Whether you like it or not, CrossFit has developed cult status across the world. Some people swear by it, others have labelled it as downright dangerous and suggest it is far from the optimal way to train.
I have never participated in a CrossFit group session but have tested many of the workouts posted online.
Having studied how it works here's my run down on the pro's and con's of the CrossFit Revolution.
The Pro's
Variety
Few workouts are ever the same and the constant variety in the never-ending program clearly motivates many people to train. Avoiding the boredom typical of many fat loss, muscle building and strength training programs
Intensity
Any workout regime that awards t-shirts to anyone who pukes during a workout must be hitting the right notes on the intensity scale. That said, throwing chunks around is not an indicator of training efficacy and never will be.
Competition
'Friendly' competitive spirit provides the very foundations of the whole CrossFit revolution. The annual 'CrossFit Games' attracts a lot of participants, spectators and sponsors which is another great incentive to give your all in training.
CrossFit claims that they have made fitness itself a sport and it's hard to argue on this evidence!
All-round athlete
CrossFit deliberately states that they specialise in not specialising. In other words, they have no intention of specialising in strength OR endurance OR power but seek high levels of proficiency in all areas as well as flexibility, agility etc.
This I believe its what those who aren't attempting to excel in one particular sport whether it be powerlifting, athletics or a field based sport, should seek in their training.
I have already mentioned in another article that I see training for fat loss only as a negative approach to fitness which won't inspire the individual to keep training indefinitely.
Use of timed challenges
This reiterates the point about competition which is sadly lacking in many people's lives these days and the reason I believe Great Britain fails in many team sports.
Whether you choose to compete with others or just yourself, the use of timed challenges shows you clearly whether you are improving or not, beyond the number on the scales or the skin fold test. You're either better this time or you're not.
This use of density training (how much work you can get done in a given time) is a great way to train for endurance, muscle growth or anaerobic ability regardless of whether you like CrossFit or not as it is a clear-cut indicator of progressive overload.
Using weights for cardio
Timed challenges involving combinations of resistance exercise are an awesome way to shoot your anaerobic, aerobic and muscle endurance levels through the roof.
It will also rid you of the low pain tolerance levels which modern society is plagued by due to the levels of comfort which are on tap for most!
If you want to talk fat loss, metabolic weight training is one of my favoured methods, largely due to its time efficiency.
Such training enables the individual to improve many areas of all-round fitness without simultaneously whilst creating a lean, athletic body.
Effective, fun training
CrossFit gyms allow kettlebell training, gymnastics rings, power movements, barefoot training, throwing a medicine ball around and many other training methods which are banned from your average commercial gym.
The dawn of health clubs started a downward spiral in terms of the quality and intensity of fitness training and turned it into a world of shiny machines, plasma screens and aerobics classes which do little other that give fat ladies something to do on Tuesday mornings.
Being your closest observer
Whilst there are downsides to the CrossFit attitude which I'll discuss in the next section, I admire part of their belief that ultimately you are responsible for your own training and must closely observe your own fitness levels and decide what you are and are not capable of.
Whilst I firmly believe beginners should consult a good trainer who can show them how to do things properly, there comes a time when you need to stop passing the buck. (This also applies to intermediate level fitness fanatics who do it all wrong but think they are the mutt's nuts when it comes to training)
No matter how hard a workout is on paper and how much someone pushes you to get through it, you have the final decision on whether to lift a weight or not based on what you know your body is capable of doing.
If you're scared to speak up when you're not comfortable with an exercise it doesn't make your hard, it makes you stupid.
The Cons
My main problem with CrossFit is not so much with the concept itself but with its creator and leader, Greg Glassman who is uncompromising in his belief that CrossFit is the best solution for everything from endurance to muscle building.
It's not. If you want to be a powerlifter or bodybuilder, there are far better methods.
However, in CrossFit's defence, I also believe that the haters go too far the other way, suggesting it produces little noticeable results. This is simply untrue.
There are some VERY fit individuals who live by the CrossFit mantra's but because they do not seek huge muscle growth for the sake of it or immense strength and power in rusty 'hardcore' gyms, they are berated.
Up to now you will probably be thinking I am 100% behind CrossFit.
Whilst I can see many benefits, here are the many downsides:
Enticing people with no prior training
Whilst CrossFit claims all its affiliate gyms and trainers will build individuals up from their own level, it doesn't seem to be the case in many gyms with an all-or-nothing attitude.
Consequently unsuspecting new members with an admirable desire but without the abilities to match, find themselves in situations which are quite simply dangerous. Perhaps this is not the CrossFit method which is the problem but the responsibility of some of the trainers.
The website is designed such that it gives the hardest options as the 'Workout of the Day' or WOD. Whilst the easier options are buried in the site somewhere, unfortunately it isn't clear enough and those with a gung-ho macho attitude will surely choose to challenge themselves to the hardest option.
I'm a man with a bigger ego that I should have on odd occasions (this is what us guys do), but it can result in serious injury.
On the evidence I have seen, not enough is done by CrossFit to hammer home the point that you are responsible for what you can and can't do or HOW you should monitor this.
High repetitions on some lifts
Some of the CrossFit workouts call for high reps of certain exercises. Take for example the deadlift. Performing more than 5-6 reps of the deadlift usually causes a transition away from recruitment of the hamstrings after about 5 reps as they are primarily fast-twitch fibre muscles.
Baring in mind most peoples glutes do not function from too much sitting, we have a recipe for back injury.
Going heavy under fatigue
An extension of the point above, performing heavy lifts under fatigue and the pressure of competing for the fastest time, increase the likelihood of injury significantly.
I don't believe performing a circuit of heavy deadlifts, bench press and pull ups 'for time' under intense fatigue is going to do anyone any good which can't be achieved with other methods.
The timed method
Whilst this is mentioned in my positives for fostering competition in people, this can also be a negative as it encourages individuals to focus on who can finish first, rather than technique.
Nutrition
CrossFit essentially advocates the Zone diet of 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fats.
Everybody requires different approaches so a one-size fits all nutrition plan, especially in a concept seeking performance, is not ideal.
Flippancy
If you take any time to study the CrossFit philosophy, in particular that of leader Greg Glassman, it is not hard to uncover a degree of flippancy towards injury.
Now I am a big supporter of intense workouts that really push your limits but Glassman has been known to say "If you're scared of falling off the (gymnastics) rings and breaking your neck, we don't want you."
I can't agree with that.
On top of this but CrossFit even has t-shirts made joking about and somewhat glorifying the potential of rhabdomyolysis, a potentially life threatening break down of muscle tissues followed by entrance into the bloodstream, during some of their workouts. This can ultimately lead to kidney poisoning.
You Choose Whether To Be A Fool Or Not
Clearly, there are many points to relevant to both sides of the argument as to whether following the CrossFit phenomenon is a good idea.
My personal opinion can be summed up as this.
- It's great for already trained fitness fanatics who want to be part of fitness as a sport in itself to keep them training hard!
- It is certainly not for those who are inexperienced at power exercises and who simply follow what they read on the WOD feed on Cross Fit's website.
- Many people knock Cross Fit's cult like following yet laud Pavel Tsatsouline for doing pretty much the same with a focus on kettlebell training which is too narrow for my liking. Kettlebells are a great tool, but should be part of a much bigger toolbox.
- I think the attempt to do a variety of training in one session is somewhat misdirected. What is needed is clear metabolic conditioning sessions separated from strength sessions in which the focus can be on technique development and execution without being under extreme fatigue.
- Some people knock CrossFit simply to make themselves look better which is never an attitude I would support. For instance, those in the strength world knock the use of 'kipping pull ups, which use a body swing to help the movement enabling many more reps to be performed in a given time.
However, whilst dead hang pull ups are undoubtedly the best way to build strength and aid hypertrophy, kipping pull ups are highly effective in a metabolic conditioning context.
If you choose to investigate CrossFit methods you may well find a system you like but proceed with caution because unless you are able to get to one of their affiliate gyms, you may well find yourself trying to perform exercises you have no right trying, resulting in serious injury.
Similarly if specialising in a particular sport is what you require, CrossFit is not for you.
Improving metabolic conditioning and strength all at once is very possible, and I've done it myself, but I believe there are safer and more effective methods than CrossFit which don't require knowledge of complex exercises as often used in the WOD's.
As always keep and open mind and research what a program offers you before diving in at the deep-end!
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