I used to not like crossfit simply because it teaches terrible form. Terrible form+fast repetition= injury. Plus it (bad form) just makes people look like they don’t know what they’re doing. That is not the point of this article though. Let me introduce “Uncle Rhabdo.” He is an unofficial mascot of the crossfit fad. As you can see from the above picture, his kidney is laying on the floor while he is simultaneously hooked up to a dialysis machine.
Let me explain why: Rhabdo is short for Rhabdomyolysis. What is Rhabdomyolysis you may be asking? Rhabdomyolysis is when your muscle cells basically explode under extreme circumstances. They then leak proteins out into the bloodstream, including myoglobin proteins. Myoglobins are not supposed to be in your blood. Doing what they’re designed to do, your kidneys take it upon themselves to remove the impurities from your blood. These recently leaked myoglobins in your bloodstream can injure or even kill parts of the kidneys in a very short amount of time. Your muscles are now left swollen and fat looking because the systems in your body that would be dealing with the muscle damage are now focusing their attention on your kidneys.
This is an arm after a case of Rhabdomyolysis. In very extreme situations your extremities can develop acute compartment syndrome, which can lead to amputation if the muscle is not slashed open to relieve the swelling. I won’t post any pictures of compartment syndrome because those are just too graphic. Google at your own risk.
What really bothers me about all this is that the founder of crossfit is well aware that his program can cause Rhabdomyolysis. In 2005 he was quoted saying to the New York Times “It can kill you, I’ve always been completely honest about that.” He also said “If you find the notion of falling off the rings and breaking your neck foreign to you, then we don’t want you in our ranks.” Ranks? Who does this guy think he is, Jim Jones? Maybe one day after class, everyone will get some kool-aid.
After Rhabdomyolis your muscles will never be the same. Once the muscle has torn, it will be replaced by damaged, jiggly scar tissue. It will severely decrease your ability to strength train, and won’t be an easy road to get to that point. No exercise fad is worth the risk of permanent damage in any shape or form. Know your body. Know when something doesn’t feel right, that it probably isn’t. Train smart.