When is CrossFit right for triathletes?
CrossFit openly takes issue with Outside magazine’s naming 6-time Ironman world champion Mark Allen “The Fittest Man on Earth,” arguing that there is more to fitness than endurance and speed. CrossFit attempts to (re)define fitness based on ten “recognized fitness domains,” including not only cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, and speed, but also strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. While the focus on sprinting, strength, and power may be contraindicated for mid-season triathlon training, the strength and neurological adaptations may be appropriate for many triathletes trying to increase their strength, power, muscle mass, and neuroendocrine system in the offseason. CrossFit Endurance (CE), is lighter on the weight training, but still re-invents traditional endurance training based on the philosophy that if you work on the neurological aspects of your sport, endurance will come. The more efficient an athlete is, the less energy it
