Is Crossfit For Overweight & Obese People?

Overweight people can excel at Crossfit, and it can be a great way to lose weight as well. There are many body transformation testimonies and videos to this degree. But like anything in life, it takes dedication, commitment and hard work. So can the average overweight or obese person do crossfit?.

The answer essentially is yes, if you’re overweight you can do crossfit. There’s nothing stopping you except your body. But this is where the problem lays, within your body. Crossfit is a pretty active and demanding exercise routine. So for someone that hasn’t picked up a dumbbell in 20 years, keeping up may become a struggle.

But by no means am I saying this is an excuse to not exercise. The fact of the matter is, we should all exercise. No if buts or maybes. But what you need to determine, is whether crossfit is an appropriate avenue for you to take. The easiest way to determine if you think you are too heavy to do crossfit or not is to simply watch a few videos on YouTube and try a couple routines out at home. Without the pressures and heavy workload. Once you feel comfortable with a few basics, then step out and get competitive in the crossfit world. Become one of those crossfit obese to beast testimonies.

Advantages Of Being A Big Person Doing Crossfit

Since the Crossfit workouts use the same weight for everyone (well, one weight for men and one for women) this means that in the weightlifting elements an overweight person may have an advantage because they likely have some decent strength. They may find the bodyweight elements harder, but they will get in shape fast!

Most Crossfit boxes have a very friendly atmosphere and will encourage people, regardless of their experience level, overall fitness or weight. You’re not doing Crossfit because you are strong and fit – you are doing it to become strong and fit.

Should You Do Crossfit If You’re Overweight?

While Crossfit is designed for practically anyone at any fitness level, when you are very much out of shape it will be much more difficult. I personally am aiming to step into the crossfit arena once I feel more comfortable with my overall fitness level. Right now I prefer to use my high weight home gym equipment and gradually ease my way into it.

At my weight and level of fitness, I don’t think the extra stress on my heart would be a good thing. Would certainly be a shock to the system. So currently I am building up my cardio from elliptical machines and go for daily walks on my treadmill. Both are a work in progress and I know it will take many years to get to where I want to be. But I am certainly excited to begin crossfit when I can. I guess it’s the competitive nature I have.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Below is a short video showing a couple of overweight people attempt crossfit for the first time. While humorous with the odd curse word, it’s a good reflection of what exactly to expect if you step into crossfit today without any previous exercising.

 

What Training Exactly?

Crossfit is a form of exercise that has become incredibly popular in the last decade or so. It is a great way to get in shape, and it includes bodyweight exercises, weight training, and cardio. To put it simply, it’s ‘exercising’. However, because of the emphasis on varied workouts and on competition both against your past self, and against others, it is more fun and more motivational to many people than simply going to the gym and lifting weights.

It’s usually practiced in the form of ‘WODs’ – Workout of the Day. Each time you train, you will be tasked with performing a set of exercises for time, or for ‘as many reps as possible’. The exercises that you do could range from something like box jumps to burpees, kettlebell swings, deadlifts, cleans, or pull ups. There is the option to do the workout with a fixed weight (the same weight that other practitioners are doing) or to scale it.

Many serious Crossfit practitioners take part in the ‘Crossfit Games‘ where they will do their workouts and get scored against other people. With these challenges, the participants are all expected to perform the same workout, and are asked to time it or count the reps. If the workout is done with the set (or Rx) weight that all practitioners are expected to use, then they will be ranked against other users from all over the world. If you scale the workout, you can still get a score, but the score will be much lower. It’s this competitive element that is so appealing for a lot of people. That, plus the variety of the workouts of the day, and the team spirit in must crossfit gyms, or ‘boxes’ as they are called.

Who Can Do Crossfit?

Anyone can do Crossfit. The workouts can be scaled, and this means that it can appeal to anyone. A beginner can try the same workout as someone who has been lifting weights for decades. They may modify some lifts, they may do fewer repetitions and they may use a lighter weight, but they will still be taking part in the same workout and they will still be enjoying the same fun and the same team atmosphere.

Should You Expect To Injure Yourself?

Crossfit is incredibly popular and because of this it is offered at a lot of gyms, and the standard varies massively. Crossfit is practiced by a huge number of people, and it is a sport where people are encouraged to push themselves and test their limits. It involves lifting heavy weights, doing plyometrics, and doing Olympic lifts. This all means that there is some risk of injury.

If you are patient and disciplined then the risk of injury should be minimal. Do your homework and make sure that you find a good gym to train at – one where you can get detailed coaching on the lifts so that you don’t have to worry about doing them incorrectly. Remember, also, to focus on form at all times. When you are told to do as many reps as possible of an exercise it can be tempting to sacrifice form to get more reps in – but that will harm you in the long term. You will get stronger, and be able to train longer, if you do things right but more slowly.

All Round Great For Fitness

Many people who do Crossfit do so as a supplement to other sports. It is a great form of strength and conditioning so it can help you with martial arts, with football, and with pretty much any other sport that you can think of. While sport-specific training is going to offer you a lot of other benefits, training for general physical preparedness is also useful.

Being strong makes everything feel like less effort. Having good cardio allows you to practice for longer. Crossfit, when trained mindfully, can help with both of these. So, whatever stage you are at in your health and fitness career, why not try visiting a Crossfit box for your next workout?