does cf make the athlete or do the athletes make cf?

[Troy Kenshin]

hey all, i think it needless to say that you've probably seen some sort of awesome crossfit video of people doing some insane gymnastics movements like handstand pushups on rings, l-sits into handstands, levers etc as well as people with incredible strength/ speed.

my question is, can a regular person, who was not an elite athlete prior to crossfit hope to accomplish such goals using crossfit.
if I'm not being clear what I'm saying is must one have a high level of specification or be able to do these skills before cf(and use cf to just become well rounded) or can a ,in my case 18 year old athlete, not elite athlete come to cf and master gymnastics movements while also progressing in strength /metcon

[Jordan Derksen]

Yes and No.

Basically you can do regular crossfit (whatever that is anyway) and just spend time biasing towards gymnastics. I've done this before and it pays off really well especially cause most crossfitters totally ignore proficiency in gymnastics. Just spend time in your warmups practising more advanced gymnastics moves.

Nothing will ever come without practice. Crossfit can give you a good all around base level of strength to jump off of, but you won't ever be able to just walk up to some rings one day and do an L-sit to Handstand without ever practicing it.

But especially since your not an athlete prior to this then all I would say is be careful with your volume. Crossfit by itself should be plenty for a good year or so depending on current fitness. Then you can start adding stuff on top and spending more time on weaknesses or just things you like. That's how I've done it. No prior athletic background I came into this thang and now I'm doin alright.

Prior elite fitness status doesn't make you amazing, training makes you amazing. So go get it.

I wish I started this at 18. Geez.

EDIT: Also if you ever want some really good gymnastics input check out www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum (WFS) or a guy with a more capoeira inspired equilibrist slant is Ido Portal. Just google him. I used to salivate over all that free info like crazy.

[Evan Peikon]

i had a similar question

[Troy Kenshin]

Originally Posted by Jordan Derksen

Yes and No.

Basically you can do regular crossfit (whatever that is anyway) and just spend time biasing towards gymnastics. I've done this before and it pays off really well especially cause most crossfitters totally ignore proficiency in gymnastics. Just spend time in your warmups practising more advanced gymnastics moves.

Nothing will ever come without practice. Crossfit can give you a good all around base level of strength to jump off of, but you won't ever be able to just walk up to some rings one day and do an L-sit to Handstand without ever practicing it.

But especially since your not an athlete prior to this then all I would say is be careful with your volume. Crossfit by itself should be plenty for a good year or so depending on current fitness. Then you can start adding stuff on top and spending more time on weaknesses or just things you like. That's how I've done it. No prior athletic background I came into this thang and now I'm doin alright.

Prior elite fitness status doesn't make you amazing, training makes you amazing. So go get it.

I wish I started this at 18. Geez.

EDIT: Also if you ever want some really good gymnastics input check out www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum (WFS) or a guy with a more capoeira inspired equilibrist slant is Ido Portal. Just google him. I used to salivate over all that free info like crazy.

I obviously knew that id need to practice the gymnastics to get good, but i meant can cf build the strength to do it, which you answered. basically my program is doing either a power or classic lift first then a metcon and later in the day I've been fooling around with skill work.

and by saying i wasn't an elite athlete before this i meant no major championships. I was however a good runner in high school (17 min 5k as a junior/ 4th in the county in the 1000m/ an all league wrestler three times)

[Adam Kryskow]

You'll be fine. Crossfit is a great athletic base to stand on. If you want to be amazing at something do that something. If you want to be prepared for anything do Crossfit.

[Brendan McNamar]

There are logical progressions for the higher skill gymnastics movements. Search the suggested websites and Youtube. As you work through the progressions you will build strength and technique.

Most of us think we are not strong enough when in reality we are way short on technique.

After a couple of years of CrossFit I think the two athletes I have gain the utmost respect for is the 800m track specialist (these are just sick sadistic individuals) and gymnast.

[Michael Petersen]

You can absolutely get there.

I came in to CrossFit 18 months ago being able to do very little in the gymnastics department. It took me about 6 months to get a muscle up (no focused training on it). From there I quickly got a strict muscle up as well as strict HSPU. I can get into a back lever for a couple of seconds. Muscle up to L-sit to a forward roll is easy enough. I'm still working on pressing out and up for the Ring HSPU.

I'm 6'6" as well, not really built for gymnastic endeavors. We have shorter (and also stronger) guys in our gym that have progressed faster. None of them look as fluid as a real gymnast (i.e. everyone in our gym balances their legs on the straps once they go vertical). All the same, it is still impressive. None of the guys in our gym have any gymnastic backgrounds.

Keep working the rings. CrossFit plus a clean diet will get you lean and strong. Then it's just a metter of practicing the movements to develop your balance/body control.

[Troy Kenshin]

thanks for the sound advice. and for the record i don't train at an affiliate, but i do train at a d1 college gym for now. I'm brining my own rings so i can practice but i have no coach to help with gymnastics so that was another reason i was a little hesitant

[Ash Smith]

Gymnasticbodies is definitely a great site, even though it probably looks like some creepy pedo site when my IT department sees it on my internet logs

Drillsandskills.com is another good one with a lot of gymnastics focus.

(both wfs)

A lot of the hardcore CF athletes did have organized strength/sports backgrounds if you read their bios. Most of the trainers in my area are ex-college athletes and the like. It does make you question whether CF alone, with no prior formal athletic structure, can allow you rise to such levels. Statistically it's almost impossible to tell, since the genetics and mindset of the elite folks can't really be separated from their success in sports vs CF. It's sort of like American Idol...almost all the good competitors are already in some band, sing regularly, and have a long background in the field. They're not exactly starting fresh, but that's life.

On a side note to the OP's question, does anyone know of any high-performing games competitors who had NO formal athletic background?

[Aushion Chatman]

Jeremy Kinnick I believe is the closest thing...On the female side I have no idea.