Watching the CrossFit NorthEast Regionals today was a grunt fest. The WODs this year are real grinders on the athletes as they are mostly strength movements with barbells.
It was hot and muggy and many of the athletes had as little clothing on as possible....ah, fitness. ;)
The one item that many were keeping on were weight belts.
A couple of fellow CrossFitters, Dave and Jeremy, and I were discussing the legitimacy of such equipment. The three of us held a massive poll, and ALL THREE of us determined that they should be disallowed for CrossFitters. We decided that if a human body cannot lift lots of weight on its own with proper form, perhaps that particular body was not meant to be picking up that much weight. The example given was the strict weight lifter who picks up 900 pounds....once. I'm pretty sure that the days of needing to drag or carry the baby Mammoth kill back to the cave all by one's lonesome are long gone.
I don't believe many, if any, used weight belts early on in the developing sport of CrossFit.
With the growth of the sport, new challenges are being sought all the time. One of the beauties of CrossFit, to me, is that it's all about what the human body can do/achieve as a singularly functioning machine. So why would you want that body to rely on a piece of equipment that would imply stability, when in fact it creates weakness. If you come to rely on support for the most important part of your body, your spine, you can easily get sloppy, then you become a lifter who has a damn good quality belt.
Would lifting shoes fall under the same category? No, because I don't know a CFer who can't lift almost the same without the shoes. While the shoes create real stability underfoot, they do not ask your body to do something it is not fit enough to do.
Interestingly enough, CrossFit HQ states that no athlete can use special grips or gloves for pullups that assist the performance of multiple pullups. So why are the belts allowed? They certainly assist the athlete in performing lifts and movements that the athlete might not be able to perform without one.
What do you think. Should CrossFit athletes be allowed to belt or not?
No. Based on the fact that it can enable, especially in beginners, sloppy technique. Given, however, that Crossfit revels in numbers - time, reps, multiple WOD's - it would be interesting to do some "with" and "without" comparisons. Seems that Crossfit should come up with a policy consistent with its philosophy of dynamic, functional movement.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Brian. CF HQ would do well to decide on this issue!
ReplyDeleteHey Annie, just thought I'd comment since it's been awhile since I've read through your posts. I'll disagree here, and make an attempt at scholasticism in doing so.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of a belt is safety. Oft times referred to as hernia belts, the idea and notion of them is to reduce catastrophic abdominal failure. I, for one, have a history of abdominal weakness through a hernia type strain and use a belt when I think I'm in jeopardy of injury. In Crossfit, we're asked to test our limits in all the major areas of fitness. This allows the human body to increase capacity. How many times have we both failed at a lift? A dozen? A hundred? Failure is a good indicator of how the body is progressing. However, our psyche and the mentality often bred into Crossfit, attempting loads above the body's safe capacity happens. Sometimes a lot. I think something like a belt can be used to potentially turn an accident into nothing more than a learning experience. Still fail the lift, but with less injury and more insight, rather than an ER visit (of which I've had many in this regard). If a man can't squat 500, a belt won't make his glutes fire harder and won't keep his shoulders from rounding.
Second, is you want to start specifying what particularly is essential to the purity of the sport. Do we then ban wrist-wraps? Cave men didn't have those. Dry fit gear to cool us as we run? Hand-protecting straps? Ergonomic shoes? Where do we draw the line?
I'd argue that so long as the weight is moved by your body alone, supportive components to prevent injury should be fine. Augmentative components (benching shirts, wrist wraps that engage the bar, etc.) are crutches. Those give mechanical advantage and likely aren't a good idea.
The worst thing in training is lack thereof. And if wrapping up joints (lower spine and abs included) allows you to train longer and safer, use of it should be fine.
Love ya.
-Matthew
Matthew, thank you for your interesting missive. Your position is one that I understand re: the 'safety' a belt allows, but then you say, "However, our psyche and the mentality often bred into Crossfit, attempting loads above the body's safe capacity happens. Sometimes a lot." That sentence is the point here. CrossFit is demanding, but it's the athlete's responsibility to be accountable for its limitations. Ego is different than physical ability. Could a person lift the same without the belt? From what you say, not likely. But shoes or a wrist wrap or knee socks for a rope climb could all be left in the gym bag and little could likely change.
ReplyDelete