CrossFit: The Fast Food of Training

CrossFit is a system of exercise that has rapidly grown in popularity over the last decade, through films such as 300 and the Military using a workout name dedicated to a fallen US Personnel. Marketing itself as the ‘ideal’ training system for everyone from housewives to special forces operators. CrossFit aims to physically prepare people for whatever life may throw at them. It is not about following a particular routine, but about constantly varying workouts. Using elements of gymnastics, cardio and weightlifting are mixed in numerous combinations to form prescribed "Workouts of the Day" or “WODs"

Greg Glassman CrossFit Founder

CrossFit has some positive benefits:

• Easy to follow & simple

• Uses minimal equipment

• Appeals to military due to intensity, ease of set-up, do anywhere, small area etc

• Good for general maintenance

• Rapid adaptations with novice athletes with low stimulation threshold

If used safely and sensibly, CrossFit-style programs performed three-to-five times per week will almost certainly provide a weekly dose of “vigorous” aerobic exercise that will easily satisfy current public-health guidelines. Also Crossfit does (in addition to exceptional self-promotion) provide a training atmosphere with a strong sense of community and a focus on improvement.

Here’s the problems……

Strength and conditioning specialists spend years learning proper technique of explosive exercises, and many of them have degrees in exercise science, biomechanics or kinesiology. But you (yes, you!) can be certified as a CrossFit Trainer by attending a two-day certification and passing a multiple guess test at the end. You don’t have to have a background in training or coaching. Once you’re certified as a CrossFit Trainer, you’re free to open your own “box”. Throwing less-than-ready (meaning out of shape, overweight, no lifting experience) individuals into group training. This inhibits any chance of getting one-on-one attention.

There’s a lack of responsible programming

No periodisation & total lack of programming. You’ll get rapid adaptations, that quickly trails off, the athlete quickly adapts to stimulus. It makes it difficult to maintain and track progress and no consistency. Many CrossFit athletes are turning to other systems to improve things like their lifting and endurance and just about everything else Crossfit is supposed to achieve. Crossfit does the opposite of a good strength and conditioning program in every respect.

Just do whatever and hope for the best

Random exercises, done badly (using the wrong tools for the job)

Cleans at 50% body weight x 30 reps! Poor technique + wrong stimulus = not neuro stimulation but CV dominant; basically high repetition Olympic lifts. No one in their right mind does 30 reps on the snatch for time, especially with limit weight when they need to 'scale it down' to complete. The muscles in the kinetic chain do not all fatigue at the same rate and this increases the risk of injury, particularly the rotators cuffs in the shoulder (both internal and external). Fatigue decreases the ability to perform the exercise correctly and efficiently, which further increases the risk of injury. Combine this with poor exercise prescription and programming you have taken what was once the safest form of training (multiple studies showing a lower injury rate of Olympic Lifting than even badminton) and now people are getting injured.

Load Use for Exercises

Load intensity is based on bodyweight, not on individual ability of force production. One individual may be working at 90% 1 rep max and another at 40% 1 rep max. It’s not individual but generic and random. This may overload and injury athletes or not be enough training stimulus. Most of the exercises are done in a high-repetition manner, and/or part of a circuit, which does very little to build strength. This, combined with poor technique does the exact opposite of what a strength-training program should do.  Many of the key components of strength are trained with very heavy weights using good technique.

Alternating Exercise Modes (Resistance and Cardio)

During concurrent training likely reduces the capacity for the simultaneous acquisition of hypertrophy and/or mitochondrial training- induced adaptation responses compared with single mode training. Basically rather than trying to do both, focus on doing one well if you want results.

Risk of Injury

Dr. Stuart McGill, (professor of spine biomechanics) says, ‘the risk of injury from some CrossFit exercises outweighs their benefits when they are performed with poor form in timed workouts”. He added there are similar risks in other exercise programs but noted that CrossFit's online community enables athletes to follow the program without proper guidance, increasing the risk. Injury-free progress is the goal, regardless of the name of the program (at least of any good program). Lack of emphasis on skill development and the lack of consistent practise. Like any skill you need to practise it to get good at it and Olympic lifts are the most technical. This lack of practise is demonstrated in many of the video demonstrations on the main CrossFit page where bad technique is given as an example of what to do, instead of what not to do.

Crossfit has developed some unique exercises, such as the medicine ball clean and sumo deadlift high pull (but neither of which is particularly useful) but otherwise nearly everything done by Crossfit can be seen in other programs that have more structure and focus. There is a name for combining cardiovascular exercise, conditioning drills and strength training: Cross training or General Physical Preparation (GPP). This is not something new, athletes have been doing this since the Olympics of ancient Greece.

Is it the fast food of S&C???

• It is ‘exercise, the same way McDonalds is food

• Claims to be an S&C Program, it’s just GPP & Circuit training rebranded

• Initially it is a new stimulus so you’ll get rapid adaptation. Like getting calories from KFC and saying your getting protein

• Long term, you’ll get minimal adaptation, increase your risk of injury due to fatigue & poor technique 

You can train CrossFit, like you can live on Fast food, but long term it will cause significant health problems.