CrossFit Games... Fittest Alive or Best at Exercising?

[goon175]

Pretty controversial article in the wake of the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games. I think he brings up some good points, but I think some of them could be argued....

The title "Fittest man/woman alive” is bestowed upon the winner of the CrossFit games each year. This is absurd for many reasons. Before I go any further, I am not a CrossFit hater. Quite to the contrary, in fact. I believe that when programmed correctly CrossFit is an amazing training system that produces incredible results. When programmed the way that it is in most cases (let's throw shit at a wall and see what sticks) it is a recipe for a one-way trip to snap city. I digress. I am a fan of CrossFit and have been an avid supporter for a decade. I have coached close to 5,000 CrossFit classes and have done several competitions including the South West Regionals as and individual, twice. I'm not a Kool-Aid drinker either; I refuse to accept that the title of "Fittest Man Alive" can be given after doing a couple of CrossFit workouts.

I am not saying that Sam Briggs and Rich Froning are not amazing professional athletes, they are hands down the best CrossFitters alive. However, to give a person the title "Fittest alive” is no less ridiculous than saying that I am the "smartest man alive". I understand it will piss some people off when I say that CrossFit has no more of a right to crown the fittest man alive than Outside magazine did when they proclaimed Mark Allen was after six Ironman world championship titles. Before you get your lulu lemon-wearing ass in an uproar, here are my arguments placed in an easy to read bullet point format:

1.) Defining fitness

CrossFit isn't exactly unbiased here folks. They are using the definition of fitness that they created, and then their head quarter’s staff picks the tests that fall in line with their own definition. Now I know what you are thinking... "That’s what all sports do." The NFL creates rules and definitions, creates a season and then crowns the fittest man alive... Nope. The NFL crowns the best football team of that season following their win at the super bowl. But Leo, CrossFit is the Sport of Fitness so the winner is the fittest person. Wrong, "The Sport of Fitness” is something that some dude at Reebok came up with to sell shoes; it's a jingle, a slogan, and a tag line. The person who wins the CrossFit games is the best CrossFitter alive.

Read the rest here: https://hitthewoodline.squarespace....fit-games-fittest-alive-or-best-at-exercising

 

[CDG]

I think he's exactly correct. CF tests who is best at CF. The title of "Fittest Alive" is a marketing gimmick just like "Sport of Fitness".

 

[JBS]

I'd throw a bit more love at CF when they bring the price down from what it is now- which is the cost of 2 Golds Gym memberships plus a full YMCA family memberships per month.

For what I paid monthly for just me, I can pay for a full family packages and a massage therapist every other week. Or more protein powder.

I don't have any hate for it but in the quest to not become specialized, CF has now become... well... specialized.

 

[goon175]

I pay 155 a month for a couples rate, and there hasn't been a single month where I didn't get my moneys worth. It also helps that our coach is a PhD Physical Therapist and has saved us tons of money avoid the doctors....

 

[SkrewzLoose]

I'd throw a bit more love at CF when they bring the price down from what it is now- which is the cost of 2 Golds Gym memberships plus a full YMCA family memberships per month.

For what I paid monthly for just me, I can pay for a full family packages and a massage therapist every other week. Or more protein powder.

I don't have any hate for it but in the quest to not become specialized, CF has now become... well... specialized.

If not for CF, you wouldn't know you had fucked up your psoas.

 

[pardus]

If not for CF, you wouldn't know you had fucked up your psoas.

Fanboy post of the day...

 

[SkrewzLoose]

Fanboy post of the day...

Psoas, not mannequin.

 

[JBS]

I pay 155 a month for a couples rate, and there hasn't been a single month where I didn't get my moneys worth. It also helps that our coach is a PhD Physical Therapist and has saved us tons of money avoid the doctors....

Out here (Lake Norman area) it's $180 unless I pay 12 months in advance, then it's like $170.

In this case I am not saying it's pricey by some arbitrary or subjective standard. I mean it's pricey compared to $38 Golds Gym -which by the way has a movie theater in their spin class and a milkshake bar. The other major gym I was going to for a while was a powerlifter/bodybuilder gym with dirty floors and all super high end olympic class equipment. When I walked in, it sounded like a torture chamber with chains on the ends of barbells and people screaming under 700lb deadlifts. I joined 6 minutes later.

What I think you pay for in CF is the consistent class dynamic that always pushes you. You never have that in a Golds or other type of gym. You're paying for an extreme kind of motivation that gets generated by the best kind of peer pressure. I enjoyed my year there and with a big enough bonus this year I'll probably go back. But cheap it ain't.

Don't mean to derail the thread, btw. I've been thinking whether the claim to fittest on earth is legit or not. I can't say I've decided. I mean put up a Rich Froning against a pool of other elite athletes from other sports in a 50-event 5 day test. That's the only way to know.

 

[pardus]

Psoas, not mannequin.

lol

 

[Poccington]

I was only discussing this the other night with a few of the lads. All the Games did, was find who was the best at Crossfit. "Fittest Alive" doesn't even come close to it, it's just a marketing gimmick.

I also have to wonder just how many of the kool aid drinkers who believe the "Fittest Alive" nonsense, are willing to accept that Froning pretty much became the "best" at Crossfit by not doing Crossfit. By turning Crossfit into a sport, they've pretty much ensured that the only way to hit the elite levels of Crossfit is to not do Crossfit. It completely goes against their train of thought that GPP is the way forward.

Crossfit confuses me... It's all just odd.

 

[goon175]

How did/does Froning not do CrossFit?

 

[TLDR20]

I think ironman triathletes are the fittest people on the planet. I don't know how you can compare a triathlon to Crossfit.

 

[JBS]

Actually Froning not only does CF, he does three WODs per day; morning noon and evening. He's a legit product of CF. That doesn't mean tbe top tier guys weren't already athletic. Just pointing out that Froning is a true believer.

 

[JBS]

I think ironman triathletes are the fittest people on the planet. I don't know how you can compare a triathlon to Crossfit.

Not as well rounded. If you are an elite triathlete, 95% of training is focused on cardiovascular fitness, metabolic conditioning and endurance associated with movement, i.e. the legs.

This kind of athlete ( and I was one) would perform poorly in powerlifting movements.

I was never elite at the sport, but some of the reason why not included the fact that I never abandoned lifting and rope climbing and pull ups. At present I'm thinking of the triathletes that I know with good lifts. Few and far between.

 

[TLDR20]

Not as well rounded. If you are an elite triathlete, 95% of training is focused on cardiovascular fitness, metabolic conditioning and endurance associated with movement, i.e. the legs.

This kind of athlete ( and I was one) would perform poorly in powerlifting movements.

I was never elite at the sport, but some of the reason why not included the fact that I never abandoned lifting and rope climbing and pull ups. At present I'm thinking of the triathletes that I know with good lifts. Few and far between.

I understand that, but the people I know who did ironmans could smoke a WOD like it was nothing.

 

[JBS]

I understand that, but the people I know who did ironmans could smoke a WOD like it was nothing.

Yes, definitely a valid point. Then it would have to come down to more accurately defining what "fittest on earth" means.

 

[TLDR20]

Yes, definitely a valid point. Then it would have to come down to more accurately defining what "fittest on earth" means.

Yeah I think it is absurd to call anyone fittest on earth. I watched the Crossfit games and was very impressed. Those guys are great at monkey bars

 

[goon175]

Leo, the guy who wrote the article, has been on the podium for over 40 triathlons, and was a coach for the Purdue triathlon team. He also continues to train those athletes. Just a little background on the author as it pertains to triathlons/crossfit

 

[ZmanTX]

"It is a sporting event and in that the winner is the best at that sport, not the best at fitness."

I think his last sentence summed it all up perfectly especially because fitness is such a broad spectrum. Idk maybe I'm a little biased towards the whole CrossFit thing too but I always thought that if you add a HIIT workout to your routine you'd basically be doing a form of CrossFit.

My 0.2
ZM

 

[CDG]

The thing is, CF is not nearly as innovative and special as they think they are. Google "Sergei Litvinov" or "Litvinov Sprints". Is that not the EXACT type of workout CF claims to have basically invented? This shit has been around forever. CF just dressed it up, gift-wrapped it, and started a website. I don't have anything against CF as a program, but I have big issues with a lot of the community, the attitudes carried by a lot of CFers, and the attitudes of the management-level people at HQ.