CrossFit’s “Makimba” Workout
The workout Makimba Mimms alleges caused the injuries he sued a CrossFit instructor over has been named after him and re-categorized it as a kid’s workout by the CrossFit community to mock him. While this might be going a bit far, I am still highly skeptical of Mimms claims and believe the case should be appealed because there is no way the workout could have caused the injuries claimed if performed as prescribed.
According to the Navy Times article,
“The injuries included rhabdomyolysis, lumbosacral spine strain and strain of the bilateral quadriceps, according to court documents. As a result of these injuries, Mimms was incapacitated, lost time from work and required surgery, court records show.”
Frankly, I think this is bullshit.
According to a discussion in one of the CrossFit forums, as mentioned in a previous post on the CrossFit Lawsuit here, the workout Mimms alleges caused the injuries was prescribed as follows:
Three rounds of each of the following, performed for 15, then 10, then 5 reps:
- 10 pound dumbbell thrusters (a thruster is a combined squatting and pressing movement)
- Burpees
- Bodyweight Squats
The exercises are performed one after the other, non-stop. There is no rest between exercises or rounds.
None of these exercises carry a high risk of injury if performed with strict form in a smooth, controlled manner. The sequence as prescribed is not excessive for someone in moderately good condition, even when performed non-stop. If an injury were to occur performing the above routine, it would most likely be due to improper technique, fast or sloppy performance, inappropriate training environment (way too hot, improper training surface, etc.) or possibly just extreme wimpiness.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have had several clients perform this workout, ranging from a very strong 200 pound 35 year old male to a very small-framed, 90 pound 58 year old woman. Two of the men who have done the workout used 20 pound dumbbells instead of 10, and I performed the workout last Friday using 40.
A few people have reported a slightly higher degree of delayed-onset muscular soreness in the thighs, and mine were a bit more sore than usual for a few days, but nothing else. One woman in her 20’s who performed the workout with 15 pound dumbbells and probably could have easily handled 20s experienced no soreness as a result. There wasn’t a single case of exertional rhabdomyolysis, spine or quadriceps strain, incapacitation, or the need for surgery.
The fact that a small, 58 year old woman was capable of duplicating the routine with no problems whatsoever leads me to believe Mimms is full of shit. Either he’s faking or sustained the injuries doing something else and is looking to make an easy buck, or he was using unbelievably bad form. However, I have a hard time thinking his instructor would have allowed that, even considering how bad some of the form is on many CrossFit videos I’ve seen. Without being there or knowing the details of the lawsuit I still can’t be absolutely certain, but the whole thing certainly smells of bullshit to me.
What concerns me about this is a comment another personal trainer made in a previous post on this about potential clients telling him his waiver was beatable in court. He refused to train them, which I believe was a smart move on his part, since they sound like a lawsuit waiting to happen.
On one hand, I believe if someone is seriously injured by a trainer due to negligence or outright stupidity, there should be some recourse. On the other hand, the world is full of litigious bastards looking for an undeserved pay day who may go after a personal trainer or gym if they think they’ve got deep pockets, so trainers, training studios and gyms have to protect themselves.
I’d love to hear opinions on this from trial lawyers who prosecute or defend personal injury cases. How do you ensure that clients or gym members who have been injured due to negligence, incompetence or stupidity (which are all too common in this industry) are fairly compensated, while making sure that good trainers are not wrongly sued by someone just out to make a buck?
1 Comment to CrossFit’s “Makimba” Workout
Drew,
Prior to retiring from forensic practice as a psychologist, I evaluated scores upon scores of individuals alleging injuries suffered secondary to ‘fender benders.’ These guys and gals were claiming myriad problems they defined as loss of memory, inability to do, xyz, you name it.
As part of my evaluation I administered a number of “effort tests.” These tests are designed to enable the astute evaluator to identify the bullshit over against the supportable symptoms.
This Crossfit guy, especially in the presence of your database, was either so compromised to begin with that he had no good reason to be undertaking the routine - in which case what the trainer knew about that before training him would be central - or, as seems more likely, he is so full of shit, and had an attorney who helped him articulate his detritus in court, that he was “successful.”
Moral? Less is more; slower is better; tactically placed recovery, both between and within workouts is critical. AND, if upon interview with a potential client, if it smells like bullshit, it probably is: send them to Curves.
BTW, I just finished up the 3 segment training program offered by RTS. I’ll drop you an email about it. Your recommendation to take it was “spot on.”
keep your ammo dry… mine is too 
totny
December 15, 2008