What Is CrossFit and Is It Worth It?
CrossFit is one of those things everybody seems to have an opinion on.
Including plenty of people who've never actually done it.
It's dangerous.
It's a cult.
It's too intense.
It's only for ridiculously fit people.
Everyone takes their shirt off.
You'll get injured.
You'll somehow end up talking about CrossFit within eleven seconds of meeting somebody.
To be fair, that last one might occasionally be true.
But after spending years around CrossFit, training ourselves, travelling to affiliates across the country, attending competitions and building The Defiant Co within the UK CrossFit community, we have a slightly different perspective.
CrossFit isn't perfect.
Nothing is.
But much of what people think CrossFit is bears very little resemblance to what actually happens inside thousands of affiliates every day.
So let's start with the obvious question.
What Actually Is CrossFit?
At its simplest, CrossFit is a method of training designed to develop broad physical fitness.
Rather than specialising exclusively in one area, CrossFit combines elements from several.
Weightlifting.
Gymnastics.
Running.
Rowing.
Cycling.
Bodyweight training.
Strength work.
Conditioning.
You might squat heavy one day.
Run intervals the next.
Practise handstands.
Deadlift.
Do pull ups.
Row.
Clean a barbell.
Carry something heavy.
Then occasionally do a workout involving burpees that makes you question every decision you've made since childhood.
The point is variety.
You're developing multiple areas of fitness rather than becoming extremely good at one while ignoring everything else.
That's one of the reasons people find CrossFit so engaging.
There's always something to improve.
What Does a CrossFit Class Actually Look Like?
This varies between affiliates, but most CrossFit classes last around an hour.
You'll normally have a coach leading the session.
There'll usually be some form of warm up followed by strength work, skill development, a workout, or some combination of those things.
And crucially, everybody isn't necessarily doing exactly the same thing.
That's where one of the biggest misconceptions about CrossFit begins.
People see the CrossFit Games.
They see incredibly fit people walking on their hands, lifting enormous weights and doing movements they've never seen before.
Then they understandably think:
"I can't fucking do that."
Correct.
Neither can most people doing CrossFit.
The CrossFit Games are the elite end of the sport.
Your local CrossFit affiliate isn't expecting you to walk through the door on day one and start doing ring muscle ups.
CrossFit Is Scalable
This is probably the single most important thing to understand if you're considering starting CrossFit.
Almost everything can be scaled.
Can't do a pull up?
There are alternatives.
Can't run?
You might row or bike.
Can't lift the prescribed weight?
Use less.
Never touched a barbell?
A good coach will teach you.
Need to reduce the range of motion on a particular movement?
That can be accommodated too.
Two people can complete different versions of the same workout while receiving a very similar training stimulus.
One person might be an experienced competitive CrossFit athlete.
The other might be somebody's mum who started three months ago and has absolutely no interest in ever competing in anything.
They're both doing CrossFit.
That's important.
When CrossFit talks about athletes, the term is often used broadly for people participating in training.
But you don't need to think of yourself as an athlete to belong in a CrossFit gym.
You can simply be somebody who wants to become fitter.
Do You Need to Be Fit Before Starting CrossFit?
No.
And this might be the strangest objection people make.
"I need to get fit before I start CrossFit."
That's a bit like saying you need to get clean before having a shower.
Getting fitter is the reason you're going.
Of course your first few sessions might feel difficult.
Anything unfamiliar does.
But a good affiliate should introduce you gradually.
Many have foundations courses, beginner sessions or some form of onboarding process designed to teach basic movements before you enter normal classes.
You aren't expected to know the terminology.
You aren't expected to know how to clean and jerk.
You aren't expected to know the difference between an AMRAP, EMOM and WOD.
You'll learn.
Everyone else did.
Why Is CrossFit So Popular?
There isn't one reason.
The training works for a lot of people.
The variety keeps things interesting.
Having a coach removes much of the uncertainty about what to do.
But we'd argue one of CrossFit's greatest strengths has very little to do with barbells.
It's the people.
CrossFit Is Social
Traditional gyms can be incredibly anonymous places.
You walk in.
Put your headphones on.
Train alone.
Leave.
You could attend the same gym for five years and never learn the name of the person you've shared a changing room with 400 times.
CrossFit is different.
You train in classes.
You suffer together.
You talk.
People notice when you're improving.
They notice when you've disappeared for two weeks.
Someone celebrates your first pull up.
Someone convinces you to enter a competition you absolutely weren't planning to enter.
Then six months later you're standing in a leisure centre at 7am eating overnight oats from Tupperware wondering how the fuck this became your life.
That's CrossFit.
For many people, the community is what turns exercise from something they know they should do into something they actually want to do.
That's incredibly valuable.
Does CrossFit Work?
That depends what you mean by work.
If your goal is becoming an elite marathon runner, CrossFit probably isn't the most specific training method available.
If your only objective is maximising your powerlifting total, there are better specialised programmes.
CrossFit isn't designed to make you the best in the world at one narrow physical quality.
It's designed to develop broad fitness.
Strength.
Stamina.
Cardiovascular fitness.
Power.
Coordination.
Agility.
Balance.
Mobility.
The ability to perform different physical tasks.
For the average person who wants to become generally fitter, stronger and more capable, that's a pretty compelling proposition.
Is CrossFit Dangerous?
This is probably the criticism CrossFit has faced more than any other.
Any physical activity carries injury risk.
Running does.
Football does.
Rugby does.
Weight training does.
Sitting on your arse doing absolutely nothing carries its own long term health risks too.
The better question isn't whether injuries can happen in CrossFit.
Of course they can.
The question is whether the training environment is being managed properly.
That's where coaching matters.
A good coach doesn't encourage a beginner to load a barbell they can't control.
They don't watch someone repeatedly perform a movement badly because there's a score on the whiteboard.
They scale.
They teach.
They correct.
They manage intensity.
They understand that training should build you rather than continuously break you.
CrossFit done intelligently and CrossFit done stupidly are not the same thing.
Is CrossFit Too Intense?
It can be intense.
That's partly the point.
But intensity is relative.
What's hard for you isn't necessarily hard for somebody else.
A CrossFit Games athlete might complete a workout using weights most people couldn't move once.
A beginner might perform a modified version with an empty barbell.
Both can finish challenged.
That's the skill of good coaching and good scaling.
Intensity shouldn't mean recklessness.
It means working appropriately hard for your current ability.
And your current ability changes.
The version of CrossFit you do after three years shouldn't look identical to your first month.
That's progress.
Why Is CrossFit More Expensive Than a Normal Gym?
This is where the "is it worth it?" part becomes interesting.
Because CrossFit is usually significantly more expensive than joining a standard commercial gym.
There's no point pretending otherwise.
But you're also buying something different.
At a conventional gym, you're predominantly paying for access.
The building.
The machines.
The weights.
At a CrossFit affiliate, you're typically paying for access to the facility plus programmed training and coaching.
Someone plans the session.
Someone explains it.
Someone watches you move.
Someone helps you scale.
Someone gives you feedback.
You're training in a structured class rather than simply renting access to equipment.
Whether that's worth the additional cost depends entirely on what you value.
If you're highly experienced, love training alone, know exactly how to programme effectively and don't care about community, you might not see the value.
Fair enough.
CrossFit doesn't have to be for everybody.
But if coaching, structure, accountability and community mean you'll train consistently for years rather than paying £25 a month for a gym membership you barely use, the calculation changes considerably.
Cheap isn't good value if you don't fucking go.
Choosing the Right CrossFit Affiliate Matters
Not every CrossFit gym is equally good.
We've visited enough of them to know that.
Coaching standards differ.
Facilities differ.
Programming differs.
Culture differs.
Some gyms are highly competitive.
Others are more relaxed.
Some have huge memberships.
Others deliberately remain small.
Finding the right environment matters.
You should feel comfortable asking questions.
Coaches should pay attention to you.
Scaling should be encouraged when appropriate.
Technique should matter.
New members should be welcomed.
The gym should be somewhere you actually want to return to.
If you try one affiliate and don't enjoy it, that doesn't necessarily mean you don't like CrossFit.
You might simply not like that particular gym.
Will Everyone Be Better Than Me?
When you start?
Probably quite a few people.
Who cares?
They started before you.
The person casually doing butterfly pull ups while you're learning ring rows has probably spent years developing that ability.
You aren't competing with their chapter ten while you're on page one.
And one of the nice things about CrossFit is how quickly your definition of progress changes.
Your first proper squat.
Your first box jump.
Your first pull up.
Adding weight to your deadlift.
Finishing a workout you couldn't have completed three months earlier.
Suddenly you're measuring yourself against yourself.
That's where it becomes addictive.
Not because you're becoming better than everybody else.
Because you're becoming better than you were.
Do You Have to Compete?
Absolutely not.
CrossFit is both a training methodology and a sport.
Those things overlap, but they aren't identical.
Some people love competition.
They enter local events.
They do the CrossFit Open.
They chase leaderboard positions.
A tiny percentage eventually compete at an elite level.
Loads of other people couldn't give a shit.
They train three or four times a week because they enjoy it.
They want to stay strong.
They want to improve their fitness.
They like seeing their mates.
Then they go home.
Both are completely legitimate ways to do CrossFit.
Competition is available.
It isn't compulsory.
So, Is CrossFit Worth It?
For the right person, absolutely.
If you want variety, coaching, structure and community alongside your training, CrossFit offers something traditional gyms often struggle to replicate.
You'll learn things.
You'll probably become capable of movements you currently think are impossible.
You'll meet people.
You'll have days where you feel unbelievably fit.
You'll have other days where an eight minute workout completely humiliates you.
That's part of it.
But perhaps the biggest reason CrossFit is worth it for so many people is consistency.
Finding the theoretically perfect training programme means very little if you hate doing it.
The best form of exercise for most people is one they can perform safely, consistently and enjoy enough to continue.
CrossFit manages to give a lot of people exactly that.
The Defiant Perspective
The Defiant Co exists largely because of CrossFit.
We started this business in 2018 and the UK CrossFit community was one of the first communities to properly support us.
We've spent years travelling around the country attending competitions, visiting affiliates, meeting gym owners, coaches and members.
We've watched the sport from the grassroots level right through to the CrossFit Games.
And after all that, what we love most about CrossFit still isn't the elite end.
It's what happens in ordinary affiliates every day.
Someone walks through the door believing they're unfit.
Or too old.
Or too heavy.
Or too inexperienced.
Or too intimidated.
Then they start.
Six months later they're stronger.
A year later they're doing things they genuinely didn't think they were capable of.
And somewhere along the way they've made friends, found a community and changed what they believe their body can do.
That's CrossFit.
Not just the CrossFit Games.
Not just muscle ups and enormous barbells.
Not just people collapsing dramatically on the floor after a workout.
Ordinary people becoming more capable.
Is it perfect?
No.
Is every affiliate brilliant?
No.
Is it the only way to get fit?
Of course not.
But is CrossFit worth trying?
We think so.
Find a good affiliate.
Walk through the door.
Tell them you've never done it before.
And start.
You might fucking love it.