As CrossFit athletes, we have been groomed to believe intensity is the be-all, end-all for making fitness gains.
- After all, the very definition of CrossFit tells us constantly varied functional movements, done at a high intensity, is the key to success.
Further, remember Pukey the Clown, CrossFit’s original mascot, so to speak?
- Pukey created a culture where vomiting after a CrossFit workout was seen as a badge of honor. And in case you thought Pukey was an outdated relic of the past, even today, Rogue Fitness sells a Pukey the Clown t-shirt.
The point is that CrossFit has gone hand-in-hand with pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones and coming close to redlining every time we’re at the gym.
- It’s an approach I adopted when I started CrossFit in 2008 and an approach I maintained until 2015. Until I no longer could. Or at least until I no longer wanted high intensity to dominate every workout.
And now, new research out of Lusófona University in Lisbon, Portugal, suggests I was onto something when I abandoned high-intensity efforts all the time.
The research in a nutshell: A better approach to achieve consistency over the long term might be to stick to an intensity you enjoy.
Reading this was music to my ears.
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The Details
The research, published in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, set out to look at how to motivate more people to exercise.
- Specifically, researchers recruited 46 participants between the ages of 18 and 45, all of whom were infrequent exercisers prior to the study.
Over the course of eight weeks, the participants were asked to join an exercise class at a health club every two to three days.
- Half the participants were given the freedom to choose their own intensity during the class — to move at an intensity that felt comfortable and enjoyable to them — while the other half of the participants were given specific intensity prescriptions.
The Result
Those who had the freedom to regulate their own intensity based on what was enjoyable to them attended 77% more exercise classes than those given specific intensity prescriptions.
- Those who were given intensity prescriptions did an average of 8.13 classes in the eight weeks, as compared to 14.35 classes among those who were able to select their own intensity level.
- Further, those who self-regulated their intensity also reported a higher score on how their workouts improved their mood.
Why This Matters
Anyone who has been doing CrossFit for a while also knows that consistency is possibly the most crucial element for long-term success.
- So if this (albeit very small) study holds merit, then there’s an argument to be made that it’s OK to slack off on the intensity for the sake of maintaining consistency long-term.
At the very least, the study got me thinking about my own on-and-off CrossFit journey over the last 17 years.
From 2008 to 2015, I thought every day needed to be intense, and I was able to maintain that for a considerable amount of time.
- It led me all the way to qualify and compete as an individual at the 2014 CrossFit Games.
But by 2016, once I was finished competing, I no longer had the drive to put myself in the kind of pain I endured from 2008 to 2015.
So, I stopped doing what I would call traditional CrossFit. I still went to the gym three days a week and did functional movements, but I mostly lifted and worked on gymnastics skills and trickled in some light conditioning workouts here and there.
- But I avoided thrusters and kipping pull-ups and any kind of benchmark workouts at all costs because I didn’t want to feel the pain of the intensity.
Fast-forward to 2024, and I joined Kea Athletics in Surrey, B.C. since it was 200 meters from my house and I could bring my then six-month-old baby.
That being said, I had no intention of doing the group classes. My plan was simply to dabble in the corner during open gym times.
One thing led to another, and I eventually started doing regular group classes four to five days a week, hitting thrusters and pull-ups and benchmark workouts.
However, this is my 2.0 version of CrossFit, where intensity is no longer the driving force for my workouts.
- Most of the time, I go at 70-75% intensity. Sometimes, I turn a “for-time” workout into an EMOM, or I very strategically pace workouts to manage the intensity. For example, I’ll do one round every two minutes, knowing I’ll have about 30 seconds of rest in between.
Once a week, I’ll see a workout that motivates me to push outside of my comfort zone, and I’ll find myself in a bit more pain than I thought I’d put myself in when I arrived at the gym.
The pressure is off today, and CrossFit is fun again because I’m moving at an intensity I thoroughly enjoy based on how I feel that day.
But here’s the thing: my 70-75% effort keeps increasing, and so I’m still fitter than I was between 2017 and 2023 when I was avoiding CrossFit at all costs.
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Featured image: Ralph Steele
