10 Health Crazes That Will Actually Damage Your Health

What Is It?

CrossFit is a style of workout that focusses on, amongst other things, bursts of high-intensity interval training, weight lifting, calisthenics, and gymnastics. It's proponents claim that it is an extremely effective way of getting into peak physical condition in a relatively short period of time and, looking at the size of their triceps, who are we to argue?

So, What's So Bad About It?

The problems start when you introduce another integral element of the sport: Extreme competitiveness. A little competition is healthy, but CrossFit has become infamous for a disastrously high injury rate due to over-exertion and improper form.

The program is really designed to be undertaken by elite athletes who are already in excellent shape and have a good grounding in proper form and training within their limits. Under these circumstances it is pretty effective, it's when the rest of us get involved that there is a problem.

Due to the competitive nature of CrossFit, and the active encouragement for its members to push themselves beyond their limits, an averagely unfit person coming into a CrossFit gym, known as a box, is much more likely to injure themselves. The major risks associated with CrossFit are the overloading of the spine by lifting too much weight, and muscle tearing due to high reps and poor form.

This, coupled with the allegations of undertrained instructors and poor quality control, means that you're much better off doing your research and taking it slow. We don't want to sound like your mum or anything, but ensuring that you stay safe during exercise will mean that you can continue to do the exercise, as opposed to writhing in pain on the floor.