Recent article in Outside Magazine IS CROSSFIT KILLING US? The Crossfit backlash in is in full swing… By: GRANT DAVIS
Wondering how many have effectively done CF and 70.3/Ironman. I started CF in March, training for Vinenman, and hit the box 2-3x a week- and managed to stay injury free and train well. I was trashed most of the time, really sore, rides and runs suffered. I took a 2 week break and pulled off nearly a PR (at 47) Success? Maybe. Around this time my box was restructuring and encouraging 4-5 days a week for the full CF benefit. I was training for Vegas WC and this is when the wheels came off. It was too much and during a killer Friday WOD (which included box jumps, squats and 400m sprints) I tore my meniscus. End of season, no Vegas, surgery…11+ weeks not running.
Was not poor form- we had diligent coaches. The others in my box did CF 5-6 days a week but not another 15 hours of swim,bike, run.
Curious who has pulled off effetive CF and successful 70.3/IM racing.
For the record, I loved CF- they are as geeky, committed, cult like as triathletes. The energy in the box every day is like the start of a race.
As a coach I am curious… as an athlete I think I have learned my limits
One can effectively do both CF/CFE and triathlon training if one understands the one big caveat… that CF/CFE might be fine for one’s overall fitness picture but it doesn’t help one swim, bike or run faster or better. That’s the rub around here with CF - nitwits (and their nitwit CF coaches) that think doing CF somehow makes you a better swimmer, cyclist or runner. Swimming, cycling and running makes you better at swimming, cycling and running. Period.
I guess that depends on what your definition of successful is. For me, success is continuing to set PRs and get my 70.3 time as low as possible. Doing Crossfit would slow me down, so there’s no way I could “successfully” race and do both. FWIW, I did do crossfit for my first couple of years in Triathlon, but eventually I realized that it was a net negative for getting faster at racing.
Honestly, for amateurs, that may not be a completely bad thing. A lot of endurance folks could stand to have a bit more balanced fully body fitness, with some strength and explosiveness mixed in.
I second this. There are some CF coaches who know their stuff, but even they know that crossfit won’t get you into the pointy end of the field. CFE is good for the Crossfitter who wants to do a few races and try something new. I think some people get caught up in the “I’m setting PR’s in the box every week, so its has to translate into faster times in tri.” It may help the 6hr half Iron folks lean out and get the adrenal glands going, but it most likely won’t get the 4:20 half group much faster.
As a coach I am curious… as an athlete I think I have learned my limits
Based on your post, I hope people aren’t paying for your coaching.
+1. noody ever finds their true limits. There’s always a limiting factor to reacign your maximum potential. The perfect conditions never exist. Even pro’s are human. They may not have the perfect diet 100% of the time, they might not push themselves 100% all the time. They may have to race more to earn enough money and therefore will miss out on the “perfect race”. There is always something you can improve on and extend your limits. Mental barriers usually create those boundaries. Those that can exceed those mental barriers, usually have shorter careers, get injured and maybe go to a dark place in a race one too many times (Chrissie Wellington?).
I love this wuote: “Among my colleagues, we often share the anecdotal observation that CrossFit is good for our practices,”
I heard the same thing from a plastic surgeon I met in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where there are no helmet laws for motorcycles. To paraphrase, he basically said, not wearing a helmet a form of Darwinism, meaning that if your not smart enough to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, then you weren’t much of a loss to society. Though I know some very interllegent folsk that ride motorcycle withou helmets. But common sense, ingnorance & culture/peer pressure can outweigh rational thinking skills all the time.
I’m pretty sure the research has shown that individuals who have the ability to perform long amounts of endurance exercises will be the most proficient in their sport, and that is the way to get the fastest.
Incorporating Strength/resistance training will transfer over if the individual does not have the ability to train in large volumes. Doing HIIT can be beneficial for the individual who can maybe train once a day 3-4 days a week. A point like that where the person can do 3 days of a single bout of S/B/R and then a day of strength training will be better than just doing 4 days of endurance training, but I would assume anyone training for a HIM minus some of you genetic freaks would be doing at least 2 a days for at least 2-3 hours 5x a week. You also need to remember that sport specificity is the key in regards to getting faster within the realm of what you’re doing. Plyometrics are good since they’re body weight, they focus on abstract movements, somewhat relevant to running, swimming and biking. But doing 50 kettlebell swings doesn’t fully transfer over to a stronger triathlete.
I would say if you want to get faster for ironman training and want to be stronger, run hills and bike hills… For the swim? Swim faster, pull and kick sessions.
Agree and disagree. While CF does not make you run, swim, or bike faster, it does build muscular endurance and builds anaerobic capacity. This helps build a longer lasting swim,bike, run and would allow you to continue at a higher threshold pace on the longer distances without breaking down; thus, an overall faster split.
For the OP question, Doing CF and IM training can be done but it should only be done by a seasoned athlete. One that has withstood the endurance training of 12-15hrs/week for years. I wouldn’t recommend it for the person that is on their first or 2nd 70.3/140.6.
The hardest part of incorporating CF is the recovery time needed to be able to perform and hit the SBR work the next day.
I love this wuote: “Among my colleagues, we often share the anecdotal observation that CrossFit is good for our practices,”
I heard the same thing from a plastic surgeon I met in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where there are no helmet laws for motorcycles. To paraphrase, he basically said, not wearing a helmet a form of Darwinism, meaning that if your not smart enough to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, then you weren’t much of a loss to society. Though I know some very interllegent folsk that ride motorcycle withou helmets. But common sense, ingnorance & culture/peer pressure can outweigh rational thinking skills all the time.
I ride sometimes with and sometimes without a helmet. Many times a helmet is the difference between an open or closed casket. That’s all.
During the off season my coach has me to weights 3 times a week until my racing season starts. For the past 3 years I have done this. I have always found lifting weights boring and skipped a fair amount of the weight training days. Knowing my history of skipping key strength training, I asked if I could try CF and he agreed to let me do this. He is now in communication with the CF lead and they are both working together to make me stronger and faster (without getting hurt). So far things are going well. Knowing your limits and ultimate goal is key to staying injury-free.
My wife is doing her first sprint triathlon in December (with the goal of returning to the same race next year to do the half).
I told her to continue her crossfit (mainly because she’s getting results with it, has established friends that do CF, and will stick with it). She’ll do some SBR training on top of her crossfit classes - but I wanted to make sure that those come first.
While CF does not make you run, swim, or bike faster, it does build muscular endurance and builds anaerobic capacity. **This helps build a longer lasting swim,bike, run and would allow you to continue at a higher threshold pace on the longer distances without breaking down; thus, an overall faster split. **
The non-bolded part is 100% accurate. The bolded part… not so much.
A basic understanding of endurance sports performance shows that we are primarily limited by aerobic pathway efficiency, not strength or peak power. Strength training focuses on improving strength and short/intense power and by definition, primarily trains the anaerobic energy pathways.
Strength training can increase peak power and make you faster, but only significantly so in very short sprint-type activities that last for a moment or two. Training the anaerobic energy pathways provides very minimal performance benefits for triathlons, because our ability to perform in a triathlon is fueled almost exclusively by aerobic pathways.
While CF does not make you run, swim, or bike faster, it does build muscular endurance and builds anaerobic capacity. **This helps build a longer lasting swim,bike, run and would allow you to continue at a higher threshold pace on the longer distances without breaking down; thus, an overall faster split. **
The non-bolded part is 100% accurate. The bolded part… not so much.
A basic understanding of endurance sports performance shows that we are primarily limited by aerobic pathway efficiency, not strength or peak power. Strength training focuses on improving strength and short/intense power and by definition, primarily trains the anaerobic energy pathways.
Strength training can increase peak power and make you faster, but only significantly so in very short sprint-type activities that last for a moment or two. Training the anaerobic energy pathways provides very minimal performance benefits for triathlons, because our ability to perform in a triathlon is fueled almost exclusively by aerobic pathways.
Not completely accurate. It needs to be modified a bit. Anaerobic capacity is very mode specific. The mode used in training will improve, other modes, very little (i.e., burpees will not help you sprint faster on the bike or swim). Most fitness (both anaerobic and aerobic) is in the muscles, so a high degree of mode specificity is always in play.
I posted something about a year ago asking the same question. I loved CF and wanted to fit into my IM training schedule and prove it was making me faster and stronger. My coach wasn’t thrilled but we worked around it.
…although I never got injured I just bulked up and was sore all the time thus could not push my SBR as hard — No Vegas this year. Saving $125/month getting a Quarq instead.
IMO-- Pro triathletes lift weights, same with cyclists, swimmers, decathletes, pretty much any pro athlete, CF is about lifting weights. I don’t think the problem is with people doing Crossfit, it’s that people preach crossfit as the “perfect” training for all sports and similar to IM competitors don’t shut up about it. I bet 99% of people on these threads would actually improve their times if they did crossfit 2-3 days a week in the off season.* Crossfit does not promote hugeness and bulk, it preaches efficiency. You can do the same thing though without crossfit if you go to the gym and lift hard 2-3 days a week and you know what your doing and how to create a workout schedule and how to lift properly.**
Okay, I think some of my bases are covered. Your question was who has effectively done crossfit with IM/HIM? I do crossfit at a larger affiliate gym, when I started there were normally only 3-6 in a class not we’re at about 12-20. 3 of us in the group would call ourselves triathletes, I have only done Olympic distance races but my times have greatly improved and I plan on doing a HIM and an IM next summer. 2 others have completed IM events. 1 finished an IM before starting crossfit and never did another, however their their HIM times have improved by a few minutes but they’re not as into Tris as they used to be and are more into general fitness but they still cut 8 min off their original time (they are under 5hr). The other is a female and has completed 2 IM events, 1 before crossfit in 13:XX hr, the other 1.5 years after crossfit and was at about 12:XX hr. I remember she cut out a solid amount of time, Maybe about 1.5 hours.
Conclusion: Crossfit or lifting is a tool to make you faster. Alone they will not help but together with a proper form running, cycling and swimming program they will make you faster,…faster. You can definitely mix CF with your tri training in the off season, just know your goals are not to compete at the games and don’t lift weights that are stupid heavy unless you KNOW you can do it. If your nervous about injury (2 ACL recons for me from competitive skiing and coaching) be smart and don’t attempt to do a 225 squat clean, practice good form and speed. Yes, it is possible. FYI I did 1 olympic distance race in 2012 and I finished in 2:56, after a year of training with crossfit and lots of cycling, very little running and swimming I finished my third olympic distance ever in 2013 at 2:26:xx a 30 min difference. (same bike, no wetsuit, new body) Lots of factors played into this but crossfit helped. My weight went down only about 5 lbs between the 2 events.
*While continuing with running, swimming and cycling workouts 2-3 times a week. You can also mountain bike, hike, rock climb, cyclocross or do a team sport to stay in shape and keep yourself from getting bored on your indoor trainer. I know a team sport may force you to socialize with people that are not triathletes and don’t get why you take salt tablets during a soccer game, or at the cyclocross race you need to explain to people don’t understand why you didn’t grab a beer on your last lap. It’s good for you.
**Many crossfit gyms have grown too large because of popularity and don’t properly oversee athletes and let them lift improperly or too much and they get injured. Also most people don’t push themselves in the gym and don’t see results.
