, shitty Wrestling coaches, and shitty Strength and Conditioning coaches. It didn't invalidate those training methodologies as a whole, and it certainly didn't make me hesitate to work with a good coach in those areas (just the opposite actually).
The related complaint that anyone who pays the fee is now a Lvl 1 certified trainer, is one that I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about. I do think the terminology should be changed from certified trainer to certified Crossfiter, however that doesn't invalidate the idea behind the Lvl 1. Crossfit puts out 270+ workouts a year, many of which contain movements and exercises unfamiliar to someone new to crossfit and/or fitness in general. The Level 1 allows these people to get an exposure to the how and why. It's an overview, nobody is becoming an expert that weekend and nobody is claiming that it will make you one. If you're a good trainer and you do a Lvl 1, now you're a good trainer with some solid Crossfit info. If you're a novice and you do a Lvl 1, you're a novice who's better prepared to tackle a Crossfit WOD. It seems silly to criticize Crossfit for letting untrained people do these workouts (not sure how you would stop them since they are publicly available) on one hand, and then criticize them for providing basic level training on the other.
His second point is that specialization is necessary because generalized training doesn't make you elite at anything. From a Crossfit point of view the only answer is "So what." Everyone with an understanding of Crossfit knows that while you will become stronger with Crossfit you could become even stronger with a specialized strength program. While you will develop cardio-respiratory endurance with Crossfit you could develop more with a dedicated Triathalon program. For that matter doing Crossfit might make you a better baseball player, but time spent swinging a bat or fielding ground balls will do a better job of it. Nobody disputes any of that, but he's comparing apples and oranges. Getting an Olympic level shotputter to improve his shotput is a training program with little carryover to someone in the general public who wants to get in shape. Crossfit is what is, a good way for the average person to become good at a broad range of physical skills, not a magical surefire approach to making you an elite in whatever your chosen specialization is.
His problems with repetition schemes and exercise selection is something that has been dealt with by better minds than me, just recently by Glassman and Rippetoe on the the 3.5 episode of Crossfit radio, but I can say that in my personal experience the workouts are both safe and effective. I spent years working out on teams as a wrestler and a runner, and general fitness training on my own. I have never had as injury free a stretch as I have for the nearly two years I have been Crossfiting. Other than something weird like getting my thumb jammed on a clean or periods of lingering soreness that can be solved by rest and recovery, I have been fine. No pulled muscles, shin splints, torn ligaments, no injuries. As for my performance, I am stronger, faster, and capable of far more work before gassing out than I was before crossfit. So maybe these rep schemes and exercise combo's aren't so bad.
Lastly his complaint that Crossfit endorses controversial exercises has to be some kind of joke. He says he's seen clips on an affiliate site of people jumping onto cars and standing on swiss balls. Jumping onto cars has never been a part of a WOD, so while someone involved in crossfit may have done it, it certainly isn't endorsed (although I'm not sure why it would be that much worse than a box jump if it was). As for standing on a swiss ball, I didn't think it was controversial and I'm sure it isn't crossfit. Sounds alot more like the "functional" or "core" training you're likely to see in a globogym.