Is CrossFit Dangerous? What I Learned Starting CrossFit as a Healthcare Provider

It seems that there is a general stigma around Crossfit and injuries. I recently joined Crossfit Roots in Boulder and have been having a blast. In talking to people about it over the past few weeks, I have had a lot of people ask me if I was worried about injury. So I decided to write a blog to uncover if it is actually dangerous and talk about my specific approach. 

What is Crossfit?

“CrossFit is a branded strength and conditioning program defined as continuously varied, high-intensity functional movements, such as lifting, running, and gymnastics. It aims to enhance overall physical competence by mixing aerobic exercise, calisthenics, and Olympic weightlifting.” It is more than just HIIT workouts or just lifting weights with shirtless people in a warehouse. It is a training methodology that helps adults get the most well-rounded fitness in the least amount of time. 

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Is it dangerous?

Not according to the research. Shortly after crossfit started in 2000 and somehow developed a bad reputation early on. It isn’t entirely clear how or where this started. Interestingly, the NSCA (national strength and conditioning association) was sued by CF and was required to pay CF nearly $4 million dollars for producing a “research article” that claimed CF had a much higher injury rate than real life. 

Nearly all of the research that exists on injury rates in CF show that the injury rate is somewhere just above walking (yes even walking has an injury risk), but not as high as most popular sports (basketball, tennis, football, rugby, etc). The other obvious finding in the existing research is that most injuries occur when someone is first starting CF (duh?). 

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The caveat is that studies examining injury rates have a hard time defining what an injury is (soreness, a week off, surgery?). 

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Here is my take as a health care provider who regularly helps athletes from all sports recover from injury. People are most likely to get injured when they start something new. If you’re doing a “couch to 5k” or starting jiu jitsu - you need to learn quite a few things in those first 6 weeks. A new participant learns what to do, how to do it, why we do it that way, and on top of all that the body has to keep up with recovery from the stimulus.  There are running form requirements, proper ways to fall in jiu jitsu, or proper bike fit in triathlon/cycling. There are also factors like tissue tolerance to new load (pounding of running or recovery from a HIIT workout). 

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On top of all these things, if you’re moving in a new way, you have to build the mobility, strength/stability, and proprioceptive control required for your new sport. Most people getting into a new sport at 30 years old have years of sitting at a desk in school and work, tightness in certain tissues from those activities, and weakness in certain muscles that they haven’t used in a while. This doesn’t mean you should avoid something new, simply change your expectations. It is so beneficial to learn new things, new skills, and challenge your brain. Just don’t expect to be an expert straight away and give your body some time to adapt.

People get injured in the first 6 weeks of any new activity. Start slow, learn the basics, and have fun learning. After that, the injury risk becomes so much lower. 

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If we truly evaluate the risk reward ratio of joining crossfit. There are far more benefits to joining a Crossfit gym than reasons to avoid it. CrossFit is a time-efficient, well-rounded training approach that blends strength, conditioning, and functional movement in a way that supports many aspects of long-term health. The upside is significant:

• Improved cardiovascular fitness (including increases in VO₂ max, a key marker linked to longevity), 
• Gains in strength 
• Gains in bone density
• Better stability and movement capacity

The structure of a one-hour class—combining coaching, programmed workouts, and intensity—often leads to better results than training alone. The built-in coaching and community create accountability, reinforce good technique, and keep people engaged over time. CrossFit also challenges people to work on weaknesses and learn new skills, rather than defaulting to what feels comfortable, which is where so many health benefits occur. As a busy adult who is low on time, it is hard to imagine another workout that will get you to the same level of well rounded fitness in 1 hour classes.

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Here is the approach that I took:

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I have experience lifting weights, but am a complete newbie at a lot of the movements performed in Crossfit. I’ll admit, knowing what I know about human movement and my specific limitations, I was hesitant to start at just any gym. 

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1. I had Dr. Alyx Brown DC, MS, CCSP, put me through the SFMA (selective functional movement assessment). This is a tool that we use to identify movement issues in patients and identify what is missing (stability, motion, joint, tissue, etc). This gave me a starting place of knowing my specific limitations and having a heads up of what movements I needed to be careful with.  
2. I chose a gym that has a good reputation of strong coaching and a foundation class requirement. I chose Crossfit Roots in Boulder. Roots has a long track record of being one of the best gyms in the area and a history of knowledgeable coaches who have experience.
3. I learned the movements through the Foundations classes at Crossfit Roots. This consists of four 1-on-1 sessions with a crossfit coach at Roots. Each session would cover a few of the movements regularly performed in CF classes. Coach James watched me perform each of the exercises and gave me specific corrective feedback. We worked together to ensure that I would be safe to attend a workout. Using his feedback, I practiced the movements over the next few weeks to feel more confident. I am still learning how to do a few of the movements (kipping, handstand push ups, jerks) so I use a scaling option when one of those appears in a workout.
4. I used lighter weights for the first month. As a newbie, I was happy to get my confidence up during the first month of classes by using lighter weights and focusing on quality of movement. As I performed the movement more, I would go up in weight if I felt confident. The coaches are really helpful when deciding what weight to use. Frequently the coaches will tell athletes to scale down and there is no ego involved. Everyone at the gym is supportive and high fiving no matter what scaling options you choose. 
5. I listened to my body. If something felt tight or sore when I was foam rolling, I would do something to try and help it. If what I could do on my own didn’t seem enough, I asked for help. For me, I struggle with thoracic mobility, shoulder mobility, and right hip stability. I try to incorporate foam rolling, thoracic mobility exercises, and activation exercises on my own. At work, I have Dr. Alyx or Dr. Liz adjust my thoracic spine and perform dry needling on my hip and shoulder once a week. This keeps the little niggles from becoming a bigger problem as I settled in.
6. Lastly, do the little things. I tried to ensure I was getting enough sleep, eating well, stretching and foam rolling, etc. Surprise! If you take care of your body, it performs better! My routine looks like this:  In an optimal world I try to get 8 hours of sleep. Nutritionally, I try to get specific amounts of carbs, fats, and proteins. Daily, I foam roll my hips, calves, lats, and mobilize my upper back. If there is any other area feeling tight or sore, I will spend a few minutes addressing that. After I roll, I perform a few sets of exercises that Dr. Alyx gave me to address my limitations (some thoracic mobility exercises, a few shoulder stability exercises, and an ankle mobilization exercise).

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