Image credit: Crossfit

When I asked which products you wanted me to review, readers Adam, bret k, Tom, Anthony, root, ukdudeinuk and haig requested that I give my perspective on Crossfit and their principles.

I own 60 issues of the Crossfit Journal and use some of the Crossfit principles with people I train. There’s a lot of stuff I like about Crossfit, but there’s also a lot of stuff that I don’t like. Read on.

What is Crossfit? Crossfit is a strength & conditioning program. You train 3 days on/1 day off or 5 days on/2 days off. Crossfit posts your workout of the day (WOD) each day on their website.

This comes from the Crossfit FAQ:

CrossFit is in large part derived from several simple observations garnered through hanging out with athletes for thirty years and willingness, if not eagerness, to experiment coupled with a total disregard for conventional wisdom.

Let me share some of the more formative of these observations:
1. Gymnasts learn new sports faster than other athletes.
2. Olympic lifters can apply more useful power to more activities than other athletes.
3. Powerlifters are stronger than other athletes.
4. Sprinters can match the cardiovascular performance of endurance athletes, even at extended efforts.
5. Endurance athletes are woefully lacking in total physical capacity.
6. With high carb diets you either get fat or weak.
7. Bodybuilders can’t punch, jump, run, or throw like athletes can.
8. Segmenting training efforts delivers a segmented capacity.
9. Optimizing physical capacity requires training at unsustainable intensities.
10. The world’s most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion.

What I Like About Crossfit. Mainstream gyms have you work with machines or make you do cardio only which leads to subpar results. Crossfit is one of the fastest growing fitness movement and offers a better alternative.

• Free Weights. No machines. You’ll do Power Cleans, Overhead Squats, Turkish Getups, Snatches, but also body-weight exercises, kettlebells, rings, etc. Even women do these exercises and they aren’t bulky.
• Hard Workouts. You always try to beat your previous record. Your goal is to decrease your time or do more reps/sets each WOD.
• Low Carb Diet. Most people do better eating high protein/high fat/low carb, getting the majority of their carbs from fruits & veggies.

What I Don’t Like About Crossfit. It’s a lot better than what mainstream gyms have you do, and you’ll get in shape, but there are several things wrong with doing Crossfit without any additional work.

• Too Much Endurance. You’ll increase your strength, but don’t expect to increase your Deadlift to 2x body-weight.
• Lack of Programming. You jump from one thing to another every WOD: today long runs, tomorrow singles. Too much of everything at the same time will make you average in a lot of things, but great at nothing.
• Hard for Beginners. You can’t learn proper technique using endurance workouts. Crossfit also seems to think that puking is normal/hardcore.

Mixing Crossfit with StrongLifts 5×5. One approach I like with people who are past the beginner’s stage, is mixing a Crossfit WOD with a strength training program. Reader haig asked:

I’m doing a 5×5 advanced schedule right now and am going to start crossfit next month 5 days a week. I would love to get your opinion as stated by a previous commenter on how you would possibly schedule a hybrid crossfit/strength training regiment to get VERY strong and VERY fit.

Understand that you can’t get very strong AND very fit at the same time. Your muscles can’t adapt to both types of exercise. Training endurance & strength simultaneously will inhibit your strength gains.

Realize also that increasing your maximal strength will increase your endurance as explained here & here. If you need to lose fat or need extra endurance work or if strength isn’t that important, try this:

• Monday: StrongLifts 5×5
• Tuesday: WOD
• Wednesday: StrongLits 5×5
• Thursday: off
• Friday: StrongLifts 5×5
• Saturday: WOD
• Sunday: off

Pick one WOD and do it for a couple of weeks — I like John Davies‘ “The Bear“. Try to beat your previous record every time. If your strength goes down, and food/recovery is ok, you’re doing too much.