CrossFit program improves APFT scores True or False?‏

2013-11-27T08:46:05-05:00

<i><b><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);">I found CrossFit by accident in February 2013. </span><font color="#616161" face="Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Currently there exists a host of anecdotal evidence claiming that the CrossFit program is effective. However, to date, only one formal study within the U.S. Army has attempted to add empirical evidence to these claims back in 2010.</span></font><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);"> My opinion is Crossfit  is a great tool to improve any soldier PRT/APFT scores. APFT Scores before Crossfit 240 avg After Crossfit 285 avg. </span></b></i><i><b><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);">My personal PR FRAN 4:11 RX </span></b></i>

Response by CPT Mike M. made Nov 27 at 2013 8:49 AM

2013-11-27T08:49:20-05:00

Quite simply, yes. And I think it's good that attention is being given to combat people overdoing it. Rhabdo and stress related injuries are no joke and when people let their egos get the better of them there's no workout that's going to help you and you're going to set yourself back significantly while you recover.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 27 at 2013 11:19 AM

2013-11-27T11:19:33-05:00

<p>True, I totally agree with Crossfit being able to help with the APFT score. After 60 days of training I increased my run time from 15:30 to 13:50.  I also was able to max the sit-up event.  I was unable to see improvement in my push-ups due to my leadership telling me I had an APFT the night before I had one and was currently at my box working on upper body.  I have no doubt that it is a total fitness program and the Army should do another research program to replace PRT. </p>

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 2 at 2013 11:29 AM

2013-12-02T11:29:22-05:00

I definitely agree. Crossfit works soo many muscle groups at once. Outstanding program and I think Soldiers do better when their physical fitness routine is not "routine". In the past so many exercises were mundane, but adding some Crossfit, Zumba, Insanity exercises to your program peps it up a bit and I think my Soldiers enjoyed it immensely!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 2 at 2013 12:35 PM

2013-12-02T12:35:25-05:00

I believe that any fitness program, that is structured and makes it fun to stick with can improve your APFT.  The most important thing is that you can make it harder as you improve and that it is fun enough to do all the time.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 2 at 2013 1:27 PM

2013-12-02T13:27:46-05:00

I'll be the bad guy. I can't stand crossfitters. I will let them have their space and let do what they are doing but it is just a form of exercise and is not the only way to work out. I go to the gym and pick up heavy things. I also find a nice trail and run a long time. It has worked awesome for me. My best two mile was when I was deployed and did my Pick up heavy things/Run a long time fitness program and got a 10:59. Meanwhile these two "Fitness God's" thought I was using steroids. They didn't understand how they could be crossfitting and not see the results that I was seeing.<div><br></div><div>Nothing is wrong with Crossfit. It is a great program to be honest but there are some tool bags that swear by it just as they swear by any craze. That is what turns me off to it. I tried it a couple times and didn't like it. So I stay with what I got. If you take an individual and tell him that Crossfit is the only way you are wrong. It is an option.</div><div><br></div><div>And for crying out STOP POSTING YOUR WOD on facebook. I don't care nor does anyone else besides the people you just worked out with. </div>

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 3 at 2013 9:14 AM

2013-12-03T09:14:23-05:00

Yep, but so does dong push ups, sit ups, and running....as a variety, HELL yes you and you Soldiers should do it. I mix in a FGB every now and then, and my 30 bubbas love it. Filthy 50 works well also.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 3 at 2013 9:16 AM

2013-12-03T09:16:52-05:00

Crossfit, P90x, Insanity are all great ways to improve one's fitness levels. they have done wonders for me and several of my troops. After my injuries and surgeries my 2 mile run went from 17:03 to 24:55 or worse. Since I have started doing Crossfit, running more, P90x and insanity (I do this with my fiancé so as not to get bored or stagnant) I have dropped my 2 mile run time back down to 19 mins or less. Nobody wants to go through their military careers broken, so I see this as a slap in the face to my doctors that said I would never be able to get back to where I was.

Response by SGT Ryan Siefert made Dec 3 at 2013 10:04 AM

2013-12-03T10:04:38-05:00

I haven't tried Crossfit yet, but I can attest to Insanity and the Asylum programs. I used to struggle breaking 50 pushups on the PT test. Now I'm wanting to max my pushups in 1:40 or less (maxed in 1:45 last Saturday).

While the programs also REALLY help build up the abs, quads, and hip flexors, I find I still need to do SOME regular situps - say one set of 50 or so every other day - so I can maintain muscle memory. I'm also maxing or nearly maxing that event as well.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 3 at 2013 10:38 AM

2013-12-03T10:38:04-05:00

I love CrossFit. When I was at Hood all unit PT was CrossFit. The only thing about it that doesn't help on the APFT is the running. There isn't any long distance running associated with CrossFit, and as we all know you still have to pass a 2 mile run. So as long as you still add some long distance running into your CrossFit program, it is the perfect form of PT in my opinion.

Response by CPT Jason Torpy made Dec 3 at 2013 10:08 PM

2013-12-03T22:08:18-05:00

Why is that even a question? A consistent program of intense physical exercise improves APFT performance, True or False? I think the answer is obvious. Crossfit is great for people with the time, energy, and motivation to do it. There's also the real concern about injuries common in any consistent high-intensity exercise. Military physical training has to be more broad-spectrum and tailored to the needs of the unit, not just guns-blazing all the time. That stuff is great if you're safe, but just adopting it for a unit might be too much of a good thing.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 3 at 2013 10:47 PM

2013-12-03T22:47:54-05:00

Look at it this way, I make the same argument I make for Vibram Five Finger shoes. Take a random cross section of the military lets say... 100 soldiers male and female equal parts that just do PT on a daily basis as prescribed by the company commander. Now take another cross section of 100 Crossfitters OR individuals who train in things like Vibrams, take a PT test. I will guarantee you without a shadow of a doubt that the latter cross section WILL score a higher average on the APFT than the first section. Why? People who put themselves in programs such as Crossfit and purchase aids such as minimalist shoes are people that are actively bettering themselves and going above and beyond...

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2014 11:44 PM

2014-04-06T23:44:16-04:00

Old topic revival!! A little background on me: I've been doing CF for just under 4 years, have been a coach for 10 months. When I first discovered CF, I was in a unit that did not do PT (medical). CF improved my APFT score; it was the only type of fitness I had aside from the occasional 5k "fun run" on post. The following year, with no running between October and March, I decreased my 2m run time by 42 secs. Considering that I was already sub-13, that's quite an improvement. All I did in that period was CF. It helped, for sure. Aside from a 4-month stint where I was going to school full-time, I've been at it ever since. Fast forward to now, I am currently half-way through class 14-719 of the Master Fitness Trainer Course, and I'm looking at things from a different perspective now. I used to shun PRT for its "skipping across a parking lot" and terrible forward lunge form. It's been done wrong in so many places, for such a long time. Fixes are coming, hence the surge of MFT Courses. Now, I can tell you that CF, as a "broad, general & inclusive" program will help, but it is not the absolute answer. As warfighters, our needs are anything BUT broad, general, or inclusive. Our training should make us experts at our WTBDs, and that is the purpose of PRT. Our line of work requires a bit more than CF's "General Physical Preparedness". In my personal opinion, CF and PRT can co-exist. A foundation of CF with the specialization that comes from proper performance of PRT will make for a very well-rounded warfighter (physically, at least).

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2014 12:43 AM

2014-04-07T00:43:59-04:00

First rule of crossfit is to tell everyone you do crossfit.

First rule for everyone else, no one gives a crap you do crossfit (not you as in the thread starter, but the "royal" you).

Response by SFC Ricardo Ruiz made Jun 6 at 2014 12:26 PM

2014-06-06T12:26:04-04:00

What Is Fitness and Who Is Fit?

Outside Magazine crowned triathlete Mark Allen "the fittest man on earth." Let’s just assume for a moment that this famous six-time winner of the IronMan Triathlon is the fittest of the fit, then what title do we bestow on the decathlete Simon Poelman who also possesses incredible endurance and stamina, yet crushes Mr. Allen in any comparison that includes strength, power, speed, and coordination?

Perhaps the definition of fitness doesn’t include strength, speed, power, and coordination though that seems rather odd. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines "fitness" and being "fit" as the ability to transmit genes and being healthy. No help there. Searching the Internet for a workable, reasonable definition of fitness yields disappointingly little. Worse yet, the NSCA, the most respected publisher in exercise physiology, in their highly authoritative Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning doesn’t even attempt a definition.

Crossfit's Fitness
For CrossFit the specter of championing a fitness program without clearly defining what it is that the program delivers combines elements of fraud and farce. The vacuum of guiding authority has therefore necessitated that CrossFit’s directors provide their own definition of fitness. That's what this issue of CrossFit Journal is about, our "fitness."

((Crossfit.com))

10 Shots at Tony Blauer by Emily Beers

Combatives expert Tony Blauer answers 10 questions about his new seminar: CrossFit Defense. Emily Beers reports. Tony Blauer is the brains behind the newest personal-safety specialty course to hit the CrossFit community: CrossFit Defense. Blauer, whose foundation is wrestling, martial arts and boxing, has been working with law enforcement and the military for years and was speaking Coach Greg Glassman’s language long before he knew what...

Response by 1SG Jeffrey Bergeron made Jun 9 at 2014 8:32 PM

2014-06-09T20:32:02-04:00

I think any fitness program that has commitment from the the individual will improve their APFT score. It is a personnel choice to improves his or her score not the program. If the individual doesn't "buy-in" mentally to the program it will not work. I have improved my APFT score on just doing push-up, sit-up, and running more, because I wanted to improve my APFT score for leadership purposes or promotion etc. I don't think any program is better then the next it is the commitment of the individual that makes the difference. However I like the mobility factor of CrossFit, and for us old folks mobility is everything.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 1 at 2014 10:24 PM

2014-08-01T22:24:05-04:00

I know while I was in OCS.... no one in our class failed due to a PT related injury. We ran and did cross fit usually three times a week.. I felt super stable while running because crossfit works little muscles. CPT Peppers utilized it and everyone was very fit as a result. To answer the question, it helped. I scored my highest due to crossfit. I think if you want to go past 300, you will need more than just crossfit. Also, limit the crossfit workout that benefits. As mentioned by others... do not go overboard to get injured by it.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 1 at 2014 10:27 PM

2014-08-01T22:27:15-04:00

I can personally say crossfit has helped me improve my APFT Score

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 2 at 2014 12:03 PM

2014-08-02T12:03:29-04:00

Kipping is a totally separate movement and it is actually a gymnastic movement...

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 5 at 2014 10:40 PM

2014-09-05T22:40:54-04:00

First off I'll say that I do crossfit but I also mix in some regular weightlifting and run. That's what works for me and I love it but I'm not one to push my workout on anyone. I've told my soldiers and my friends that if they have any questions that I would be willing to give them tips from workouts that worked for me. But I'm also one that believes that if someone is doing a workout program and it works wonders for them then good for them, stick to it.

Response by Sgt Packy Flickinger made Feb 4 at 2015 5:06 PM

2015-02-04T17:06:09-05:00

Cross fit, p90x, jazzercise, what ever can help you get in shape. I submit the best exercise is good hard manual labor. Buy a shovel and just dig a hole.

Response by SGT Steven Eugene Kuhn MBA made Feb 4 at 2015 5:09 PM

2015-02-04T17:09:02-05:00

Cross Fit is amazing for improving scores, unfortunately the Military will to win and always win, makes this specific type of training very dangerous for soldiers. We just cannot slow down, mind over matter right? Well not in this case, at least not always.

I had a CrossFit gym in Budapest and had to literally stop someone and tell them they had to leave becasue they hurt themselves and wanted to keep going; usually an Ex-Pat American or British.

The training is hard and very rewarding but it should be about competing with the better you, not others who drive you to the point of injury. I know that speaks against all we learn but when it comes to good, healthy and lasting results, respect and focus for oneself is paramount.

The community around CrossFit get annoying though, the "WOD" and the "Dude" and all that. To each his/her own but dont think being fit gives you the right to put someone down for not doing what you do and this seems to be a trend with CrossFit "Dudes. Not with me since I run or own the gyms I train in! lol

Best!
Steven

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 5 at 2016 3:27 PM

2016-04-05T15:27:08-04:00

It has helped my APFT score in the past. Haven't done Crossfit in awhile