CrossFit is bad for you?

A flawed product can still be a success with successful marketing. The fitness industry is not short of marketing strategies and quick fixes. A current example is CrossFit.  CrossFit is a series of Workout of the Days (WODS) that according to the practitioners make the ultimate “fittest person on the planet”. (1)

Before I enlarge any further, I will say that CrossFit utilises some good exercises such as Olympic lifts. The promotional literature will say they promote interval training; again, a principle I would endorse and use all the time with clients. For me the issue and where the danger comes is the prescription of the WODS-consecutive days/repetitions/loads/interval periods. The structure of which has resulted in a reputation for a high injury rate amongst participants.

One study carried out found “73.5% injury rate! …..7% of them requiring surgical intervention”. (2)

Part of the problem can be technique as this breaks down when fatigued. Studies have shown that more experienced cross fitters are “3.3 times more likely to be injured than those with 2 or less years of experience.” (3) In addition, those that trained more in a week were significantly more likely to get injured.
One study found “a significant correlation was found between history of prior injury and an increased prevalence of new injury in individual’s participating in CrossFit Training.” (4)

Worryingly “Spine injuries were the most common type of injury observed and frequently required surgical intervention”. (5)

The almost cult mentality that can build up within a group, along with WODS, that do not allow enough recovery time or the choice of exercises is not appropriate, lends itself to such a scenario.

Appropriate training needs to be specifically tailored to the individual. Even within a group environment training can be adapted to make it specific for the client.  The following is a quote from CrossFit.com

“We have used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we do not change programs.”

From working within cardiac rehabilitation for nearly 20 years, and having to undertake specific qualifications with regular updates with regards to the type of exercises to be prescribing, such a statement is beyond worrying and contradictory to the client’s recovery.

I would argue that either the cage fighter or the heart patient is doing the wrong exercises for them and that varying the repetitions or intensity is not the way forward.

A client entering that gym and hearing “we do not change programs” should ask why. Their needs are completely different. One programme does not fit all. If it did the whole fitness and sporting world would do it. Some generic principles maybe, but fundamentally specificity within a training programme is essential for the client not only to help them achieve their goals but also to do so in a safe manner.

“We get requests from athletes from every sport looking for a strength-and-conditioning program for their sport. Firemen, soccer players, triathletes, boxers and surfers all want programs that conform to the specificity of their needs. While we admit that there are surely needs specific to any sport, the bulk of sport-specific training has been ridiculously ineffective. The need for specificity is nearly completely met by regular practice and training within the sport, not in the strength-and-conditioning environment. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bikers and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.”(1)

If sport-specific training is “ridiculously ineffective” then how is a generic programme going to help. How do they constitute that it is ineffective? If you asked a top sports person in their sport if they just train generally or specifically, they would all say specific and they are the best of the best.

I use similar exercises for some clients with completely different goals and adapt them accordingly but just saying practice your sport and that will do goes against the point of specific conditioning for a sport. By playing a sport such as tennis it promotes muscular imbalances, the nature of sport is its one sided. Therefore, a conditioning programme to minimise these imbalances to help avoid common injuries within that sport, along with specific exercises to try to maximise their ability would be the ultimate programme.

Below are some examples of promoted WODS

500-m row
12 bodyweight deadlifts
21 box jumps, 20-in. box

Deadlifts are a good strengthening exercise. If fatigued when doing dead lifts it can seriously affect the back. To then try and perform again an explosive box jump seems nonsensical.

3 rounds for time of:

Row 500 meters
Run 400 meters
30 GHD sit-ups

(Photo credit gymbeginner.hk)

To time this workout points towards minimal recovery.  I cannot find anything positive or constructive to say about a GHD sit-up.

One of the recurring themes in many WODS is the lack of suitable rest periods within the interval aspect of training. After completing a set of power cleans for example normally an almost full rest period of maybe 3 minutes would be required. This is due to the fact that it is a power exercise. The nature of which is designed to develop maximum explosive ability. If you are fatigued from other exercises technique will break down and therefore make you susceptible to injury and minimise the very training effect that you are trying to achieve.

There will always be people that have not been injured or just view it as bad luck or one of those things, which can happen but equally why not minimise the risk as much as possible.

My aim when training people is to maximise their performance and minimse the chance of injury.  For me CrossFit goes against logical, researched and proven exercise programming and promotes the premise to an extent of ‘beasting’ so you always leave the gym exhausted and then you have to do it the next day again.

From encountering people that have done CrossFit, reading various studies, along with my experiences of working in the industry I find it worrying that branding for many overrides logic and results in a negative exercise experience at best or a serious injury.

For me CrossFit is not the answer to achieving your health, fitness and sports goals-specific, personalised programmes will provide the results.

References:

1. Crossfit.com
2. The harsh truth about crossfit injuries Andrew Peloquin www.fitday.com
3. Kirill Alekseyev, Alex John, Andrew Malek, Malcolm Lakdawala, Nikhil Verma, Colton Southall, Argyrios Nikolaidis, Sudheer Akella, Samantha Erosa, Rayeed Islam, Efrain Perez-Bravo, Marc Ross Identifying the most common crossfit injuries in a variety of athletes. Rehabilitation Process and Outcome 9. 1179572719897069, 2020
4. Laura A Chachula, Kenneth L Cameron, Steven J Svoboda Association of prior injury with the report of new injuries sustained during CrossFit training. Athletic Training & Sports Health Care 8 (1), 28-34, 2016
5. Benjamin S Hopkins, Michael B Cloney, Kartik Kesavabhotla, Jonathon Yamaguchi, Zacgary A Smith, Tyler R Koski, Wellington K Hsu, Nader S Dahadaleh.Impact of CrossFit-related spinal injuries. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 29 (6), 482-485, 2019