Crossfit

[Eldron]

I think CF has a fair claim to Fittest Athletes on the Planet.

 

Personally I'd say that the statement would be more true if the bias was slightly more toward the aerobic side but very few sports create as well rounded an athletes as Crossfit.

[Borriz]

Perhaps this was mentioned somewhere midway during this thread. So apologies too whomever that already addressed this topic. 

I fully agree with the balancing act of fitting in CF with your other training. Tried this for years and couldn't manage. The problem that I found is that due to incorrect posture and objective to finish your CF set, is that you end up having muscle imbalance. Which wont necessarily result in injury, but your cycling efficiency is hampered. Stuff like tight hipflexor because of quad overuse, weak hamstring because of poor squads etc.

 

Thus my suggestion, if you are looking at improving cycling, is to rather do pilates. You will become far better technically (especially in MTB) and you'll engage all the correct muscles when cycling. Even on endurance rides. But not group pilates. You'll gain far reaching health benefits doing pilates. Plus your ego will take shots if you have reputable instructor. :-)

[Dexter-morgan]

Perhaps this was mentioned somewhere midway during this thread. So apologies too whomever that already addressed this topic. 

I fully agree with the balancing act of fitting in CF with your other training. Tried this for years and couldn't manage. The problem that I found is that due to incorrect posture and objective to finish your CF set, is that you end up having muscle imbalance. Which wont necessarily result in injury, but your cycling efficiency is hampered. Stuff like tight hipflexor because of quad overuse, weak hamstring because of poor squads etc.

 

Thus my suggestion, if you are looking at improving cycling, is to rather do pilates. You will become far better technically (especially in MTB) and you'll engage all the correct muscles when cycling. Even on endurance rides. But not group pilates. You'll gain far reaching health benefits doing pilates. Plus your ego will take shots if you have reputable instructor. :-)

We used to do 15-20 minutes of Yoga(our Box subscibed to ROMWOD), helped with all the tightness.

[Aurora]

I have watched a lot of Crossfit over the years as I really enjoy it. I couldn't do half the stuff these guys do and its really cool to watch. I also admire their mental abilities. I have also wondered about the whole "Fittest on Earth" statement but there would be no real way to tell in my opinion. 

 

Matt Fraser can't swim, run or bike as fast I can but if he was dedicated to training for those 3 events I can almost guarantee you he wouldn't be to far behind in almost no time. In 2015, Matt came 2nd in the games behind Froning and one of his biggest weaknesses was his run where he was almost stone last. The very next year, he won the run with a smile on his face. He took the defeat as a learning and came back faster then everybody else. He is an amazing athlete. 

 

Toomey used to run track when she was younger, you can see that by her running performances. 

 

Taking into consideration what the top level crossfit athletes do in prep for the games and the events they actually compete in, I would be very close to saying the Fraser or Toomey are the most all-rounded athletes on the planet because of the type of stuff they do.

 

They are much more then just a person who can lift heavy weights as the competitions have evolved so much. Matt and Tia have just evolved with it and stayed on top for a long time now. They have been adding a lot more cardio based workouts to the games and you can see that there are a lot less "big boys" making the final cut as they simply cannot keep up anymore. 

 

Fittest on Earth? Not so sure as that would be relative to what you are comparing yourself against in a particular code. 

[Stevief]

I would say the fittest "Cardio athletes in the world are" 

 

Cross country Skiers

Iron man Athletes

Boxers

Footballers

Cyclists

Ultra Marathon and Marathon Runners

 

I would say the stongest athletes in the world are (when i say strong i mean real world strength not muscle bound  posuers"

 

Rugby/Grid iron football

Boxers/MMA

Wrestlers  (not wwf olympic style)

Ice Hockey

 

 

Overall to me the Ultimate Ahtlete that combines the best combination of  strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, dicipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness etc is without a doubt BOXING

 

Boxing is the toughest sport on the planet and unfortunatley the most dangerous as well.

 

I do do crossfit and i dont consider it a sport but the guys that compete at crossfit are bloody impressive athletes in their own right, the problem is they not very good at one dicipline.

Edited August 6, 2019 by Stevief

[lechatnoir]

Ninja Warrior... wowza! Mostly upper body though

[RogM]

I was sponsored to do Crossfit training full time for two years:

 

National Service - 7th South African Infantry.

 

Some of the Opvok Crossfit exercises they came up with there defy description.

79-81 here

[Dexter-morgan]

I was sponsored to do Crossfit training full time for two years:

 

National Service - 7th South African Infantry.

 

Some of the Opvok Crossfit exercises they came up with there defy description.

More like 3 months(basic training) there after it was mostly loafing, specially after the first year.

[RogM]

More like 3 months(basic training) there after it was mostly loafing, specially after the first year.

Infantry?

[Ettas]

I would say the fittest "Cardio athletes in the world are" 

 

Cross country Skiers

Iron man Athletes

Boxers

Footballers

Cyclists

Ultra Marathon and Marathon Runners

 

I would say the stongest athletes in the world are (when i say strong i mean real world strength not muscle bound  posuers"

 

Rugby/Grid iron football

Boxers/MMA

Wrestlers  (not wwf olympic style)

Ice Hockey

 

 

Overall to me the Ultimate Ahtlete that combines the best combination of  strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, dicipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness etc is without a doubt BOXING

 

Boxing is the toughest sport on the planet and unfortunatley the most dangerous as well.

 

I do do crossfit and i dont consider it a sport but the guys that compete at crossfit are bloody impressive athletes in their own right, the problem is they not very good at one dicipline.

Not including, world strongest man competitors, powerlifters and olympic weightlifters? 

 

Olympic weightlifters are the strongest pound for pound human beings on this earth. There is no doubt.  

[Stevief]

Not including, world strongest man competitors, powerlifters and olympic weightlifters? 

 

Olympic weightlifters are the strongest pound for pound human beings on this earth. There is no doubt.  

I agree they are the strongest human beings on earth but  i didnt include them as i dont consider weightlifting to be a overall athletic  As i stated my idea of  the Ultimate Ahtlete  is one that combines the best combination of  strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, dicipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness etc. 

 

Weighlifters are strong as hell but they can only lift, they cant do much else, hence not very athletic.    But perhaps i am wrong in this regard but this is my take.

[Chris_]

I agree they are the strongest human beings on earth but  i didnt include them as i dont consider weightlifting to be a overall athletic  As i stated my idea of  the Ultimate Ahtlete  is one that combines the best combination of  strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, dicipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness etc. 

 

Weighlifters are strong as hell but they can only lift, they cant do much else, hence not very athletic.    But perhaps i am wrong in this regard but this is my take.

 

Its a lose lose argument. Each of us sees fitness, an athlete and the best in different ways.

 

I went through a great weightlifting appreciation phase during my Crossfit period, so to me a world-class weightlifter is exactly the epitome of (as you said above) 'strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, discipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness.' Cardio to a lesser degree when compared to your cyclists (obviously) but 100% those other traits, they are some of the most finely tuned machines in the world. If you're bored on day have a dig through YouTube for training videos from the Chinese weightlifting halls and camps, its just amazing.

[Capricorn]

I agree they are the strongest human beings on earth but  i didnt include them as i dont consider weightlifting to be a overall athletic  As i stated my idea of  the Ultimate Ahtlete  is one that combines the best combination of  strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, dicipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness etc. 

 

Weighlifters are strong as hell but they can only lift, they cant do much else, hence not very athletic.    But perhaps i am wrong in this regard but this is my take.

OWLs have some of the best mobility of any athlete. Lifting massive weight requires excellent biomechanics, otherwise you'll have crossfit like technique.

[Stevief]

Its a lose lose argument. Each of us sees fitness, an athlete and the best in different ways.

 

I went through a great weightlifting appreciation phase during my Crossfit period, so to me a world-class weightlifter is exactly the epitome of (as you said above) 'strength, speed, cardio, flexibility, discipline, agility , fitness, mental toughness.' Cardio to a lesser degree when compared to your cyclists (obviously) but 100% those other traits, they are some of the most finely tuned machines in the world. If you're bored on day have a dig through YouTube for training videos from the Chinese weightlifting halls and camps, its just amazing.

Yes they are impressive at one dicipline but the dont have much in terms of skill , speed, , agility, endurance etc but i get your point i suppose there is more to it than meets the eye.  My bad to all weighlifters out there.

[HdB]

Yes they are impressive at one dicipline but the dont have much in terms of skill , speed, , agility, endurance etc but i get your point i suppose there is more to it than meets the eye.  My bad to all weighlifters out there.

Well, from my little experience from Crossfit, the Olympic weightlifting takes plenty of skill, speed and agility to get underneath a bar with stupid heavy weight, along with the strength of course. Which is why most people can't go heavy with the snatch lift, compared to the deadlift which is mostly just strength.

[Ettas]

Yes they are impressive at one dicipline but the dont have much in terms of skill , speed, , agility, endurance etc but i get your point i suppose there is more to it than meets the eye.  My bad to all weighlifters out there.

 

Their speed and agility is second to none. Learning how to snatch properly takes years of practice. Olympic weightlifters are also more flexible than cyclists. I think we should have a weightlifting day for cyclists to put things in perspective.