Crossfit V
Bodybuilding who’s side are you on? Me personally it’s either both or neither depending
on how you look at it. These days between the lovers and haters it seems
everyone must choose a side. I want to make myself clear from the get go. I
stand completely in the middle of these two methods. I live in what most people
would call the grey area. As a result I often find myself in discussion with passionate
lovers and haters.
For those of you
at home who haven’t yet found yourself in one of these discussions (just wait
you will) there are really only two sides to this argument out there it seems.
Lovers are those who see Crossfit as the be all and end all of fitness. The
lovers are devotees of the WOD and mixing it up and just generally being
prepared for anything. Haters are those that see Crossfit as unsafe and a fad
and for whatever reason are often linked with bodybuilders.
I would like to
address both of these types of extremists because as far as I can see you both
live in a different world to me. After all every fitness philosophy has perks
and drawbacks and for two sides that seem to be locked in quite a headstrong
battle, they share a few similarities. That’s right similarities I can hear my
inbox filling up with emails already.
Personally when I
create my workouts I like to use a combination of scientific research and
methods. I am also a big believer in experience being one of the greatest tools
of all. Now in saying this I would like to add that I have five years of
Exercise Science studying under my belt as well over ten years combined
experience in Martial Arts, Olympic Weightlifting and general fitness. This
combined experience fills me with confidence to draw my own conclusions over
some of the methodology suggested by both Crossfit and Bodybuilding. After all
why else would I pay thousands of dollars for student loans to the government
if not for educated blogging?
What specifically inspired
me to write this post was a conversation held with a friend of mine. Like many
people I know on both sides of the argument he is a personal trainer with
decades of experience and numerous world class sporting achievements. This
person in particular was a hater pure and simple. I was shocked by the remarks
he was making in regards to Crossfit. Remarks such as “it`s a fad”, “it`s
inefficient”, “it`s not long term”, “it`s just crap”. This seems to echo the
hater community pure and simple. Other arguments are the programming has no
rhyme or reason and the use of kipping is for idiots. The lovers also have a
few opinions about bodybuilders. Some of the remarks include bodybuilders are
not being functional and they are all about appearances.
I would like to
analyse some of these arguments. The first thing I would like to address is the
common term of fad attached to Crossfit. How do you define a fad? The most
common description is something that is popular for a short amount of time.
Does Crossfit really fit this term? For one think Crossfit has been around for fourteen
years give or take (Founded by Greg Glassman in 2000).
Fourteen years seems
like a long time for something to be a fad. So far I believe Crossfit is
appearing like most things in the health in fitness industry. First every
fitness philosophy starts small and then becomes more mainstream before
contracting once again if not evolving into something new. This rule of
expansion and contracting works for everything and does not point to Crossfit being
a fad. The only things I have truly seen as fads are health and fitness gadgets
sold on T.V. Honestly I can’t even tell you if Crossfit has even reached its
maximum popularity yet. It could continue growing and evolving for years to
come.
Another argument
made against Crossfit is their high rep and high load training. Haters see it
as downright dangerous pushing yourself so hard all of the time. In this
instance I do agree. All research I have ever read on high rep high load
Olympic lifting WODs says it will lead to technical breakdown. Technical
breakdown basically means after doing the same lift over and over again it will
lead to muscle fatigue which off course leads to poor technique and then potential
injury. For example say you are doing high load dead lifts over and over
eventually you will fatigue, your shoulders might drop and that could lead to a
back injury to put it simply. These kind of WODs concern me because they have
such a high risk/injury rate. Now I understand that Crossfit mantra of being
prepared for anything even if it doesn’t make sense and I have nothing against
it. But you can find other exercises that are physically demanding and create
the same results without putting the exerciser at risk.
At first I wasn’t
sure what the reasoning is behind the programming of WODs. Sometimes it seems to
be done just to grind people into the ground. That was until I was attending
university with a now Crossfit box owner. Instead of stacking his programming
with injury inducing WODs his had a clear and intelligent design. He even ran
an introductory course to WODs to ensure his clients are using proper
technique. If you are willing to chat to the trainers at your local box you are
likely to find other like-minded trainers writing there programs like this.
It seems to me
that Crossfit isn’t necessarily dangerous but has the same pitfalls of all
competitive sports. Trainers that range from bad, good to great. I am often
asked by beginners to martial arts “What’s the best style?” I reply “the teacher,
master, coach is the most important thing, not the style”. I think it is no
different in regards to programming be it Crossfit or any other sport or
exercise endeavour. You need to find a box or gym that programs safely and
makes you feel comfortable. If you are finding yourself getting injured a lot
more than usual then it’s probably a sign to find a new trainer. If you are not
sure what to expect then do some research of your own, the internet provides good
and simple advice for free. I would like to emphasis once again this problem is
found in all sports. Perhaps the only reason it seems higher in Crossfit is due
to their high market saturation currently.
Now for some of
the arguments surrounding Bodybuilders. I think the biggest complaint
Crossfitters have against Bodybuilders is that they aren’t functional. I love
this statement because every man and his dog are really behind functional
training movements or exercise. It’s so strange because functional just means
that it is designed to have a practical use. The problem with this is what is
practical to you may not be for me. It all depends with what fitness goals you
are trying to achieve or what sport you are competing in. I have had experience
with writing programs for the elderly whose goals are to walk to their mailbox
or climb a set of stairs. The programs I write for them are full of functional
movements but as you could imagine they won’t apply to everyone equally.
So this belief
that there are wrong and right functional movements really isn’t right. Just
because exercises bodybuilders do don’t apply to Crossfit doesn’t make them
wrong. It just makes them functional for bodybuilding. That being said a lot of
these so called functional exercise are actually shared by the two sports. For
example the humble squat is used by both Crossfitters and Bodybuilders alike.
Yep serious a “functional” movement used by opposing groups. If you really
compare the two you will find a lot more of these functional movements in
common. For example, deadlifts, thrusters, chin-ups, pull ups and even lunges.
Another argument
against Bodybuilding is that it’s all about appearance. Well first off let me
say off course it is. During competition they are scored on appearance. Why
wouldn’t you work at the very thing that gives you a higher score, after all
every sport does it. For sports like Olympic Weightlifting, Martial Arts or
Boxing there is a big emphasis on weight class and a lot of extra work goes
into maximising you scoring potential for competition. Bodybuilders are doing
the same thing by putting emphasis on their appearance. Even Crossfitters do it
by utilising kipping to maximise the amount or reps they get during
competition. Every athlete is looking for an edge during competitions and as
far as I can see there is no reason why that is a bad thing.
Really there is a
deeper and a more complex argument going on here. Both sides seem to stereotype
how the other trains even though in truth ultimately it is up to the individual
not the whole. It’s hard looking past the hordes to get down to the real bare
bones of any sports but until you make the effort to do so you can’t expect to
understand why they do and what they do. Another key point both sides have
seemed to neglect is the overarching principle of specificity. This principle
is something it seems Crossfit has tried to beat but won`t as our own anatomy
and physiology is the limiting factor. The idea that training with a specified
set of “standards” and a few odd extra`s thrown in makes you the most fittest
and prepared for anything person on the planet is limited. Bodybuilding is no
different they train for appearances getting strong or fast is a side effect.
Being that both are sports and yes Crossfit is now a sport it has rules like
bodybuilding they are ultimately bound by the rule of specificity. If both
sides laid done their ignorance and see they are just points on the continuum
of movement and life they would set their differences aside and just get on
with what they are doing. I would go as far to say that if there was some
transfer in training both sides would benefit. Maybe it`s time they walk in
each other’s shoes even if it is once a week.
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