Why I do Crossfit

I have recently decided to give crossfit a test run and have been enjoying the benefits of the training. After being at it for a month I notice a marked reduction in bodyfat and vast improvements in conditioning despite already being lean as well as being a submission grappler who goes through brutal conditioning sessions reguraly. As a person with physique and athleticism goals I often get questions on why I do crossfit now and why I have done similar things in the past. Here I will explain my reasons behind doing crossfit and how this training may benefit physique competitors. I hope this will help dispell some myths and show how it can be incorperated into an athlete's training.

1. "But broski, crossfit may make women hot but it will make men small and weak."

Not sure where this myth came from. If you look at the top crossfitters they are all muscular and maintain a very impressive low level of bodyfat year round. (http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Games09_IronWillIronBody.pdf) Although many of them are not at the same level of bodybuilders they would all fit very well into the fitness and muscle model categories. Of course when the Real Deal challenge gets started up I believe we will see a great influx of crossfitters. Currently their are plenty of crossfitters such as Rob Orlando and Greg Amundson who show that bodybuilders are not weak. Their are also crossfitters such as Darren Mehling, Josh Bunch, Chastity Slone, and those on their team that use crossfit to train for bodybuilding and fitness competitions. (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/natural/athletes/josh-bunch.html)

2. Crossfit is not to disimilar to the methods of old bodybuilders

Back in the day bodybuilders used a combo of powerlifting, olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and metabolic conditioning. Bob Gajda's PHA method was very similar to the metabolic conditioning workouts performed by modern crossfitters. Many of the old muscle beach starts did very little aerobic work and instead focused on the elements above. Gymnastic feats performed by bodybuilders were not uncommon during that time. Jack Lalanne trained in a very similar method to crossfitters and not too suprisingly his son now owns a crossfit gym and preaches the crossfit method. Chris Lalanne considers his old man "the first crossfitter".

3. Crossfit is very similar to methods used by many fitness models and athletes in the sport

Vince Delmonte, Julien Greaux, Armen Pogosyan and many other fitness models use metabolic style conditioning workouts for their fat loss programs. Many programs similar to crossfit are becoming popular such as Gym Jones, Lean Hybrid Muscle, and Caveman training are now showing to be very effective programs for physique transformation. The reason they are becoming so popular is due to their effectiveness. It makes staying leaner much easier, for example Josh Bunch was able to sub 3 hours of aerobic activity for crossfit workouts while still keeping the same diet and getting leaner faster. Darren Mehling also noted that he was able to escape from the typical get fat in the offseason and lean up later by including crossfit so he could stay under 10% year round.

4. Crossfit and other metabolic conditioning systems give the muscle a very dense and rugged look

Crossfit and similar programs give the muscle a very dense and rugged look rather than a bloated and cartoonish appearance. This is something that can really set a person apart from other physique competitors and to gain more attention at the beach. While others have muscle that look like puffed up balloons a person with a dense look seems like he can hunt down a polar bear and kill it unarmed. This rugged look is one of the reasons the 300 actors got so much popularity because of how impressive their builds looked after they trained at Gym Jones. Sean Sherk is another good example of an athlete who uses a method similar to crossfit (caveman training) and has achieved one of the best physiques in sport today. Josh Bunch perhaps put it best when he said "I believe the reason I won wasn't just being a little leaner than at previous shows. It was the musculature which had a different look after crossfit. At below 5% bodyfat you see a lot of stuff. I looked denser. I believe crossfit not only makes you stronger, but it makes your body look stronger." This video shows a good example of a rugged build that would probaly do well in the fitness model division

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So their you have it. Why I include crossfit in my program and why I think it could benefit other physique athletes. Is this the best method? No their is no best method, this just happens to be one I love and also happens to benefit my physique. Crossfit is a GPP program that is great for burning fat, improving all round athleticism, and giving your physique a much more dense and rugged look. It will not make you the best marathoner or powerlifter but it is good for those sports with demands more in the middle of the fitness spectrum. That's it for now! Feel free to post comments and questions!