Gym in my town is offering free 6 week training ($500 up front investment). If you lose 20 pounds or 5% body fat within the 6 weeks, you get your $500 back or can apply it for credit to use in the gym.

I've never tried CrossFit and would love to give it a go. I'm a former small collegiate athlete and welcome the challenge. My question is, do y'all think this would be a good investment? I've let myself go and could stand to lose about 30 pounds. I'm mostly just sick of the way I look and that's my motivation (plus the $500 I'll have to put up front).

I joined a box that was known for their Olympic lifting coaching. Went for two months, developed a great relationship with the trainers, who gave me 1-1 coaching for two months. After two months, I dropped the membership, explained that it was just not in my budget, and still was encouraged to come by for free coaching on my oly lifts if I needed it.
CrossFit programming has come a loooooong way from a decade ago. No more running two miles, going for a PR hang snatch, followed by another mile and ending with clean and jerks. If you need motivation, that $$ investment is pretty motivating.

gigemtrev said:

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Gym in my town is offering free 6 week training ($500 up front investment). If you lose 20 pounds or 5% body fat within the 6 weeks, you get your $500 back or can apply it for credit to use in the gym.

I've never tried CrossFit and would love to give it a go. I'm a former small collegiate athlete and welcome the challenge. My question is, do y'all think this would be a good investment? I've let myself go and could stand to lose about 30 pounds. I'm mostly just sick of the way I look and that's my motivation (plus the $500 I'll have to put up front).

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We all have friends that swear by it. We all have friends that have sworn off it for one reason or another.

I'm curious, what does "small collegiate athlete" mean?

Sounds like the beginning of a pyramid scheme. So they get $500 regardless (either credit or you just lose it) and you get in shape. I understand people are more motivated when money is on the line it still stinks like sour milk to me.

I did see a story that people are spending more money on fitness dues than what they pay/paid monthly on their college education. Something does not seem right about this

I have been doing Crossfit for 3 years. Changing my diet significantly is what finally helped me drop weight. I'm sure crossfit helped but wasn't the driver.

20lbs seems like a lot for 6 week. 1-2 lbs a week would be closer to what I would be willing to gamble on.

I don't see how you think that's like a pyramid scheme. At all.

It is gimmicky, but I think it's an interesting offer. Kind of like a bet on yourself. Like someone else said, if you have 20 lbs to lose and will show up a few times a week I say go for it. If you eat right you could easily lose 20 lbs.

My gym is a YMCA and they have "Y Fit". I have done it the last two summers and I think it's great conditioning, but I don't think it's good for you long term to do it year-round.

I started doing Crossfit in Sept 2016, 6 years after doing a full Ironman. For that 6 years i did nothing and gained 40lbs. I have been doing since and am in better shape than when i did my Ironman, lost the 40 lbs pretty quick. If you are competitive, you will love it.

The one word of caution on it. Do not do more than you can handle when you start. Last thing you want is to get injured pretty quick into it and have to stop.

NoahAg said:

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Quote:

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I'm curious, what does "small collegiate athlete" mean?

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Collegiate midget wrestler?

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LOL. DIII track & field. Sprinter lol

P.U.T.U said:

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Sounds like the beginning of a pyramid scheme. So they get $500 regardless (either credit or you just lose it) and you get in shape. I understand people are more motivated when money is on the line it still stinks like sour milk to me.

I did see a story that people are spending more money on fitness dues than what they pay/paid monthly on their college education. Something does not seem right about this

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You get the $500 back at the end of the 6 weeks if you decide you do not want to train anymore. If you do decide to keep training at the end of 6 weeks, however, you apply the $500 as a credit and essentially get 4 months of "free" training.

AgEng06 said:

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I'm guessing you meant if you don't lose 20 lbs or 5% BF, you get your money back? - Edit: nm on this part. I see what you're saying now.

I think it's definitely doable if you have 20 lbs to lose, provided you nail the nutrition, consistently show up to workouts, and hit the intended intensity level for each workout.

That said... $500 for 6 weeks of training is ridiculous unless you're getting 1 on 1 instruction.

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You get the $500 back or can apply it as credit if you wish to continue training. Also, it is 1 on 1 instructor from the owner of the gym. Or box. Whatever y'all call it. I'm sure I'll pick up the lingo eventually.

Cool. I say go for it. I love it and look forward to every workout.

In fact, I'm waiting to start at 5 am right now.

The deal sounds "interesting" as far as the terms. Not sure about all that. My box charges about $150 if you go every day, but that is also small town rates.

As far as whether or not to do crossfit -Crossfit has definatly had a significant impact on my fitness. I am down 25lbs since last summer and crossfit was my primary source of exercise.

Before that, I ran 4-5 times a week for about 6 years. I ran several halves and 1 full marathon. I can say without a doubt that I am in MUCH better overall shape than when I was running at prime.

As someone said above, if you do it ease into it and dont try to kill yourself at first. Work on your form for your Olympic lifts - make sure you can do them correctly at each weight before you move up. Dont be ashamed of scaling.

I've lost 70 lbs doing crossfit and paleo since 2014.

I've been hurt a couple times, just sprains and tendonitis kind of stuff. I've learned to listen to my body, and I scale the weights when I need to. I'm not there to impress anybody, just to be a little bit better me each day.

Get ready for lots of this (I'm a fan of CF, but this is funny)...

How do you figure 4 months of free training? Wouldn't it be more like $500 for 12 weeks?

agdaddy04 said:

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How do you figure 4 months of free training? Wouldn't it be more like $500 for 12 weeks?

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The rate at this Crossfit place is $100 a month (for 3x a week) or $125 per month for unlimited.

$500 (if I lose 20 pounds or 5% bf) would be 5 free months, at 3x a week, or 4 free months unlimited.

So essentially, if I chose to continue after the 6 weeks and apply my credit, I'd pay $100 a month for 5 months. Same as any regular member.

Do it.

Be careful starting out, that you don't go overboard and do more than you can really handle.
I am 50+ and woefully out of shape. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a beotch.
I did the three free classes thing that most Crossfit Boxes offer. I really overdid it on the squats. Not a good idea.

I say go for it! Take it slow the first couple weeks and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. If you get hurt doing Crossfit, it's your own fault (not Crossfit's). I have been doing it for 2 years now and absolutely love it. Good luck to you!

Been at it since 09.2016. Down 12lbs and can run an 8-minute mile. Cut the wheat out of your diet and listen to your body. Love CrossFit but you have to ease into it. You can find a box that will fit you like a glove.

I crossfit 6x a week for the last 3.5 years. It's great and I love it.

Diet is still king though, and 20 lbs in 6 weeks will be really tough if 30lbs takes you back to your weight when you were in tip top shape.

How tall are you & how much do you weigh? Do you have fat to lose?

You can burn a lot of calories with the workout but lots of times people replenish their bodies with supplements or calories which offset weight loss/bf%. I weigh 173 lbs and have somewhere around 17-20% bf. For me, dropping 20 lbs would be tougher than dropping 5% bf. I'm eating and drinking like shet right now.

But like most are saying, a good diet will get you there. Burning more calories vs consuming them is how you'll get there. Starting off you'll burn fat and gain muscle which will offset the scale but your clothes will start fitting differently. Once you get in a groove you'll need to restrict your calorie intake to really boost your bf % loss. This is easy to do if you eat good food. We can go into a long discussion but I think it's easy if you're motivated by more than just getting your $500 dollar back.

As someone who fell on their head trying to do a handstand I knew I couldn't do out of sheer dumbassery. I enjoyed crossfit when I worked out with a buddy and after 9 months was in the best shape of my life. After that 9 months I let pride and stubbornness keep me from scaling and asking for help in the box.

If you have a good base in oly lifting I say go for it. If not be careful and know your limitations, and remember that $500 lost is a lot better than forcing it and getting hurt.

Crossfit did not injure me, I didn't listen to my body. When I am no longer doing Army PT I will probably pick it back up.

emando2000 said:

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How tall are you & how much do you weigh? Do you have fat to lose?

You can burn a lot of calories with the workout but lots of times people replenish their bodies with supplements or calories which offset weight loss/bf%. I weigh 173 lbs and have somewhere around 17-20% bf. For me, dropping 20 lbs would be tougher than dropping 5% bf. I'm eating and drinking like shet right now.

But like most are saying, a good diet will get you there. Burning more calories vs consuming them is how you'll get there. Starting off you'll burn fat and gain muscle which will offset the scale but your clothes will start fitting differently. Once you get in a groove you'll need to restrict your calorie intake to really boost your bf % loss. This is easy to do if you eat good food. We can go into a long discussion but I think it's easy if you're motivated by more than just getting your $500 dollar back.

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I'm 6' and weigh 210. My weight when I was training every single day and cranking out 5 minute miles like it was nothing was about 165 (I'm smaller framed). I'd be happy being around 170-175 with 8-10% bf. I'd guess I'm at about 20-25% bf which disgust me, but I did it to myself. I know I can lose the 20 pounds easily in 6 weeks if I diet, I was just a little curious about CF because I've heard some bad things. But it seems really similar to my training in college. A lot of Olympic style lifting and plyo stuff.

Best advice is to try it yourself and decide.

I'm 5'10", started at 215. I'm now 180 & 10% bf. I'd have never done it going to a 24hr fitness. I got wore out on those gyms and I would have rather be fat than go

I brew beer too, and I'd need to cut that to get under 10%, and I don't wanna.

Discipline. Diet. Intensity.

This is your gold standard, and what this monetary incentive is pushing you towards. Discipline. CF definitely checks the intensity box (compound exercises), but they don't have a monopoly on it. Find what you like. And diet. Low carb. High fat. Lean protein. Heavy on the veggies.

In CrossFit you'll get a dose of everything. Right now at our location we are seeing more of some sort Olympic lifting in our programming to get ready for The Open which is in a few weeks. I can't speak on the programming you'll get but in CrossFit you'll check all of the boxes. Oly lifting, pullups, push-ups burpees, different squatting, wall balls, running, kettlebells, plyometrics, etc.

As far as the diet is concerned. I'd throw in some sort of 40 fast within it. It sounds tough but if you want to target bf% & weight loss, do it. It freaking works! LOW CARBS during your weight loss diet. Do cardio workouts fasted. It'll be tough but it'll target your fat storage for energy. That right there is KEY for slimming down quickly. Oh & track you calories...I've used MyFitnessPal for it. It was tedious at first but became 2nd nature after a few days cuz I was eating similar foods.

If you look in the Ketosis thread, I go into more detail in what I did for a month to trim down back in June of last year. 8-10 % is pretty lofty in such a short time period but it's achievable.

emando2000 said:

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In CrossFit you'll get a dose of everything. Right now at our location we are seeing more of some sort Olympic lifting in our programming to get ready for The Open which is in a few weeks. I can't speak on the programming you'll get but in CrossFit you'll check all of the boxes. Oly lifting, pullups, push-ups burpees, different squatting, wall balls, running, kettlebells, plyometrics, etc.

As far as the diet is concerned. I'd throw in some sort of 40 fast within it. It sounds tough but if you want to target bf% & weight loss, do it. It freaking works! LOW CARBS during your weight loss diet. Do cardio workouts fasted. It'll be tough but it'll target your fat storage for energy. That right there is KEY for slimming down quickly. Oh & track you calories...I've used MyFitnessPal for it. It was tedious at first but became 2nd nature after a few days cuz I was eating similar foods.

If you look in the Ketosis thread, I go into more detail in what I did for a month to trim down back in June of last year. 8-10 % is pretty lofty in such a short time period but it's achievable.

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What do you mean by "40 fast"?

40 hours?

40 days?

gigemtrev said:

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emando2000 said:

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How tall are you & how much do you weigh? Do you have fat to lose?

You can burn a lot of calories with the workout but lots of times people replenish their bodies with supplements or calories which offset weight loss/bf%. I weigh 173 lbs and have somewhere around 17-20% bf. For me, dropping 20 lbs would be tougher than dropping 5% bf. I'm eating and drinking like shet right now.

But like most are saying, a good diet will get you there. Burning more calories vs consuming them is how you'll get there. Starting off you'll burn fat and gain muscle which will offset the scale but your clothes will start fitting differently. Once you get in a groove you'll need to restrict your calorie intake to really boost your bf % loss. This is easy to do if you eat good food. We can go into a long discussion but I think it's easy if you're motivated by more than just getting your $500 dollar back.

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I'm 6' and weigh 210. My weight when I was training every single day and cranking out 5 minute miles like it was nothing was about 165 (I'm smaller framed). I'd be happy being around 170-175 with 8-10% bf. I'd guess I'm at about 20-25% bf which disgust me, but I did it to myself. I know I can lose the 20 pounds easily in 6 weeks if I diet, I was just a little curious about CF because I've heard some bad things. But it seems really similar to my training in college. A lot of Olympic style lifting and plyo stuff.

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I was 6'2" and 217 lbs when I started Crossfit. I was the heaviest I had ever been by far. 6 months into Crossfit and I was at 185 lbs and lean!

Edit: just to add, I didn't diet to lose my weight. I just stopped eating fast food except the occasional chick fil and tried to limit sugars and sweet tea to a modest amount. (I don't drink sodas, but I would say eliminate those altogether). I did Crossfit Monday-Saturday and the weight fell off fast all while getting stronger.

AggieChemist said:

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emando2000 said:

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In CrossFit you'll get a dose of everything. Right now at our location we are seeing more of some sort Olympic lifting in our programming to get ready for The Open which is in a few weeks. I can't speak on the programming you'll get but in CrossFit you'll check all of the boxes. Oly lifting, pullups, push-ups burpees, different squatting, wall balls, running, kettlebells, plyometrics, etc.

As far as the diet is concerned. I'd throw in some sort of 40 fast within it. It sounds tough but if you want to target bf% & weight loss, do it. It freaking works! LOW CARBS during your weight loss diet. Do cardio workouts fasted. It'll be tough but it'll target your fat storage for energy. That right there is KEY for slimming down quickly. Oh & track you calories...I've used MyFitnessPal for it. It was tedious at first but became 2nd nature after a few days cuz I was eating similar foods.

If you look in the Ketosis thread, I go into more detail in what I did for a month to trim down back in June of last year. 8-10 % is pretty lofty in such a short time period but it's achievable.

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What do you mean by "40 fast"?

40 hours?

40 days?

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My bad 40 hours

Hmmm...maybe I didn't post in the keto thread. Sorry if you went in there looking for my results. But if you review it, there are a lot of good results in there.
2 weeks of targeted fat loss.
These numbers are off the top of my head...
Before: 5'8 178 lbs - 21% bf (measured via dexa scan)
Started off on a 40 hour fast
-ate 1400 calories a day limiting to 10-15% carbs
-no alcohol
-did some jogging or weightlifting in the AM FASTED
-ate food between the hours of Noon & 9 pm
(Intermittent Fasting)
-Crossfit in the evenings
-Week 2 repeated 40 hour fast & repeated the eating/working out cycle
After: 14% bf 163 lbs (measured via dexa scan)
It was a grind but worth it. I learned A LOT & can now talk to people about my results. I did feel weaker but I was still lifting the same amount of weight but I definitely wasn't gaining strength during that time. Decrease in inflammation was HUGE! I'm a former pitcher/QB so my right shoulder gave me fits initially but it all went away. My hip pain from Crossfit subsided too. The biggest gain was gymnastics movements. I went from doing a bar muscle up to stringing 5+ in a row. Pullups, toes to bar, you name it all got easier.
I could've kept going to get to 12% but I just took my L1 (Crossfit coaching seminar) & was ready to celebrate. After that I remained on the intermittent fasting ketosis diet but increased calories to 2300.
Remained around that 14% but work hit me hard right before the holidays & I let the meal planning go. To my defense I work festivals like acl & voodoo fest on the side & I was out of the gym a lot for a few months & it's hard to eat right when you're out there for 15+ hours a day.