Coaches Corner 1: Strength or CrossFit?

Team, Friends, Old Cityzens,

Believe it or not, we CrossFit coaches spend the bulk of our time thinking, reading, and generally obsessing about fitness. In an attempt to bring our community the best possible information and create a health and fitness dialogue we’re starting a weekly blog on any and all fitness topics! Plan for a quick read on the misunderstood basics OR hot topics keeping us up at night.

Today’s question: Is there a difference between strength training and CrossFit?

Said another way: should I go heavier or do more reps? Should I work on my goal, or just come to class? Not a day goes by at Old City where we don’t hear some spin on this question. Here's how we think about it:

General vs. specialized

CrossFit builds broad, generalized fitness. IE, “Work capacity across time and modal domains.” You can plan to build strength, endurance, flexibility, power, agility, etc. etc. Everything under the curve.

Strength training is exactly that. A specialized focus on strength. Move heavy weight. But! Any time you chase a specialty you refuse compromise: the world's strongest man will never be the world's best marathoner. The world’s strongest man owns just a portion of the curve. CrossFit embraces compromise.

But what about you? What do you need? And maybe a more interesting question: are some specializations better, perhaps more primary, than others?

If your goal is resilience you want general not specialized. We all know if your sacings portfolio is over-indexed in one domain you’re gambling. If you’re a great runner, but are nervous around 50 pound deadlifts, it’s just a matter of time before life punches you in the face.

Over a long enough time span, our classes and coaches won’t fail you. You will build every skill and strength. Here’s the kicker: as we see it at Old City, Strength training (or any specialization) and CrossFit work together. Sometimes you need to work on a weakness BEFORE “a long enough time span.”

CrossFit is a survey of your weaknesses

CrossFit didn't invent the back squat, the kettlebell swing, or the pull-up. Its invention was putting them together. Think of strength, gymnastics, and running as skills — CrossFit is the application of those skills, in every combination, against the clock.

That makes class a continuous survey of your fitness. Every workout is a magnifying glass: dread running? Ask why. Knee hurts? Ask why. Can't do a pull-up? Now you know exactly what to work on. Six months of random workouts probably won't get you that first pull-up. 2 to 6 months of a focused pulling program almost certainly will.

Why focused work is worth it

Focused strength training has a clear advantage: WODs with a ton of power cleans at 135/95 are much easier if you have the strength do deadlift 300 pounds and power clean 185. WODs with 20 kipping pull-ups are much easier when you can do weighted pull-ups. Strength specialization also has a few quieter advantages. Namely, it's easier to recover from than constantly varied volume and intensity, which matters if you're newer and still figuring out your limits. Lastly, it builds the necessary habit of form before intensity. Going slow and being present with each rep, instead of letting "3-2-1-go" brain take over.

How we do both at Old City

Our programming stays true to CrossFit and constant variation, but it's not random, we “sneak in” a bit of specialization. When we back squat, it's usually part of a six-week progression. We run skill progressions the same way… week over week of weighted pull-ups, pistols, handstands.

But beyond class, every session has open gym and we host weekly specialty classes (Foundational Strength, Muscle Lab, Engine, Surrender). One month squat or skill progression is entirely free, just ask. Back pain? we would LOVE to show you the basics of core training and the tools we have in our gym (reverse hyper, GHD, etc.) Need more? We offer personal training and individualized programming,

Personally, I’ve always wanted to do 2 strength/skill sessions a week along with 2-3 WODs and 1 moderate run. I never encounter a WOD where the movements, volume, or prescribed weights are entirely beyond me.

So: know your goal, let class show you your weaknesses, then attack them specifically. Not strength versus CrossFit — strength compared to CrossFit. You want both.