CrossFit can be an effective way to build strength and fitness, and it can help you achieve a toned look. According to Robinson, "CrossFit will definitely help you build muscle". It can also improve your endurance, gymnastic skills, and mobility. CrossFit workouts are fun, tough, and will leave you feeling accomplished.
However, increasing muscle size and getting stronger are two different things. Different training protocols will induce different adaptations. Losing fat and getting fit are also two separate goals. When you get fit, losing weight is often a by-product.
To build muscle mass, you need all the calories you get. New muscle is created with excess calories. For optimal hypertrophy (increased muscle size), one should focus on a range of 8-12 repetitions with rest periods of 60-2 minutes. Most CrossFit routines use much higher repetition ranges with virtually no breaks, forcing muscles to adapt more for resistance.
For the sake of hypertrophy, your muscles need to recover between each set so that each set can be performed correctly with maximum effort and within the proper repetition range. Eccentric training, rest and pause sets, isometric, reduced ROM sets, constant tension are all advanced muscle-building techniques that are lacking in CrossFit-style training. A typical CrossFit workout isn't easy and can put a lot of strain on joints and connective tissues. CrossFit weightlifting is also quite advanced with the use of many Olympic lifts.
Proper Olympic weightlifting technique takes a while to master and is not recommended for beginners. The combination of CrossFit style workouts and bodybuilding allows you to improve your overall physical performance while still gaining muscle. Ask any young man or woman who is starting out with weightlifting and is looking to build muscle how they are training. But who benefits most from CrossFit? Can it help a person build muscle mass or is it only good for burning fat? CrossFit creates hypertrophy changes in the body by increasing blood flow restriction type hypertrophy gains during workouts.
The typical athlete will strive to get the fastest time possible and, in pursuit of that goal, will often come very close to failure in a given move. Compound exercises are the foundation of a well-designed muscle-building routine, but isolation exercises are also paramount when it comes to tackling muscles that are unruly with increases in size for most people, such as the chest and back. If your CrossFit routine burns more calories than you consume, then you're not going to gain muscle mass, you're going to lose muscle mass. CrossFit can help you get in good shape and it's not as dangerous as some people would have you believe. With a good coach and knowledge of how to avoid overtraining and injury, CrossFit isn't a bad option for building muscle.
