For my presentation I am researching the physiological impacts of a Crossfit training regime. I chose this topic because being an athlete, I have heard of/been exposed to many different types of training programs and Crossfit time and time again brings about the most controversy. On one hand, I have been told by strength coaches that Crossfit can be extremely dangerous and harmful and on the other hand, I have spoken to people who consistently do Crossfit and they absolutely swear by it. I don’t know enough about Crossfit to agree with one argument or the other so that’s why I think it’ll be really interesting to research it and see the science behind how it works, what it does for your body, and maybe even how it compares to other workout regimes. I expect that I will find some mixed research in terms of if it is beneficial or not or if it is only beneficial for a certain type of athlete training for something specific. I also expect that I will find that it works better with a specific type of diet. Other people in the class should be interested in this topic because Crossfit is currently a quite popular workout regime so learning about it, especially if the research has positive results, might encourage people to give it a try. On the flip side, if the research shows negative results and class members know people who do Crossfit, they can use the science presented in the presentation to suggest that the person tries a different regime. So far I have only researched what exactly Crossfit entails in effort to gain a solid foundational understanding of the workout prior to researching the science behind it and the bodily costs/benefits of it. I hope to get a start on the more specific research tomorrow or this weekend.
Any suggestions of other directions I can take this in are much appreciated! 🙂
I definitely think this is a very cool topic. I’ve heard the same mixed reviews about Crossfit as you have. I know that sometimes people think that doing Crossfit is just to get jacked and have the goal of being able to lift crazy amounts of weights. Some people think this can be achieved by certain lifting techniques that are targeted at heavy weights not necessarily with the best or safest techniques to prevent long term injury. Lifting in places like strength and conditioning centers for college athletes is aimed at maintaining strength and injury prevention. Especially when in season the goal isn’t always lift as heavy as possible. Most out of season lifts are aimed for the muscle build up and maximum weights. I definitely think looking at how Crossfit can either be beneficial or have negative effects. One thing that might be interesting to look at is maybe for athletes if a regular workout regime in season is better, but then maybe a Crossfit regime out of season to help build up muscle could be beneficial.
Hi Jordi!
Nice post, I have also heard about this controversy extensively. Crossfit sounds like it utilizes the principles of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) where you put your body against the clock. Limiting rest comes to characterize this form of fitness almost seemingly to defy the “central governor” idea that your mind limits your bodily performance. In my opinion, most fitness regimes are good in moderation, but can be dangerous when taken to the extreme. Crossfit breeds a culture of taking it to the extreme, and I think the problem may arise from this never-quit mentality rather than the exercises themselves. My gut feeling is also that this type of workout can be tough on the joints – going from pull ups to burpees to hang cleans seems like it could be rough. Also, when you do not let your body to rest, I expect that you begin to compensate and proper form suffers. To sum it up, I would be interested to see if you find information regarding joint instability in crossfit participants and cases where people just simply pushed themselves too far. I expect that the proportion of these incidents is greater in the group-based, intense exercise atmosphere of crossfit.
Thanks and see you in class tomorrow!
Tommy