So the month has come to an end. It’s been a full month of CrossFit and using this experience (along with my previous experiences) to look at how P90X and CrossFit compare.
More Workouts!
I can finally say that my body is feeling pretty good with the new workouts and different workouts. I was pretty continually sore for the first couple weeks. But I am now feeling really good. Coach Wayne was giving me some grief after last week’s post. Something along the lines of “oh 20 minutes of snatch… cool workout. Sounds fun LOL.” I think that was it. First in defense of that workout, it was fun. There was so much to learn that you wouldn’t want to do anything else, but I get what he is saying. That didn’t have any variation. So let me run through some highlights of this last week.
I think the coolest one I have done so far was called “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Here’s a run down of it:
Complete reps/exercises in any order/amount. Must complete Buy-In to score. Time cap 25 minutes.
1000m row (can’t remember – .1 for 10m? not sure)
200 Double Unders (.2 pts)
50 pull ups (1 pt for bonus)
40 HSPU (1.2 pts for bonus)
The extra points were for an bonus reps above the prescribed reps. So if you row your 1000m, 200 DUs, 50 pull ups, and 20 Hand Stand Push Ups, you could go back to any exercise and do more reps in whatever time remaining to earn more points.
The squat cleans were a HUGE pain. I started out with the row. That got the HR up and stopping to do your 3 cleans not only taxed you a bit more but took time off your next round to row. I tried to do it all as prescribed. One of the options to scale the workout was 2 minutes of DU attempts. I could have saved a lot of time there, but decided to do all 200 reps. I am not getting about 20-30 DUs a time before I hit myself in legs.
It came down to the wire, but I was 8 reps short on the HSPUs. It killed me! If I had one more round, I would have done it!
I also got to do some standard CrossFit workouts, some of the girls, “Helen” and “Jackie.” For Jackie, you do a 1000 meter row, 50 Squat Thrusters (full front squat into a press and back into a squat and press… repeat) with a 45 lb bar, 30 pull-ups. I did Jackie in 8:40 and felt ok with it. My row was good just over 3:30 but I am still working on thrusters. They totally felt off the entire time. The pull ups were no issue and I banged them out. Top, top, top athletes will do it around 5 minutes. It’s crazy to watch. YouTube it some time.
So P90X Vs CrossFit?
I’ve given you a lot of my experiences so far, but what about any comparisons?
Variety? – N/A
If you were only to compare P90X and CrossFit, you would have to come to the conclusion that CrossFit has a bigger variety of workouts. But at the end of the day, no one is going to only do P90X for the rest of their life. Just like a CrossFitter wouldn’t pick 12 WODs and only do those forever. Both change and adapt. Beachbody has just as large of a variety. People from all fitness levels can find a place to start and progress to more challenging workouts as their fitness level improves.
CrossFit also has a somewhat finite selection of exercises. You’re at the mercy of your gym and its programming to determine if you get a big variety. You could be limited on what gear your gym has too. Again, it’s not a knock, but if you do CrossFit, you are going to do CrossFit styles of workouts. I just feel Beach body gives you more options that are truly different.
Safety? – P90X > CrossFit
I gave this to P90X for variety of reasons, so let me explain.
First, I know that I’ve been extremely fortunate with the gym I’ve found. This is not the case for everyone who starts CrossFit. You may not be as fortunate as I have been to have good coaches or positive environment. That combination of a bad coach in an overly competitive environment is what will get you hurt. As I talked about last week, I also think CrossFit is pretty shoulder intensive. If you start to develop shoulder problems, it’s going to get discouraging quickly. The same could also be said for knees. Box jumps are not easy on your knees, so repetitive pounding might take it’s toll.
Second, I do think there’s inherently more risk of injury when using barbells as opposed to dumbbells. Dumbbells are much easier to drop and get out of the way of if things go bad. Also the exercises you are doing with most Beachbody programs don’t have you doing nearly as complicated lifts with as much weight.
(*This is not to discourage lifting hard. I like lifting as heavy as I can for me. But I’ve also seen very questionable self videos from other Beachbody people that show you can lift stupid at home just like you were at the gym. We are all responsible for ourselves.)
Finally, your programming at CrossFit is entirely dependent on your gym. They may not schedule adequate time for recovery or even use some of the safety measures that CrossFit is put in place for its workouts. Most workouts will either utilize a time limit or a rep count. So a really experienced athlete will go all out and get the workout done, while a less experienced person will hit the cap and not be spending 45 minutes trying to get the last 50 DUs. Some gyms are bad. At least with P90X or any other Beachbody program, you are getting a consistent product and it is up to you to follow it.
Nutrition? P90X > CrossFit
I gave this again to P90X based on the inconsistency from gym to gym with CrossFit.
The CrossFit community usually falls into the Paleo (primal) camp or Zone diet (40/30/30). Where your gym falls is unknown. I didn’t go out of my way to ask about nutrition, but really listen to see what was talked about. It was pretty safe and harmless and advice. Most of the coaches recommended whole foods but nothing came across as real, solid advice. I didn’t hear advice going to the more out of shape clients either.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with the Zone diet. It’s nutrition tracking with a slightly higher percentage of calories coming from fat. I wouldn’t want to do zone for my entire life as I really like carbs! I think the Zone would work well for dieting down with a calorie deficit.
Paleo has never interested me as I’m not a fan of extreme diets. Any time you demonize one macronutrient, you become extreme in my mind. We were made to eat protein, carbs, and fat! Carbohydrates have their place, including grains and cereals. Carbs are your quickest fuel source. So as we think about fueling our bodies during an extended workout, simple carbs are actually best.
I just don’t see how Paleo is truly a lifestyle (for most people). I want how I eat to be part of me. Not a burden. I want lifelong skills to allow me to eat to fuel my body, stay at a healthy weight, and not miss out on life. For me, I find that to be nutrition tracking and IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros). I don’t see any one macro as “bad.”
P90X and teamRIPPED has given me the best base of nutrition. Coach Wayne showed me how to track, how to set a calorie goal, and how to manipulate macros to hit certain goals. I like that Beachbody always puts in right out there, with any program, that nutrition is critical! I didn’t get that same feeling with my CF experience.
Where do I go from here? P90X vs CrossFit
I have truly had a blast over this last month. My experiences been nothing but positive. I’ve learned a lot and really enjoyed getting to know the group of people that make up my CrossFit gym. That should be a big take away for everyone. People that do Beach body programs, those that do CrossFit, those that do Zumba (shudder LOL), or those that go to the gym are all doing what they like to get in shape and stay in shape. My dad would always say with cars, that if there is one best car everyone would have it. The same is true with exercise. If there is truly one best way to work out — One that was superior to all — Everyone would be training that way! But that’s not the case. You need to look at your goals, interests, and abilities to find what’s best for you.
I’ll be returning to my garage. I would love to keep doing CrossFit. For me it’s a money issue. I would have a hard time justifying the monthly membership fees when I know I can get a great workout at home (we also have been approved to adopt, so we are tightening our fiscal belts everywhere!). If my CrossFit gym was free, sure I’d still keep it in the mix!
I will take away some valuable experiences and new skills, and I’ll definitely add in the occasional WOD to my hybrids. :)
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
