“I’m not trying to be the best at exercising” – Kenny Powers
We are often casually asked whether our training system is ‘like Crossfit’, and to avoid a drawn out conversation, I hesitantly say ‘Yes’. Although our exercise selection may seem similar to what you see in a Crossfit workout, our training methodology is different. Before you think we are jumping on the Crossfit hate train, this article was not written with that intention. In fact, Crossfit deserves praise as it has introduced ‘functional movement’ to the masses, and has done a great job in collaborating information from various fitness professionals from different fields.
Let’s begin by asking yourself this question: “If I was a competitive basketball player, would I start playing soccer to improve my basketball performance?” On paper this doesn’t look that bad, as speed and agility are present in both sports, and both sports are intermittent in nature. BUT, what about all that stuff that doesn’t cross over. Isn’t that wasted time? Surely training to improve your vertical leap, specific agility drills and structured energy system training is time better spent.
What does this have to do with Crossfit you say? Let’s first take a closer look at what Crossfit is all about. Crossfit has identified ten fitness parameters, and aims to develop competence in each fitness parameter. The goal is not to specialize. The goal is fitness. Training sessions are centred around a ‘Workout of the Day’, where individuals aim to perform the most amount of work in a specified time, or aim to complete a prescribed workout in the fastest possible time. Sports have individuals compete against each other and a winner is defined by objective means. By this definition, Crossfit is a sport.
If you answered ‘No’ to the question above, you are acknowledging that there is probably a more efficient way to improve your sporting performance than by integrating another sport into your training regimen. Sports typically have two dominant fitness parameters, and aiming to improve these fitness parameters will have the greatest transfer of training effect into your sport.
MMA demonstrates this perfectly. Have you ever seen a belt-holder who aims to be competent in Judo, Wrestling, Sambo, BJJ, Boxing, Muay Thai, Savate and Taekwondo? Just like the select fitness parameters you should be focusing on, MMA fighters invest most of their time in Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Boxing/Muay-Thai for the greatest chance of success.
Stay tuned as we reveal the REAL connection between Strength & Conditioning and Combat Sports…
