The military's growing legions of CrossFit devotees have a message for the medical researchers worried about their extreme workouts: don't get between us and our squat-thrusts.
Danger Room reported last week that CrossFit, along with other "high-intensity" exercise programs like P90X and Insanity, would be undergoing a review by the Consortium for Health and Military Performance, or CHAMP, at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Researchers are concerned that today's recruits might be too flabby for the puke-inducing workout sessions, but troops were quick to offer their own tips for researchers where physical fitness is concerned.
"I wish that the Army would come and study me," a servicemember posts on CrossFit's message forum. "At my current base, the fitness center is starting to push back against the many crossfitters...I find this attitude infuriating. Our Base has a 25% PT [physical training] fail rate. I wonder how many crossfitters are failing."
The military's training programs have recently been the topic of debate, as the top brass institute changes meant to better prepare today's troops. But with 35 percent of American youth deemed unfit to serve, they're also forced to tailor programs to a flabbier, more injury-prone generation. CrossFit followers say their workouts, when led by trained instructors and done safely, can help whip weak-kneed recruits into top shape.
"Every Soldier does Crossfit or they get their nuts smashed," reads another comment on CrossFit's forum from a company commander at Schofield Barracks, who cops to "puk[ing] my guts out" doing their first-ever CrossFit workout in Iraq heat. "I've noticed marked improvements in their performance, a lower injury rate, and an increased ability to perform at a higher level of physical intensity in full kit."
"For those of you that are in the military," the commenter adds, "stand up and help revolutionize the way we conduct physical training."
The biggest concern among CHAMP researchers, according to medical director Col. Francis O'Connor, are anecdotal reports of injury from troops pushing themselves too hard, too fast. But that doesn't mean the group wants to see CrossFit, and other high-intensity programs, banned from bases. "Everyone has their own deficits, and people need to be properly screened and trained appropriately," he tells Danger Room.
CrossFit's official program, for one, advises scaled training that includes rest weeks and constant variety. It's a model they see as a means of attaining peak fitness, without overuse injuries that often run rampant among new recruits. At CrossFit affiliate gyms, which are scattered across the country, certified trainers work one-on-one with participants. Troops who use CrossFit and other programs tell Danger Room that the same is often true on military bases. And some admit that while they've suffered injuries, the afflictions are often a product of their own zealousness.
"Four days into P90X (after Arms and Shoulders) I could barely move my arms and my chest burned for days...other signs started showing and after six days I had definite indicators to early rhabdomyolysis," a Danger Room commenter writes. "Luckily I was the only one pushing me (not a drill sergeant or peer pressure) and I had the common sense to halt my workout, regroup and recover."
CHAMP researchers plan to start their study by talking to troops, and their leaders, who swear by different programs. And judging by CrossFit's vocal online community, they'll have no shortage of emphatic input. Whether or not CrossFit workouts are part of CHAMP's eventual recommendations, there's one point on which everyone agrees: the military's outmoded model of push-ups, sprints and weigh-ins needs to change.
"Now that I’m out, I have the knees of a 60 year old, stretched ankle tendons, worn cartilage in the hips, lost hearing, and a number of other problems. And I just turned 30," writes one veteran in Danger Room's comments section. "The balancing act is creating a training regime which is tough enough to train and prepare the body without permanently damaging it. It’s a delicate balance that no one has fully figured out yet. I’m glad they’re at least paying attention to it, even if there is no perfect answer."
Photo: U.S Air Force
See Also:
- Military Fitness Gurus Tell Troops: You’re Too Flabby For CrossFit
- David Petraeus Can Run Your Ass Off
- 75% of Potential Recruits Too Fat, Too Sickly, Too Dumb to Serve …
- Walter Reed Using Yoga to Fight PTSD
- Army Looks to Keep Troops Forever Young
- Stronger, Tougher, Faster: Building Next-Gen G.I.s
- “Kill Proof,” Animal-Esque Soldiers: DARPA Goal
