Crossfit

CrossFit is an evolving system for developing and maintaining a high level of generalized fitness. Created by Greg Glassman, who prefers to be called "Coach", it utilizes the principles of functionality, variety, and intensity to maximize what he calls "neuroendocrine adaptation" [http://www.crossfit.com/cf-download/Foundations.pdf, after a term coined by Dr. William Kraemer of Penn State University. Such an adaptation involves both hormonal, and neurological stimulation, and is believed by Coach Glassman to offer benefits approaching those of exogenous hormonal therapy, when coupled with a proper diet (defined below). This claim has not been verified through formal academic study.

Many CrossFit practitioners participate in workouts posted on the CrossFit home page. These workouts, typically abbreviated WOD (Workout of the Day), vary constantly, with very few repetitions, and follow a 3 day on/1 day off pattern. Most involve high repetitions of multi-joint movements combined in random ways, and done for time. Many participants will post their times on a blog associated with the workout.

Some of the few repeating workouts are named, many of them for women. This and many other facets of CrossFit are discussed on their FAQ page ^*

Fitness

In the paper "What is Fitness?"^*, 3 primary models of fitness are considered relevant to the definition and achievement of generalized fitness: the ten physical skills, the performance of athletic tasks, and the 3 energy systems which drive our bodies.

Note: CrossFit's claimed results though they have seen little laboratory time, have been verified by various third parties such as the Florida Police Corps, and the Canadian Army, whom has implemented CrossFit as an official part of its physical training program.

Ten physical skills

CrossFit aims to improve ten physical skills: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, strength, speed, flexibility, power, co-ordination, agility, balance and accuracy.

According to the CrossFit model: "improvements in endurance, stamina, strength, and flexibility come about through training. Training refers to activity that improves performance through a measurable organic change in the body. By contrast improvements in coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy come about through practice. Practice refers to activity that improves performance through changes in the nervous system. Power and speed are adaptations of both training and practice."

Performance of athletic tasks

According to "What is Fitness": "The essence of this model is the view that fitness is about performing well at any and every task imaginable. Picture a hopper loaded with an infinite number of physical challenges where no selective mechanism is operative, and being asked to perform feats randomly drawn from the hopper. This model suggests that your fitness can be measured by your capacity to perform well at these tasks in relation to other individuals.

The implication here is that fitness requires an ability to perform well at all tasks, even unfamiliar tasks, tasks combined in infinitely varying combinations. In practice this encourages the athlete to disinvest in any set notions of sets, rest periods, reps, exercises, order of exercises, routines, periodization, etc. Nature frequently provides largely unforeseeable challenges; train for that by striving to keep the training stimulus broad and constantly varied."

3 Energy Systems

There are three metabolic pathways that provide the energy for all human action. These “metabolic engines” are known as the phosphagen pathway, the glycolytic pathway, and the oxidative pathway. The first, the phosphagen, dominates the highest-powered activities, those that last less than about ten seconds. The second pathway, the glycolytic, dominates moderate-powered activities, those that last up to several minutes. The third pathway, the oxidative, dominates low-powered activities, those that last in excess of several minutes.

Total fitness, the fitness that CrossFit promotes and develops, requires competency and training in each of these three pathways or engines. Balancing the effects of these three pathways largely determines the how and why of the metabolic conditioning or “cardio” that we do at CrossFit."

Functionality, Intensity, Variety

As a system of General Physical Preparation (or preparedness) CrossFit utilizes movements which commonly occur in everyday activites. The three primary types of movement are sitting down and standing up properly - with or without weight overhead - picking things up, and climbing over things.

As a specific example, the ability to properly squat - for example to pick up something you've dropped, or to get out of a chair - is essential to effective movement.

A further example of functional strength is the ability to lift heavy, and sometimes irregular, objects such as couches, which is a skill that may be needed in the course of one's daily activities. CrossFit uses free weight and bodyweight excercises to more closely approximate such real-world physical skills. Finally, pulling and pushing motions are often used, with pullups and overhead lifts being the most common, which have fairly explicit applicability to movements such as climbing over walls, and into windows (pullups), and lifting overhead, as in loading trucks (presses).

More generally, a fundamental goal is to increase overall work capacity. Because the WOD typically involve multiple types of movements--which to be included need to mimic something people actually do in the process accomplishing physical objectives--which are compressed into as little time as possible, a net effect is to increase the intensity of the work, or what Coach Glassman would term Power, defined as "time rate of doing work" ^*(pg. 6). As CrossFit practitioners progress, their times to accomplish the same work go down, with the correlary that their work capacity--their Power--at least in that set of movements, has gone up.

Because of the law of accomodation, use of the same precise set of movements over time will lead to a reduction in their ability to stimulate improvement so both the types and sequencing of movements are varied constantly on the CrossFit protocol, varying from 10K runs to 1 rep max deadlifts, with many permutations in between, making the system a form of non-traditional periodization [http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/periodization3.php

The "Sport of Fitness"

CrossFit has been described as "The sport of fitness" ^*, by which is connoted a progressively increasing cultivation of the above 3 models of fitness, and in specific improving times and loads in the various CrossFit activities. As a method of achieving generalized adaptation, it is not intended to create elite specific sport performance, without added inputs.

For example, people who solely do the CrossFit WOD, plus the CrossFit warmup, will rarely be able to win events with high levels of competition and a need for highly specific preparation. On two ends of the spectrum, CrossFitters will normally not win either Powerlifting meets, or 10K races. However, the objective of a generalized level of fitness is to place in the middle of the pack in both types of events, making the CrossFit practitioner, depending on the perspective of the person speaking, a powerlifter who runs, or a runner who powerlifts

Mathematically, if "X" is a specific result in a specific sport--for example an 18 minute 5K, or a 500 lb. deadlift--then an idealized CrossFit participant would want to achieve a percentage of whatever "X" is, that is higher than would be the case for the population as a whole, regardless of the nature of "X". As that percentage increases across multiple modalities, the overall fitness level, as stated in CrossFit Model 2, can be seen as having gone up.

Many CrossFitters do participate in specific sports, however, and will generally adapt their exercise schedules to include both specifically helpful WOD's, as well as training for their individual sport. There is no generally agreed upon method for doing this, and optimal ratios have yet to be worked out. One common method for increasing limit strength faster and farther than would otherwise be possible within the limits of the WOD alone, is the ME, or Maximal Effort Method, first called such by CrossFit Coach Mike Rutherford. This consists in replacing the middle day of the 3 day triplet in the WOD cycle, with Maximal Effort weight training, as defined by Vladimir Zatsiorsky, among others.

CrossFit participants also typically practice what Zatsiorsky terms Submaximal Repetitive Effort, in the form of their warmup ^*, which consists in 3-5 rounds of approx. 5-6 exercises, done one after the other. The objective is to practice the movements, so the muscles are not taxed to a state of fatigue. Typically, most participants do approx. 30-50% of their one set maximimum totals per set. For example, someone able to do 15 pullups would do about 6 pullups per set. This is a principle means, in addition to the WOD proper, for increasing strength endurance, and for gaining and retaining skill in movements which do not occur often, such as Overhead Squats, and Squat Cleans.

Skill Development

CrossFit participants, in addition to the posted Workout of the Day, often practice the refinement of skills in a variety of athletic activities, with the most common being gymnastics skills, and weightlifting skills (namely the clean and jerk and the snatch, both of which are very technical and require regular practice to develop proficiency). Common gymnastics skills pursued are the muscle-up - which appears occasionally on the posted WOD - the front lever, the unsupported handstand, handstand walking, presses to handstand, and a variety of others

Technical instruction on these is provided by qualified coaches, and is covered in a monthly newsletter, titled the CrossFit Journal. There is also a section of the Message Board where people can post video of specific movements, and receive coaching from a variety of personnel.

Controversy

Non-Traditional periodization

CrossFit does utilise Non-Traditional Periodization in an effort to develop all physical capacities simultaneously, although there is evidence that focusing on different goals for periods of time will result in faster achievement of specific fitness objectives than continually varying the work ^*" target="_blank" >^*.

There is also evidence that exercises can have gerneralized effects on the body, specifically in terms of the postulated neuro-endocrine response. Working at 80% of maxium potential can increase 100% maximum potential. To quote Mark Rippetoe, "High speed training, with enough weight to make high power production necessary, makes for useable strength at a wide range of speeds from fast with moderate loads where the training takes place to slow with heavier loads, where the contest squat, bench and deadlift are done". (Rippetoe, 2005).

Politics

On the rest day every fourth day, Mr. Glassman usually posts an article for discussion. These articles are often political in nature and usually come from a conservative perspective. Because a significant number of CrossFit participants are active duty members of the United States military and its allies, the articles quite often cover issues and commentary directly relevant to (and in support of) their missions. This practice is itself a topic of debate. Views from across the political spectrum are expressed.^*

External Links

References

Rippetoe, M "Starting Strength" The Aasgard Company, Wichita Falls, 2005

Roman, R. The Training of the Weightlifter. Sportivny Press. 1988.

Tsatsouline, P. Power to the People. Dragon Door Publishing. 1999.

Zatsiorsky, V. The Science and Practice of Strength Training. Human Kinetics Publishers. 1996.

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