CrossFit Has Finally Grown Up

For years, CrossFit was a sport that seemed to want to be bigger than itself. It had to be the best way to get stronger, faster, more muscular, build endurance and deliver elite performance. Anyone who criticized it simply didn't understand the method. Anyone who got injured had, according to its advocates, simply trained incorrectly.

That era, in my view, is behind us.

After watching a recent video by Andrew Hiller, I was reminded of something I have been noticing more and more over the past few years: CrossFit has grown up. Not because the workouts have changed, but because the sport finally seems to understand where its real strength lies.

The sport no longer needs to be everything

In the early years, CrossFit was often defended as though it could beat every other form of training. Comparisons with bodybuilding, powerlifting and endurance sports were made regularly, with the argument that a CrossFitter was more "complete."

That sounds appealing, but it lacks nuance.

A bodybuilder will almost always develop more muscle mass than a CrossFitter. A marathon runner will almost always perform better in a marathon. A powerlifter will move more weight on the squat, bench press and deadlift.

Scientific research has supported the principle of specificity for decades. Adaptations depend heavily on the stimulus applied. Someone who trains for maximum strength develops different qualities than someone training for endurance or muscle growth. The body becomes especially good at what it does regularly.

That does not mean CrossFit falls short. On the contrary. It means CrossFit was never meant to be the absolute best at everything.

The science behind general fitness

What makes CrossFit special is not that it creates exceptional specialists. It creates exceptionally versatile athletes.

That is supported by research into concurrent training. Both strength training and cardiovascular training independently produce strong positive effects on health, body composition, cardiovascular fitness and longevity. When both forms of training are structurally combined, a broad range of physical adaptations emerges that is difficult to match with one-sided training.

A large meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that muscular strength is a strong predictor of lower mortality rates and better health in later life. In addition, high cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the most powerful predictors of longevity and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

That is precisely the domain of CrossFit.

Not in creating the strongest person in the world. Not in building the biggest biceps. But in developing a combination of strength, conditioning, mobility and resilience that is far more relevant for most people.

From extremes to sustainability

Perhaps the most important development within the sport is the shift from obsession to sustainability.

During the peak of the Froning and Fraser years, a culture emerged in which more often seemed better. More volume. More intensity. More training hours.

At the same time, knowledge grew around recovery, periodization and training load. Coaches began to understand more clearly that progress does not come from constantly pushing to the maximum, but from finding the right balance between load and recovery.

Research into training periodization supports that approach. Athletes who systematically vary volume and intensity generally show better long-term results than those who train at maximum capacity continuously.

You can see this reflected in many CrossFit programs today. Less randomness. More structure. Less ego. More strategy.

Health as the ultimate goal

What appeals to me most in Hiller's message is the distinction he draws between elite sport and fitness.

The CrossFit Games are elite sport. The average CrossFit box, however, does not revolve around elite sport. The average participant wants to have energy for work, move without pain, maintain a healthy weight and still be able to run, lift and play with their grandchildren at sixty.

That goal may be less glamorous than a ticket to the Games, but it is considerably more valuable.

Research from the World Health Organization consistently shows that regular strength training combined with sufficient cardiovascular activity leads to fewer chronic diseases, better metabolic health and a higher quality of life as we age.

Those are precisely the pillars on which good CrossFit is built.

CrossFit's greatest victory

CrossFit's greatest victory may not be that the sport produces fitter people than it did twenty years ago.

The greatest victory is that the community increasingly understands what the method is meant for.

CrossFit does not need to beat bodybuilding. It does not need to beat powerlifting. It does not need to beat marathon running.

It only needs to keep doing what it does exceptionally well: helping ordinary people become stronger, fitter, healthier and more resilient than they were yesterday.

And perhaps that is the clearest proof that CrossFit has finally grown up.

Research references

The key scientific findings on which this article is based:

• Wilson et al. (2012), Concurrent Training Meta-Analysis: combining strength and conditioning training produces broad physical adaptations without major negative effects for recreational athletes.
• Garber et al. (2011), American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: combined strength and endurance training offers the greatest health benefits for the general population.
• Saeidifard et al. (2019), British Journal of Sports Medicine: higher muscular strength is associated with a lower risk of premature mortality.
• Blair et al. and subsequent research into cardiorespiratory fitness: aerobic capacity is among the strongest predictors of health and longevity.
• Williams et al. (2017) and other periodization studies: structured variation in training load leads to better performance and a lower risk of overtraining compared to continuously maximal intensity.