CrossFit: risks x benefits

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

CrossFit is an exercise method that was born and raised with controversy. It emerged in the early 2000s and gained fashion references to become a trend in the fitness universe. Understand the characteristics and science behind this phenomenon, so maybe you can try it and see your life changed.

CrossFit: what is it?

CrossFit is, first and foremost, a brand. It was founded by the company CrossFit®LLC in 2000 and has since gained many followers, from practitioners to the general population., people with obesity and disabilities, and even athletes who take up sports as a profession. For Axel Gouveia, CrossFit has completely changed the scenario of physical exercise in Brazil and around the world. It came as an option for people who could never adapt to “traditional” physical exercises like weight training and running.

The hybrid nature of both sport and exercise are strengths due to the blend of high-performance sport and practice for the health, recreation and fitness of the general population. You may see boxes scattered throughout your city, but in order to use the CrossFit® brand in their name, businesses must be affiliated with the brand..

“Legal recognition of the company was already more important in practice, but today with increasing scientific dissemination and an increasing number of courses in specific areas such as weight lifting, gymnastics, metabolic conditioning and programming, there is no need and/or obligation to be affiliated with the brand today.

When “it all started”, especially in Brazil, it was very difficult to find specific study materials, courses focused on sports, and trained professionals. Therefore, searching for affiliates was an important and indispensable condition. Today, the membership option is becoming much more than a practical technical criterion, it is becoming a management and marketing strategy for gyms,” says Physical Education undergraduate David Haron Khalil Reda.

The variety and inclusiveness of the exercises available in the method (partly because the monthly fees are not cheap) are also reflected in the name of the method used in scientific research. Among the many methods that exist, I and some of my colleagues use them. He suggested a name: functional fitness. The main point is that the method does not depend solely on the CrossFit brand.

Much of the growth can be explained due to some psychological aspects, such as practitioners’ motivation.

Motivation

This is what I see as CrossFit’s greatest strength: its environment. There are a number of features that support people’s continued engagement as there is better quality motivation for training. Understand some aspects:

Scalability

In the CrossFit class, you can do exercises according to your fitness level. They even have classifications for it: scale (beginner), intermediate, and RX (advanced), which allows practitioners of all fitness levels to participate. For Naty Graciano, CrossFit means connection and acceptance.

socialization

Creating a sense of community is the goal in CrossFit and provides many benefits; The most important of these is belonging, which is a human need. Moreover, in practice, there is a sense of camaraderie among practitioners; This is something very different from what we observe in bodybuilding gyms; practitioners “turn a blind eye” to training, especially at large facilities (chain gyms).

Research has shown that social connection during training can be important to get more workouts in per week, and being with other people working out isn’t enough. Despite this, it’s still inconclusive as to whether people stick with CrossFit better than traditional gyms; because the evidence is inconsistent; some studies show high adherence, others do not.

variation

The differences in the exercises and methods used in each class are striking. Due to the variety of activities included in CrossFit, such as gymnastics, running, weight lifting, calisthenics and plyometrics, There will be almost no monotony in education. “Before CrossFit became popular, we didn’t see people doing many exercises like pull-ups, Kettlebells, or Olympic weightlifting exercises, which I think can be considered a huge “waste” because these are movements and exercises that tire us out. It can provide numerous benefits,” emphasizes Axel Gouveia.

Fight and fun

New exercises challenge us, which opens the door to opportunities to feel competent. Psychologically, this helps motivation significantly. It’s no surprise that CrossFit practitioners constantly share their skills and records on social media because they feel competent and proud of it. Practitioners also have a lot of fun during the classes. This aspect is fun, which is practically absent in traditional bodybuilding.

sports pleasure

We noticed that CrossFit practitioners are intrinsically motivated, that is, they have a better quality of motivation when training, which characterizes satisfaction and pleasure in the practice. This makes it easier to form an exercise habit.

What I’ve actually observed is that many people want to practice CrossFit but don’t do it out of fear, especially because they’ve heard about injuries in sports.

Injuries: Is CrossFit extremely harmful after all?

Answer is no. You can train calmly as long as it is under professional supervision. Ramires Tibana, one of Brazil’s top researchers and trainers on CrossFit, states, “If you think CrossFit is extremely harmful, unfortunately it is not based on scientific evidence.” He recently published his latest work, the book “Functional Fitness: Science and Practice”, which is a true guide to sports.

Make the most of this opportunity to move and, above all, get involved in life. CrossFit has more than a physical structure to its environments, consisting of a set of features that support our psychological needs, increasing motivation to exercise. Try it, you probably won’t regret it, it’s rare for this to happen with physical exercise.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). he is doing scientific dissemination on social media there The podcast is available on Spotify. Author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.