CrossFit anyone?

[~liz~]

Hello All:

I was just checking to see if any of you do CrossFit?
Have you still had gains?
Do you feel: ON with the being a raw crossfitter?

Please share your experiences. I crossfit daily and would like to have a community on here. They really push zone-paleo and I want to prove it can be done RAW!!!

Peace out~!

Liz

[spicyfull]

Not I, just giving it a Bump, so you can get your answer...

[~liz~]

still waiting to hear if anyone crossfits while raw. Anybody?
Bumping it up, again!

[spicyfull]

Could you possibly mean "Cross Train" where you do more than one exercise during your course?

[Colorawdo girl]

My question exactly...what IS it?

[~liz~]

No, not cross train, crossfit.
You can check it out.

crossfit.com

[rkk]

I just started CrossFit two weeks ago, as there is a studio in my city which I started going to. I live in Arizona. :) They don't follow the sites' WOD, but they make their own workout-of-the-day for us when we come in.

Since I am pretty out-of-shape right now it might be awhile before I can tell how much improvement I'm making. I'm attending 3 classes per week, and was super-sore after last week.

Yes, they pushed the Paleo stuff on me too, and wasn't too happy that I was vegan. I just started 100% raw 5 days ago, so I am interested in seeing how the two work together. I haven't been to Crossfit yet this week (will go tomorrow), as I have been tired the last few days (probably detox). They ask me how my nutrition is going and I tell them 'good'... though I am a bit nervous telling them about raw foods as the coaches there would freak out as they are all meat-heads.

[futureboy]

Yes, I'm a regular CrossFit'er again now. Last summer I had gone back to Paleo as I could barely stay awake on raw, and right now I'm mostly raw vegan but I will sometimes have some seafood.

I'm torn on the idea of raw vegan + CrossFit. Yes, they thought I was crazy being a vegan, but I think they are assuming I'll eat pastas and breads and other crap. Raw vegan, as it were, is actually a subset of the Paleo diet, so we should be natural allies.

How did I perform on raw vegan + CrossFit? Well, I'd been out of the game for months so I am horribly out of shape, but I did notice that recovery was very quick. I am now working out 6 days/week (3x CrossFit WODs, 3x iwantsixpackabs.com workout) so having quick recovery was very important for me.

I don't feel as if I've gained much muscle yet, nor have I lost much weight, but it's only been about 10 days now so it might take some time.

I think there might be a period of detox I need to undergo that I simply have not been able to experience. 30 days of raw after months if not years of whatever diets is just not enough to fully detoxify the body, and I don't think I'll start showing major gains of strength until my body gets at least another month of detox.

Plenty of sources indicate that vegans (and raw vegans in particular who avoid crappy carb foods) have quick recovery, higher metabolisms, higher endurance, and actually are more motivated to work out (many sources but primarily the China Study). But I simply don't have a lifestyle where I can afford to detox for three months straight. If I were working a more normal job with normal hours, it could be done, but that's the way it goes.

I've read of a lot of weight lifters and high intensity exercisers who go from omnivore or Paleo diets TO raw vegan, and they find they end up maintaining their current muscle happily and having performance gains, but I haven't read of anyone who went from overweight, out of shape, to lean with lots of added muscle entirely on a raw vegan diet. I do wish someone would finance research into this space.

CrossFit and raw vegan is definitely doable though -- and theoretically someone who is on a raw vegan diet should outperform another CrossFit person who is on Paleo, but of course this is assuming everything else is equal.

[~liz~]

Just curious. I want to know so I have something to compare to. I want to stay raw, but I get a little fatigued with the demands of the workout.

[Johnny B]

I believe it crossfitting can be done within a Raw lifestyle. However, I believe you mentioned you crossfit every day; if so, you may not be recovering properly and/or replenishing your glycogen stores (muscle carbs) after a crossfit session depletes them.

Honestly, crossfit type work outs every day or even the majority of the week will lead to burnout in the long run and quite possibly set the stage for injury. So, keep an eye on that. If you are crossfitting every day, try to bring it down to 3 or 4 times per week and pepper in lighter intensity work in between. Prioritize your recovery sessions over your intensity sessions and make sure you get in more carbs (which is tougher on a Raw diet) if you're going intense often.

[~liz~]

Thanks everyone! I'm just wondering as CrossFit really pushes paleo and zone and I don't really want to do either of those plans.

Johnny, no, I don't crossfit everyday. Usually 2 days on, rest, 3 days on, rest or something like that and I don't always do the crossfit WOD. I mix in a day or two of O-lifting.
If I can't get to the facility then I go for a trail run or do something along those lines.
I will say however, that in defense of crossfit, there are several people that I work out with, that have been crossfiting for about 3 years, that do workout 5-6 days a week, consistently, and no injuries.
Just a thought.

Thanks for the advice, though. It was well received.
:)

[theresaann]

This stuff looks like bootcamp like stuff to me. Is that accurate? Also, I went to crossfit.com and they have all kinds of info EXCEPT sample routines, like which exercises, in which order, how many reps, etc. Do you know where to find that info? also, you mention that there are facilities that offer this stuff. Do you know where to find them? thanks!

[Johnny B]

You can find a few routines here (http://www.squidoo.com/crossfit-fitness)

You can find a facility near you by finding your state on the left hand side of this page. (http://www.crossfit.com/cf-affiliates/) Just scroll down a bit.

[~liz~]

you can find the workouts here:
http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html