Debunking CrossFit Myths

I’ve heard everyone gets hurt that does CrossFit.
 

This one deserves an entire blog post! However, here’s a shorter answer: In CrossFit, as with any other sport, there is a risk of injury. A lot of what CrossFit gets criticized for can be very true. There are many places that run giant classes of newbies under the eyes of 1 novice coach. As anyone can guess, that’s a recipe for disaster. CrossFit is about affecting intensity (which can be increased by adding weight, increasing time under tension, increasing speed, decreasing rest periods, etc) but by no means does that mean you need to ALWAYS go with the most weight as fast as you possibly can. For your average CrossFit gym, injury rates are similar to or less than other activities that people do for exercise: soccer, pick-up basketball, Zumba, running, etc. A less aggressive well-coached Crossfit program can have significantly lower injury rates than almost any other type of exercise activity. We have specifically designed our program with this goal in mind and have found this to be true!

 

 

I’ve heard that if I lift weights I’ll start to look like a man. I don’t want to get bulky.

 

The short answer is women have less testosterone than men which means it’s physically impossible for them to put on muscle and “bulk” as much as men can. Lifting weights does increase your testosterone levels but not enough to pack on muscles like a man. Instead, you will get the benefits you were probably looking for in the first place: fat loss, nice curves, and a more “toned” look. Aside from aesthetics, lifting weights is one of the ONLY ways to increase bone density (women’s risk of osteoporosis increases significantly with age). 

But what about the CrossFit Games chicks?

First, this is their career and the amount of time they spend training (both daily and over many, many years) is so far beyond anything any average person would do. Second, they represent such a small percentage of women (essentially they are genetic freaks or they are juicing- or a little bit of both). They also have incredibly fine-tuned diets that help them build and maintain that kind of muscle mass.  The same is true for the CrossFit Games male athletes: just ask any guy at the gym how tough it is for them to gain large amounts of muscle mass.

 

Fun Facts

Origin Story: 
 

2012: DK and Bailey met at a gym that used to be in Louisville, CO called Streets Fitness. They were both working there as trainers at the time, working with clients individually and teaching group classes. DK had been doing CrossFit for about 5 years and was coaching some classes down at CrossFit Stapleton. He recruited Bailey to run a CrossFit Kids program (Bailey had a lot of previous experience working with young kids doing gymnastics) with him there and they started teaching kids classes together that year. This was where Bailey was first introduced to CrossFit and did her first ever Workout of the Day: “Cindy." It wasn’t long until they realized they should open their own place. 
 

2013: The founding year! They decided to open up CrossFit Cielo inside of Streets Fitness as a small start-up. They rented space from Streets for two years and grew big enough to need their own space.
 

2015: After about 2 months of being “gym homeless” where they were running classes outside in parks or in local apartment complexes they found their home in Superior Marketplace. Whoop Whoop!

 

The Owl Logo:

The owl represents Athena the goddess of wisdom and war. This reflects our use of knowledge and understanding in our program and approach to fitness and not just brute strength. The Cielo in CrossFit Cielo (which means sky or heaven in Spanish or Italian) came from those ideals. Our owl symbol is always in flight. 

Jenny Smiley was our original designer of the logo in 2013 and that has been passed to Taylor Wysocke in 2015. 

 

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More Questions? Contact us at connect@cfcielo.com
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