Crossfit is a training program based on functional exercises in which the muscles are worked as a whole and not in isolation. In this article we are analyzing some crossfit pros and cons, so that you know whether this type of training is suitable for you.
The crossfit training routines are designed to work simultaneously combining aerobic and anaerobic exercises , muscle chains instead of isolated muscles, which leads to significant improvements in our physical form.
The key is to train the physical capacities of the individual with movements that he uses in his daily life and involve using the body as a muscular unit.
That is, working muscles together with combined exercises intelligently and aimed at achieving a complete training.
The idea is to compete against yourself and get better day by day, discovering how far you can go.
In crossfit workouts you work with a high intensity in a short time : the sessions usually do not exceed 50 minutes in duration.
Functional exercises are routinely performed at intervals with a short break. The participants must take into account their limitations and capacities to be polished and progress little by little.
10 Pros and 10 Cons of Crossfit Training
“Crossfit”, although it seems a revolutionary new practice, has been training in this way for dozens of years in highly demanding individual sports such as athletics or contact sports such as boxing could be.
Crossfit does not stop being a high intensity activity with reduced breaks, which allows us to initially work the anaerobic system, when our ATP, the most basic energy obtaining system and the fastest obtaining, has been exhausted, to work with glucose through the anaerobic lactic system and oxidize the body’s glucose, and at the end of training there is a great activation of the aerobic system with the oxidation of fats.
Keep in mind that these systems are always active only at certain times working in large ranges.
The 10 Pros of Crossfit Training
1. Work of the cardiorespiratory system
Even though it is an activity of great impact of force, we force the cardiorespiratory system to work to its limit with the consequent modification in our physiological system.
Higher production of erythropoietin, which is responsible for the production of red blood cells and these transport oxygen, therefore greater oxygen transport to our muscles and organs.
Growth of the cavities of the heart and a hypertrophy of its walls, with this we get that in each beat more blood moves, since the heart can pump more blood in each beat and the blood circulates with more force.
With this we can notice that our pulsations at rest have decreased and when we begin sports practice they rise more quickly.
The alveoli that are in charge of oxygen uptake that we breathe work more efficiently, therefore they capture a higher percentage than sedentary people.
The exchange zone works with more effectiveness, this zone is the one that exchanges the substances in this case oxygen and carbon dioxide between the venules with the pulmonary system.
2. Resistance to muscle fatigue
Not only do we get resistance to physiological fatigue, but also to muscle fatigue.
When working at a muscular level repeatedly and with short or no breaks we get our muscles to get used to high intensity work maintained over time, taking into account that the higher the intensity the shorter the time we can maintain the effort.
3. Muscle hypertrophy
For people who may be interested, with Crossfit we get a slight sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and a moderate sarcomeric hypertrophy so that we will have a rather rocky hypertrophy since many myofibrils are contained by muscle fiber.
4. Fat burning
When performing this type of training we will get that after training the body is burning more calories in the form of fat, up to 72 hours later.
5. Butt motivation
A sport that allows us to measure ourselves and improve ourselves in each session, will keep us motivated and fulfilled, with this we will release even more endorphins than doing another type of sport and will allow us to maintain a more stable psychological state.
6. Total body conditioning
Functional and multiarticular exercises help us to train complete movements that involve muscular chains, as opposed to the analytical exercises that are performed in gym machines.
7. Diversity and fun
The WOD changes every day, so it’s very hard to get bored. In addition, Crossfit training is always done in a group, so the social component takes center stage.
8. Adaptation to each individual
In the Crossfit sessions each participant works with the weight that he considers appropriate or with his own body weight, in addition to working in classes of a certain level.
9. Physical improvements in a short time
By offering the muscle a stimulus different from the one that is usually subjected, the changes occur in a short space of time, especially at the beginning. In addition, the high intensity of the training favors the gain of strength and the loss of fat mass.
10. Perfect as complementary training for other disciplines
When developing basic physical abilities, the Crossfit is used by very diverse athletes as a complement. From runners to martial artists, many have confessed to being hooked.
The 10 drawbacks of Crossfit
1. Injuries
Some of the exercises that are proposed can be highly damaging to our joints and even to the tendons.
2. Special material
Not all gyms are adapted for a Crossfit job, it depends the city will cost us to find a gym that allows us to train this modality. So, if your goal is to train Crossfit, you must go to a center that allows you to develop your routines with full guarantee.
3. Non-specialized assistants
Many centers do not usually practice the basic weight-lifting exercises such as clean & jerk, and when they are performed incorrectly they can be highly damaging to the spine, so you have to try to get in hands of a good professional.
4. Overtraining
If we do not monitor workloads, or who directs us does not take them into account, it is easy to fall into overtraining : that is, we have exceeded the exercise load limit that our body can assimilate.
If we notice headaches, loss of appetite or insomnia, I recommend taking a week of total rest to regain strength and avoid injuries or health problems.
5. Wear and danger of breaking
By taking the body to the limit, in the last minutes of training our intramuscular and intermuscular coordination will be impaired, this leads to poor execution of movements and exercises, therefore a danger to our back, muscles and joints. Try to put the exercises of great loads at the beginning of the training to avoid this inconvenience.
6. Need for a specialized center and a professional monitor.
There are some items that are not found in any gym and are necessary. In addition, the professional monitor is essential.
In this discipline, the correct advice is essential for some exercises. If one or more exercises are done wrong, it is possible to hurt yourself.
7. To be able to practice, it is necessary to have a good physical condition
So a beginner who has never exercised or a person who has not exercised for some time should prepare beforehand.
8. It is necessary to have a good control of the intensity of the exercises, both by a certified trainer and by oneself, since over exertion can cause damage and injuries.
It is easy to fall into this error by pressure from other colleagues and competition.
9. You must be very careful with certain exercises such as lifting weights because they require a certain technique that if not practiced with precision or done quickly can cause serious injuries.
10. It is easy to fall into overtraining if you do not have good advice.
The monitor should advise on this aspect but everyone knows their body and its limits.
As the body is pushed to the limit, by the end of training it is exhausted and there is less coordination. This can cause some exercises to be performed poorly, leading, again, to the risk of injury.
A bit of Crossfit history
Although Crossfit has gained popularity in recent years, it has been practiced for a long time. It is a total body training based on the methods used by military units and special forces .
As always, the Americans were the pioneers in taking this type of military training, adapting it to the public and patenting it as a program with a trademark in the year 2000.
Since then the system has spread and has become one of the methods of Fashion to get fit.
Has Crossfit training become a business? Inevitably, yes.
Beyond the practice of sport, Crossfit fans consider it a way of life, forming part of a community that shares training, nutritional advice, personal jargon and even a characteristic way of dressing. The Crossfiteros form a group in love with the sport they practice.
What do we work with crossfit training?
The main idea of Crossfit is to train the basic physical abilities of the individual through functional exercises.
The fact of working movements and muscular chains instead of isolated muscles favors the complete and fast training.
Crossfit sessions work with a very high intensity and a reduced time : no session should exceed 50 minutes in length.
Every day there is a Workout of the Day (WOD, “training of the day”) that consists of several groups of functional exercises organized in a circuit and regulated by work intervals with a short rest.
The work of the muscular force of all the body is a basic one in the Crossfit, since it works with high loads and a lot of intensity.
Aerobic capacity and other physical abilities such as flexibility, coordination or agility are also improved .
Crossfit exercises
Crossfit sessions are held in the box , name given to their facilities.
In training, machines are never used, but material such as Olympic bars, kettlebells, sacks with different weights or medical balls are used. In addition, one often works with exercises with one’s own body weight.
Some of the most used exercises in the WOD come from weightlifting, such as those charged with power or power clean.
Others are more traditional exercises such as chin-ups, jumps over heights, loaded abs or push-ups.
The most important thing is that during the training a high intensity and short duration work is carried out.
The rounds of multiarticular and functional exercises are habitual by intervals of 30 seconds making the highest possible number of repetitions of each one of the movements.
Who can practice Crossfit?
When asked if the Crossfit is for everyone, personally I do not think so: a good physical basis is necessary to be able to carry out a good training.
As always, this is something that we can improve over time, so we’ll just need work and patience to get started.
In the Crossfit classes there are different levels for the participants, being able to adapt the training to the physical condition of the Crossfitters.
In addition, before entering a WOD, you must do some kind of adaptation in which the technique of basic movements is taught.
Much has been said about the use of “dangerous movements” in the Crossfit: with good technique and body control there should be no danger of injury.
Each participant must be aware of their abilities and limitations in order to work them and progress little by little.
We must always be responsible in our training.
The basis of the Crossfit is always to compete against oneself and get better day by day.
Although the Crossfitters have their own competitions in which they compete against each other, personal improvement is the main pillar of this type of training, and a good encouragement when it comes to improving.
