Crossfit for girls: benefit or harm for the female body? * Crossfit

Recently, crossfit for girls began to take an increasing place in the sports information field. It's time for us to cover this topic and figure out: what is crossfit for women. What is the use of it and what is the secret of its frenzied popularity?

On the road to gender equality, women prove that not only the stronger sex can train hard, but they are fragile, adorable creatures. So many of the girls jumped off the cardio machines and went to the high-intensity and explosive crossfit. Well, commendable, but how justified are such sacrifices? Is such a training system harmful to health and what features do girls need to know before starting to exercise? Or maybe give preference to more familiar areas - fitness, yoga, Pilates? Read about this and much more.

Pros and cons of CrossFit for women

Let's summarize the pros and cons of doing CrossFit for girls.

Strengths

Impact on all muscle groups. CrossFit training does not involve a day of legs, arms, or buttocks. You work through everything at once.
The training program can even be changed every day, so in a month or two you will not feel bored. In the halls, classes are often held in groups, which also increases interest in training, and a competitive spirit appears.
Increases aerobic and strength endurance of the body. You will not move the closets with your little finger, but in everyday tasks the CrossFit training programs will help you (it will become easier to bring a heavy bag from the supermarket).
The reaction speed, the flexibility of the whole body and the coordination of movements are improved.
With intense training, you are guaranteed a daily release of endorphins, which means less stress in life.

Weak sides

Disadvantages, or something that CrossFit trainers often keep silent about:

CrossFit is a sport where the correct technique of performing exercises is very important, and non-compliance with it significantly increases the likelihood of injury due to the high intensity of the load. At first, it is advisable to train under the supervision of an experienced instructor.
An untrained girl needs to be extremely careful. CrossFit puts a lot of stress on the heart, as all work takes place in a high-intensity mode.

“If you ask a CrossFit coach, injuries are your fault. In a culture that makes you move as hard and fast as possible, it is difficult to maintain common sense. You have to push yourself to the limit, but when you reach the limit and pay for it, you turn out to be an idiot who has gone too far. " (c) Jason Kessler.

Is the game worth the candle? It is worth it if you have a goal and are ready to listen to your own feelings. With the right approach, CrossFit will become your favorite direction.

The benefits and harms of CrossFit for girls

Almost any sport is good for a girl's health - it strengthens the body and spirit. Is this the case with CrossFit? This direction is relatively young - since 2000 (here you can read in more detail about what CrossFit is), and not fully understood. There are a lot of conflicting reviews about him on the net.

So what's so special about CrossFit - let's look at the issue and consider the benefits and possible harm to the girl's health.

Benefit for health

The benefits for girls from classes are obvious:

Crossfit training is a really effective way to lose weight for a girl and bring her figure to the desired shape. After a killer workout, your body will continue to burn calories. This means that the process of losing weight will be faster than that of the average amateur runner. Do not just forget about the mandatory calorie deficit, otherwise all workouts will be useless.
Strength training (including CrossFit) speeds up metabolism. As a result, your general condition will improve: you will sleep well, eat with appetite, and feel better.
CrossFit is no less effective for girls in the fight against cellulite. The combination of toning muscles and burning excess fat will make you forget about this problem.
Thanks to short, high-intensity sessions, you can work out all areas of the female body in a complex.
You will tone your body - that is, you will not only lose weight, but also pump well the core muscles, which are so important for women's health.
You will become more flexible and improve your coordination through gymnastic exercises.

Let's immediately dispel one of the most enduring myths about women's crossfit: “all the girls crossfit-athletes are pumped and look like men - foo such be.” Let me disagree with this opinion. We're not going to argue about tastes - although, by the way, a lot of people like professional CrossFit athletes, but that's not about that now.

To become “pumped”, you need to work hard on the day and night complexes. Train at least 4 times a week for several years. At the same time, strictly observe the diet, exercise and rest. And only then, perhaps, you will reach the competitive level. In all other cases, this question will not affect you, believe me.

In general, this argument lies in the plane of one of the excuses why not go to the gym. There will always be reasons - find a better opportunity to start working on yourself and you will get involved, and all questions will disappear by themselves. We will consider in detail the issue of pumping in CrossFit for girls below.

Harm to health

Like any other active sport, CrossFit also has negative sides:

With an uncontrolled training regimen, CrossFit puts a serious strain on the cardiovascular system.... Still would! The average heart rate of work in training for experienced athletes varies from 130 to 160 beats per minute, and in some places it can reach 180. Follow your work in training and listen to the coach - you will be happy!
Due to anatomical features, women suffer from osteoporosis much more often than men - 3-5 times. Pubmed published (source article on the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health on November 22, 2013) an interesting scientific study: it turns out that CrossFitters are more likely than other athletes to get problems with the musculoskeletal system. And not so long ago it became known that over extreme activities gradually lead to a decrease in bone mass, which is the root cause of the development of osteoporosis.
Unlike exercising in the gym and banal cardio, CrossFit is not recommended for pregnant women and new mothers during lactation. Such high-intensity training can lead to overwork of the unrecovered female body and cause a lack of milk. Often athletes complain that after training, children refuse to breastfeed, since the taste of milk becomes less pleasant. The reason is the lactic acid that the body releases during exercise.

For detailed material on the benefits and dangers of CrossFit, read our separate material. In it you will find a complete list of contraindications to classes, all the pros and cons, reviews of doctors and famous athletes.

Features of CrossFit for women

Let's talk about the features of female crossfit in the context of physiology and anatomy.

Women are more likely than men to bend their legs inward during squats or deadlifts from the floor (this is due to the angle of the quadriceps). Therefore, while doing these exercises, there is a great risk of injury. Especially when an ardent crossfitter forgets about quality and starts working on quantity.

Tip: All women are advised not to hesitate to perform auxiliary exercises - squats and side steps with elastic around the knees and ankles. This will help to track down the incorrect technique, correct it and avoid sprains and torn ligaments.

Women also tend to have strong quads, but have poor hamstring and gluteal muscles. This can cause problems with the lower back, so the exercise should be approached with the utmost responsibility, and before that - thoroughly study the technique. For the same reason, women should spend more time stretching and cooling down after a workout.

Are the exercises different?

Crossfit classes for women are no different from men's. Except that the intensity of exercise and working weight change. But this does not mean that you can do a workout “to the floor of the leg”. Try to carry out the maximum load for you, but do not chase the working weight at the expense of equipment. Perfect technique is paramount.

Can't be pumped up

So where do you put a comma in this ill-fated sentence when it comes to women and CrossFit? As strength training is gaining more and more popularity among women, the myth has arisen that active weight training will inevitably lead to "bodybuilder" legs and huge "banks", instead of a beautifully delineated biceps line.

In fact, the female body reacts to exercise a little differently than the male. To a greater extent, any exercise - both cardio and strength - affects the decrease in the percentage of body fat. If you ask the girls who are engaged in the gym, then they will all confirm that the increase in muscle mass is slow. And all because women are "sharpened" under the accumulation of body fat, which CrossFit (or any other exercise system) and eliminates in the first place. But, of course, it will not be superfluous to revise your diet, calculating your calorie intake and making a small surplus or deficit depending on the goal.

Remember that muscle gain is associated with testosterone levels, and it is negligible in the female body. Therefore, to build up serious muscles, ladies will have to not only train for years to wear out, but also not to disdain the use of "pharma". Therefore, you can safely give yourself loads with weights.

Crossfit during critical days

If during the critical days a woman feels normal and can exercise well, it is still not worth doing as usual. Many female crossfitters who are not bothered by the abdomen have pain in the hips and lower back. That is why training on such days should be done in a gentle mode. Lifting weight from the ground is especially dangerous during this period.

This is interesting: some of the fair sex claim that they feel good during their periods thanks to regular CrossFit. And there is nothing to be surprised at: after all, high-intensity training has a positive effect on blood circulation and enrichment of the body with oxygen, including the genitals.

Why can your periods disappear with high-intensity training? As a rule, the reason lies in the percentage of fat that is too low. For optimal reproductive function, at least 17-20% is required. Amenorrhea - the absence of menstruation - may also be related to the intensity of training. As you know, CrossFit will not favor you in this regard, so take your health seriously. It has been proven that in middle distance runners, amenorrhea is observed in 20% of cases, and with an increase in weekly mileage by 2-3 times - 30%. Another possible reason is sports pharmacology, which is used by many professional athletes.

Outcome

All women who want to catch the envious feminine and adoring masculine looks on themselves, demonstrate excellent body quality with a clear muscle pattern on the beach, are encouraged to do CrossFit. However, do not forget that the system can not only make you stronger and more resilient, but also have a detrimental effect on your health. Be careful when doing extreme exercise. And remember that it is still better not to "put the squeeze" or do an exercise with a small weight for more repetitions than to "tear" joints of already tired muscles. Maintain balance, because disregarding your body can lead to fatal consequences.

If you are interested in this sport, but you still have doubts about how the training is going, whether it will be difficult for you, etc., we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the material on crossfit training programs for beginner girls.

We hope that we have helped you understand the question of what CrossFit means for a girl and her health. If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to write under the material below. If you liked the article - support us with a repost!