Crossfit or no?
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TayTayDrenDren
Posts: 65 Member
I've been hearing many people say that crossfit is bad for gaining muscle. Is this true? I wanted to know since there is a crossfit gym really close to me and I wanted to try it. What do you guys think?
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Replies
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Depends on the box and what you're doing at the box. The box I went briefly was basically calisthenics on steroids. If you wanted to do the lifting, that was a separate session and focused more on compound lifts and Olympic lifts in a more traditional way...but it was completely separate from the WOD and cost extra. It was kinda fun, but not really my thing.
I ultimately opted for a traditional gym...I do primarily compound movements and Olympic movements, just not at a box and I don't race the clock for cleans.0 -
I did Crossfit for almost 2 years. I learned and regularly worked on all the main Olympic movements there as well as did a lot of other heavy lifts and some crazy intense (but often relatively short) cardio. I loved it, but after my gym closed and I moved on from it, I really became honest with myself that I was getting a little bigger than I wanted (probably some good muscle under a layer of fat I still had) and that wasn't my goal. The men at my gym had great physiques though IMO.
I think you should certainly try it out!0 -
The box I went to had a couple days a week devoted to Olympic and compound lifts. They also had a separate workout for weight lifting that was an extra cost, so it was possible to get in 3 days of weight work. I enjoyed it and got really fit. Usually you can get a monthly membership; I've also seen 10 class cards -- so it might be possible to check it out to see if it's for you without making a big financial commitment.
As far as gaining muscle: I'm not sure why you couldn't if you're eating right and participating in the right kinds of workouts while lifting heavy enough. Really, I think it depends on how your box is run so there is no way to really know unless you try it.0 -
I love crossfit. And my muscle gain since starting is ridiculous. I guess it depends on the box. My box makes you lift heavy very often. Then you do the wods with a lot lower weight. And if you want to add to the weight lifting they also offer Olympic lifting sessions1
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When I did cross fit we did a lot of heavy oly lifts as well.
As a small woman I put on a little muscle but was also much leaner than I had been at other times.
The guys that trained there were pretty big, but most of them did extra lifting.
For body composition comparison, both these photos I was somewhere between 54-56kg.
Left - eating standard diet and playing roller derby
Right - doing the paleo crossfit thing
^ This was how my arms looked when I was doing crossfit. Keeping in mind I'm a small woman with usually not much muscle definition I feel like I put on quite a bit of muscle with crossfit.
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3 weeks of crossfit changed my body alot.
Try it.. It's worth it and you should pack on loads of muscle2 -
When I did cross fit we did a lot of heavy oly lifts as well.
As a small woman I put on a little muscle but was also much leaner than I had been at other times.
The guys that trained there were pretty big, but most of them did extra lifting.
For body composition comparison, both these photos I was somewhere between 54-56kg.
Left - eating standard diet and playing roller derby
Right - doing the paleo crossfit thing
^ This was how my arms looked when I was doing crossfit. Keeping in mind I'm a small woman with usually not much muscle definition I feel like I put on quite a bit of muscle with crossfit.
Love it. you look amazing0 -
When I did cross fit we did a lot of heavy oly lifts as well.
As a small woman I put on a little muscle but was also much leaner than I had been at other times.
The guys that trained there were pretty big, but most of them did extra lifting.
For body composition comparison, both these photos I was somewhere between 54-56kg.
Left - eating standard diet and playing roller derby
Right - doing the paleo crossfit thing
^ This was how my arms looked when I was doing crossfit. Keeping in mind I'm a small woman with usually not much muscle definition I feel like I put on quite a bit of muscle with crossfit.
Love it. you look amazing
Looked. They are old photos.
Now I'm that weight but kinda scrawny lol
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If your only goal is to gain muscle (i.e. body building) then CrossFit probably won't allow you to build as much muscle as you could doing some other type of workout. If your goal is to get stronger, add some muscle, but become all around more athletic, then CrossFit probably would be fine. I've been doing CrossFit for about 2 year (less a 6 month break due to injury - not CF's fault) and I've never been in better shape or been stronger. We bench, squat (front and back), deadlift, clean (power and full), snatch (power and full), do tons of push-ups and sit-ups, etc. There is no way you won't get stronger doing CrossFit. But if your only goal is to look like Arnold, CrossFit alone won't do it. Here are a couple good articles that I think are fair -
https://www.t-nation.com/training/why-youre-mostly-wrong-about-crossfit
https://www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-apology0 -
Depends on coach and program....I am a well known coach in my parts and its like any training you still need the right trainer who is smart
I am 6 foot , 213 about 10-12% bodyfat, squat 425, DL 550, ran a 6:15 mile all doing crossfit
And I like my look better than bodybuilding alone1 -
Those articles mentioned are great also check out https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYAxLKJnqi_EFAgEiZ-xpdQ0
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Cross fit isn't only about lifting heavy, there's a lot more, pushing, pulling, running, jumping and my favorite, rope climbing. A lot of fun.2
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My son has gotten incredibly strong at a Crossfit gym. And there are guys in Crossfit gyms who look like cartoon superheroes. But they don't just do the standard Crossfit: Come for the hour/hour-and-a-half session, do some warm-ups, do a heavy lift, do the WOD. They spend more time than that lifting. But I have never seen a gym that didn't let you do that.1
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Cross fit?
There's merit to it and I do burpees, tire flips, etc but I'm not a fan of the "general" crossfit that I see espoused by some gyms..0 -
I'd never really say it's bad for gaining muscle. Depending on the box, you might not pack on the lbs like you would with a dedicated hypertrophy program. But it's definitely worth a shot to see if you like it and get the results you want.0
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I guess you could, but I suspect it'd be a better use of your time & money to do a standard hypertrophy routine in a regular gym setting.
EDIT: re: the cost. I just looked up the local crossfit affiliate. It's all classes so not directly comparable, but I don't want/need those. It costs ~10x more than my gym! Ha, yeah, no thanks.
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Results from a crossfit style gym. We focus on strength work first then wrap up with a metcon. Biggest jump came when a group of us started Brute Compete.2 -
CrossFit is really "a jack of all trades, master of none" kind of exercising. I've been to a couple of boxes - one for just a month, and the other for 6 months. What I witnessed was anyone who had good strength either was lifting prior to doing CrossFit or was doing CrossFit and a lifting program. I'm sure that there are boxes that had better programming than the ones I've been too, but regardless if your goal is strength CrossFit really isn't your best option IMO. If your goal is "overall fitness" than I'd consider CrossFit.0
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Some of the people I've seen that do crossfit have amazing bodies and strength- they look really athletic and muscular, lean/ripped.
So I think it will depend on your goals and the physique or type of strength you want to build.
For me personally, crossfit is not my cup of tea. I prefer lifting/bodybuilding stuff to achieve my specific body aesthetic goals.0
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