“I do CrossFit” – “Oh, that’s that circuit training everyone’s so excited about these days!?” If you’re into CrossFit, sooner or later you’ll be confronted with this comment or question. But what exactly is CrossFit, and what does it have to do with circuit training? Find out more in this article...

CrossFit is a foundational strength and conditioning program designed to elicit a broad adaptive response in the body. In CrossFit, we don’t specialize in specific skills; instead, we aim to improve in the following areas:

cardiorespiratory endurance, stamina, strength, power, flexibility, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy.

We aim to help our athletes achieve holistic fitness and prepare them to tackle any physical challenge in everyday life, whether it’s climbing stairs or carrying a case of water up a flight of stairs. We believe that preparing for random physical challenges – that is, unknown and unforeseen events – contradicts fixed, planned, and predictable training regimens.

Therefore, we focus on constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movements. These movements follow a contraction wave from the core to the extremities; they are complex, involving multiple joints. This happens, for example, when we move our own bodies or objects naturally – always in the most effective and efficient way.

The most important aspect of functional movements is their ability to move large loads over long distances quickly.

Our athletes run, swim, and row over short, medium, and long distances to activate all major metabolic pathways for energy supply.

We train our athletes in gymnastics, from basic to advanced exercises, improving static and dynamic body control, strength-to-bodyweight ratio, and flexibility. The disciplines of Olympic weightlifting also play a big role in CrossFit, as this sport uniquely develops explosive power, control of external objects, and improvement of motor movement patterns. Ultimately, we encourage all athletes to apply their fitness in other sports, such as soccer, track and field, etc.

The diagram illustrates the theoretical development hierarchy of an athlete, with nutrition as the foundation. This topic is very individual, so we’ll briefly outline the basic recommendations in CrossFit (Source: CrossFit Level 1 Training Guide, p. 19):

“Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of total caloric intake.
Carbohydrates should be predominantly low glycemic and account for about 40% of total caloric intake.
Fat should be primarily monounsaturated and account for about 30% of total caloric intake.
Depending on activity level, total calories should be set at 1.5 to 2.2g of protein per kg of lean body mass. The 0.7 value is for moderate daily training loads, and the 1.0 value is for the hardcore athlete.”

In general, the diet should be based on vegetables, especially leafy greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no (industrial) sugar.

The CrossFit Level 1 Training Guide summarizes the CrossFit approach as follows:

“Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J (clean and jerk), and snatch.
Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climbs, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstands, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc., hard and fast.
Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense.
Regularly learn and play new sports.”

So, what does all this have to do with good old circuit training? As you’ve probably noticed, CrossFit is designed as a holistic concept. Circuit training is essentially “just” one of many possible modalities.

By definition, circuit training is a specific method of conditioning where different stations must be completed one after the other. Depending on the modality, it focuses on developing strength, endurance, flexibility, or speed. The stations are usually arranged in a circle, and each station involves a specific exercise. Up to this point, this probably sounds familiar. Some classic CrossFit workouts, such as “Cindy” (5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats), are structured according to this method. This CrossFit “circuit” is repeated regularly to test physical development, but unlike circuit training, CrossFit thrives on constantly varied sessions that change from workout to workout.

Today, “Cindy” might be on the agenda, tomorrow heavy deadlifts, and the day after that members may meet for running intervals. The variation of functional exercises ensures that the central nervous system can’t adapt to a typical routine, and new stimuli are continually set. To handle these stimuli, the body responds with adaptive responses (see “Training + Adaptation”).

The last and crucial difference is the intensity at which CrossFit is performed. In traditional circuit training, it’s not unusual to take longer breaks between exercises, while in CrossFit, it’s typical to work continuously over an extended period without breaks.

If you’d like to delve deeper into the CrossFit methodology, we recommend the Level 1 Training Guide, which is available for download here.