What is CrossFit – the sport, science and state of mind?

Yes I am aware CrossFit sometimes gets a bad press but take a read of this & would love to know your thoughts: "IS THERE a single, perfect workout? A workout with the best weight training, plyometric, flexibility and endurance exercises? A workout With the precise number of sets and repetitions? A workout That tells the athlete exactly how much weight to use? The answer is No.”

That’s what the national Strength and Conditioning Journal concluded in a report in the 90sNineties.

Instead, the sports scientists concluded that variety is essential for effective performance. There is no single way to work out which will do everything. Or, in the words of martial arts legend Bruce: “Use no way as way, use no limitation as limitation.”.

To many this is an alien concept. Some men date not step on a treadmill in case it sends their body into a catabolic state, “burning” all their hard earned muscle. Equally, others may avoid the weights room like the plague in fear that they’ll end up “bulking up.”

These fears are unfounded.Thanks to Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, we now know that it is possible to have training methods which improve both strength and speed. Back In 2000, he created a “hybrid, jack of all trades” approach to training: through his desire to become stronger to improve his gymnastic ability, he found that by supplementing his bodyweight training with dumbbells and barbells he was able gain a strength advantage over the competition. Coupled with his love of cycling and running, he had found a magic formula, which improved ten areas of fitness: including cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, agility, coordination, balance and accuracy.

Greg’s goal was general physical preparedness. Not a specialised technique which applies to one area of fitness. That was a different way of thinking about fitness. But Greg, a self-declared “rabid libertarian”, felt fitness as we knew it needed to change.

Now - as Reebok celebrate their fifth anniversary sponsoring the CrossFit Games - I look at the impact the sport has had on the world of fitness. I will analyse the physiological adaptations that occur inside the body (should you embrace it).

The Fran workout One of the advantages of CrossFit is its improved ability to lose fat.

Researchers have found that higher intensity training has an “after-burning” effect on calories (and fat) that doesn't occur with slow, steady-state aerobic exercise. Researchers in Canada (from the Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory at Laval University, Québec) have previously found that higher intensity training produced metabolic adaptations that greatly favoured the process of lipid oxidation (fat oxidisation) compared to steady, moderate cardio.That ideas has been echoed by research conducted at the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Purdue University, which found that this form of high intensity training increases post-exercise energy expenditure through increased metabolism in Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).This “after burning” effect on calories (and fat) works because the oxygen requirements of exercise were not met during high intensity training. It means that when you’ve finished at the gym and are sitting at home, there are millions of physiological reactions occurring in the body requiring calories, hence the increased metabolism.That effect doesn’t occur with slow, steady-state aerobic exercise. In that case, the oxygen demands of the body are met during training. Meaning you only burn calories for the period you’re training.That’s not to say low-intensity cardio is without merit, but it might mean Crossfit will get you beach-ready in the shortest time possible.

There are also advantageous hormonal and muscular responses to Crossfit training. It’s widely accepted in strength and conditioning circles that large, heavy movements increase testosterone levels, which is supported by research from the Human performance labratory. They found that “strength training can induce testosterone release, regardless of age.”

In Crossfit, heavy movements like squats, deadlifts (and slightly more complex Olympic lifts in the form of power cleans and snatches) are commonplace. So there’s clear potential for boosting testosterone.

That’s not all:Crossfit style training might also help release exercise-induced growth hormone release, (EIGR), through stimulating neural input, catecholamines, lactic acid and nitric oxide in response to the changing overall acid-base balance within the body.

In summary, it’s important to understand that the body’s reaction to training is complex. It’s not as simple as counting reps, sets and percentages. I’d highly recommend trying Crossfit, or at least embracing its philosophy. Rip up the ‘commercial’ rule book on training and experiment with new training stimuli.