If you consider the number of individuals doing crossfit it's actually not bad considering each workout is essentially a race. What a lot of new athletes and inexperienced coached don't understand is the balance between performance (e.g. speed or ROM) and safety. The average person today does not understand their body to the level at which they should, because of this and the fact that crossfit uses the measurability of workouts as motivation through competition, many people push past the point which their body can handle. For example on a 1RM DL in competition if you are truly going to go as heavy as you can of course you are going sacrifice your form in order to complete the rep to stay competitive. However your average person doing crossfit does not understand the this and then goes into the gym thinking they will be fine if they do what they see on TV. This is not what is taught in the coaching seminars nor is it encouraged, however, individuals in competition who are fighting for placings do sacrifice form (safety) for more weight (performance). Also, although the importance of maintaining a neutral spine is taught in the coaching seminars, it is something that is very hard to maintain for an untrained athlete and even harder to notice for an unexperienced coach. Furthermore there is the factor of the individual athlete and coach that prevent this point from being taught or exercised. As a coach it is often awkward approaching an athlete and telling them what they are doing wrong. Many individuals get offended or self conscious and are too stubborn to appreciate its importance. In my opinion, the good that crossfit is doing for many far outweighs the bad that it is doing for a select few who choose to ignore what crossfit is actually teaching.
