Gym's High-Intensity Workout Left Me Disabled, Man Testifies

The Marine Corps does not have an official stand on CrossFit but doesn't prohibit the exercise, leaving it instead "to the commanders and the individual Marines themselves," Capt. Carl Redding, a Marines spokesman, said in an interview. He is not involved in the Prince William case.

It is popular throughout the corps, he said. The CrossFit class at the Marine base at Quantico has surged in popularity in recent years, said Capt. Jose Vengoechea, one of the coaches. "We've had to turn people away," he added.

"It can be dangerous," he said. "A lot of people are used to their conventional way of fitness, and we deal with some heavy weights and some unorthodox ways of getting in shape. And people who don't listen to the sound coaching can get hurt."

For example, if someone is doing a "handstand push-up," that person could fall, he said. Or a person while swinging a kettle ball, which resembles a cannon ball with a handle, could hurt his or her back. "The key is supervised coaching," he said.

After word spread about Mimms, the instructors of the CrossFit classes at the Quantico Marine Corps base got together to review their practices, Vengoechea said. But they determined that they were safe because the instructors work mostly with Marines, who are already in great shape. And if someone is new to the exercise or older, "we don't go into it hard and heavy," he said.

Officials with CrossFit could not be reached to comment yesterday.

At the trial, Mimms's wife, Lynne, lamented her husband's inability to run and play tennis with her. "That was a big part of our relationship," she testified.

Testimony in the trial is expected to conclude today.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.