What has been your biggest obstacle?

[Michael Hollister]

Agree--my biggest obstacle has been pre-existing injuries and lack of knowledge.

Even as a fairly active military guy, my sedentary life was still clearly taking a toll.

Jumping in to CrossFit, even with good training on the movements, I was getting hurt because I didn't really know how to use my body.

When you spend a lot of time at a desk and driving (like most of us), and have been doing that for years, you begin to atrophy in key stabilization muscles that most of us take for granted (e.g. hip flexors).

For me this led to unstable hips, and an ensuing chain reaction of unstable joints and muscle compensations throughout my body. Bear in mind I was pretty yoked and scoring top scores in the USMC fitness tests. But I was still getting hurt.

Thankfully I discovered that stabilization and alignment was the issue and was able to fix it (on my own).

Sure would have been nice to know that before diving in, but now I just try to coach people to prevent the same from happening to them.

[Ben Kissam]

Originally Posted by Michael Hollister

Agree--my biggest obstacle has been pre-existing injuries and lack of knowledge.

Even as a fairly active military guy, my sedentary life was still clearly taking a toll.

Jumping in to CrossFit, even with good training on the movements, I was getting hurt because I didn't really know how to use my body.

When you spend a lot of time at a desk and driving (like most of us), and have been doing that for years, you begin to atrophy in key stabilization muscles that most of us take for granted (e.g. hip flexors).

For me this led to unstable hips, and an ensuing chain reaction of unstable joints and muscle compensations throughout my body. Bear in mind I was pretty yoked and scoring top scores in the USMC fitness tests. But I was still getting hurt.

Thankfully I discovered that stabilization and alignment was the issue and was able to fix it (on my own).

Sure would have been nice to know that before diving in, but now I just try to coach people to prevent the same from happening to them.

Thanks for sharing. What box are you at? I'm down in Denver.

[Aaron Gainer]

Time is the biggest factor. I have gone to an everyday program using Dan Johns principles(push, pull, hinge, squat, and carry), and avg about 30-40 minutes including warmup. Making better gains than I ever have due to the frequency and simplicity of the program. Learn to take a step back in your programming, and you will take two steps forward with the progress(think wendler and christopher sommers training principles).

[Ben Kissam]

Originally Posted by Aaron Gainer

Time is the biggest factor. I have gone to an everyday program using Dan Johns principles(push, pull, hinge, squat, and carry), and avg about 30-40 minutes including warmup. Making better gains than I ever have due to the frequency and simplicity of the program. Learn to take a step back in your programming, and you will take two steps forward with the progress(think wendler and christopher sommers training principles).

That's cool to see. Simplifying things really can be amazing, but most people aren't willing to buy into that line of thinking. Thanks for sharing.

[Andrew G Parker]

Degenerative discs limits my weights work. My job tends to be the other limiting factor.

My cardio progression is limited. I tend to reflux when I work out and medications don't help. So after cardio work, I spend most of a day coughing and hacking in response to the burn in my throat. I limit my workout, as I need to be able to speak clearly with clients.

I started CrossFit at age 48 and am 52 now. If I have made some real progress, but the cardio is my biggest detriment still.