"YOU MUST WAKE UP EVERY MORNING AS IF ON PURPOSE"
CROSSFIT ... love it or hate it.
If there is one thing (or two things) about 'Crossfitters' that all will agree on is that they are very enthusiastic and are not afraid of hard work in order to get results. Its fun and it brings people together who find it difficult to exercise alone. For those who 'believe' in Crossfit it is like the Holy Grail ... for those who don't its just another health and fitness craze. As with most things in life the truth is a grey area somewhere in the middle.
But what is it?
Crossfit’s specialty is not specializing. The goal is to optimize performance in all 10 fitness domains: Strength, speed, agility, endurance, stamina, flexibility, power, coordination, balance, and accuracy.
Crossfit's aim is to develop overall fitness or what is sometimes termed “functional” strength.
And does it?
I think the answer is indisputable, of course it does. Start a Crossfit regime and you will see results.
A recent study performed by Ohio State University Health and Exercise Science was designed to take a
look at how Crossfit impacted body composition and aerobic fitness.
The results?
Men lost on average 4.2% body fat while women lost around 3.4% body fat in the ten weeks.
That isn’t weight, that is body fat !
Coupled with this was an increase in VO2-max 13.6% in males and 11.8% in females. VO2-max is a solid measure of maximal aerobic capacity, so everyone improved their aerobic fitness as well. In summary with Crossfit you can increase your aerobic capacity, decrease body fat and gain a small amount of muscle as well.
Sounds good so far, so what's the catch?
To be honest there is no catch but there is a warning as there were a few issues, for example, 16% of the participants
dropped out due to injury which is a fairly high rate. People do drop out of other studies too, but typically not that many for this reason. So, injury is definitely a concern, especially overuse.
But why?
In my experience it is getting the balance right between providing enough recovery time in regards to their physical condition so that the positive changes can take place. This is always difficult because most people complain of aches and pains most of the time (in life in general), so again its knowing what is a real strain and what is just DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness). Therefore it is important to be able to coordinate the movements effectively and safely.
The problem is accentuated because many of the movements are at high speed (High Intensity) and so there is always a danger that the 'form' will be lost.
Furthermore some people did not lose weight as much or as fast as others. There are a myriad of factors for this including people's own dietary choices, which was supposed to be Paleo, but it is always going to be difficult to control or monitor. Also the fact that overweight people may have an inability to keep the quality of work at a high enough level, probably played a part.
In my opinion high intensity training and good nutrition always equals great fat loss. If you follow the “typical” American or Western diet then no amount of Crossfit is going to do it.
So where are we?
I think it churlish to criticize Crossfit on the back of poor form. People in gyms and parks around the world do this on their own anyway, whether they are lifting weights, hitting a tennis or golf ball wrong .. or even doing Zumba with 200 others and jumping up and down like maniacs. I have run thousands of miles over horrendous terrain and at night and never got an ache and I've also stepped off the kerbside whilst shopping and pulled a muscle ... we are only human, things happen.
If you train properly with a good coach and give yourself time to adapt to this new regime then I personally would highly recommend Crossfit.
But what is it?
Crossfit’s specialty is not specializing. The goal is to optimize performance in all 10 fitness domains: Strength, speed, agility, endurance, stamina, flexibility, power, coordination, balance, and accuracy.
Crossfit's aim is to develop overall fitness or what is sometimes termed “functional” strength.
And does it?
I think the answer is indisputable, of course it does. Start a Crossfit regime and you will see results.
A recent study performed by Ohio State University Health and Exercise Science was designed to take a
look at how Crossfit impacted body composition and aerobic fitness.
The results?
Men lost on average 4.2% body fat while women lost around 3.4% body fat in the ten weeks.
That isn’t weight, that is body fat !
Coupled with this was an increase in VO2-max 13.6% in males and 11.8% in females. VO2-max is a solid measure of maximal aerobic capacity, so everyone improved their aerobic fitness as well. In summary with Crossfit you can increase your aerobic capacity, decrease body fat and gain a small amount of muscle as well.
Sounds good so far, so what's the catch?
To be honest there is no catch but there is a warning as there were a few issues, for example, 16% of the participants
dropped out due to injury which is a fairly high rate. People do drop out of other studies too, but typically not that many for this reason. So, injury is definitely a concern, especially overuse.
But why?
In my experience it is getting the balance right between providing enough recovery time in regards to their physical condition so that the positive changes can take place. This is always difficult because most people complain of aches and pains most of the time (in life in general), so again its knowing what is a real strain and what is just DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness). Therefore it is important to be able to coordinate the movements effectively and safely.
The problem is accentuated because many of the movements are at high speed (High Intensity) and so there is always a danger that the 'form' will be lost.
Furthermore some people did not lose weight as much or as fast as others. There are a myriad of factors for this including people's own dietary choices, which was supposed to be Paleo, but it is always going to be difficult to control or monitor. Also the fact that overweight people may have an inability to keep the quality of work at a high enough level, probably played a part.
In my opinion high intensity training and good nutrition always equals great fat loss. If you follow the “typical” American or Western diet then no amount of Crossfit is going to do it.
So where are we?
I think it churlish to criticize Crossfit on the back of poor form. People in gyms and parks around the world do this on their own anyway, whether they are lifting weights, hitting a tennis or golf ball wrong .. or even doing Zumba with 200 others and jumping up and down like maniacs. I have run thousands of miles over horrendous terrain and at night and never got an ache and I've also stepped off the kerbside whilst shopping and pulled a muscle ... we are only human, things happen.
If you train properly with a good coach and give yourself time to adapt to this new regime then I personally would highly recommend Crossfit.
