The Importance of Listening to Your Body

A few weeks back I read this article about Cross Fit.

Needless to say, I wasn't surprised to hear that this popular fitness trend is causing athletic induced injury.

A few quotes from the article...

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"The CrossFit culture is one of pushing your body to the point of near exhaustion. It is a system of punishing exercises built on a platform of peer pressure. Exercisers regularly urge fellow CrossFit members beyond the point they want to go."

"But in the last decade, there have been too many cases of CrossFit-induced rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis, or Rhabdo for short, is a serious and potentially fatal condition resulting from the catastrophic breakdown of muscle cells. It can result in kidney failure and other complications."

"CrossFit now has an unofficial mascot named "Uncle Rhabdo." An Uncle Rhabdo cartoon depicts a muscular clown, standing in a pool of blood, hooked up to a dialysis machine next to some workout equipment. It's clear that Uncle Rhabdo has Rhabdomyolysis, a far from funny medical condition."

"In addition, CrossFit has -- I think sarcastically -- named a children's workout after the Navy technician who successfully sued the company for injuries he received while following the CrossFit exercise regimen."

"Glassman, in a comment on the CrossFit website, wrote, "We have a therapy for injuries at CrossFit called STFU." As in, Shut the f--k up."

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Ugh.  I cannot believe the pompous attitude of the guy who created/runs this program.  Take some unsafe workout practices.  Then throw in some lack of compassion for those who can't do the program, plus encouragement to drive oneself to the point of injury... why in the world would you WANT to spend your money supporting this?!

Not to mention, what about the concept of teaching modifications for those who need them?  Just because someone can't do a move doesn't mean they DON'T want to do it.  Plenty of people simply cannot do certain moves due physical limitations like old injuries, etc.

Working out should be challenging and push you to your limits.  But it shouldn't push you so far over the top that it results in injury or long term damage.  And it certainly shouldn't result in name calling and other miscellaneous slander if you can't keep up or leave the program.

All I can say about this is - please, folks, pick your workouts wisely.  And LISTEN to your body when it tells you it doesn't like what it's doing.  You may save yourself a literal lifetime of hurt.