Is CrossFit good for weight loss?
"Do this, and you will lose weight" is a very attractive claim, but we all know that losing weight is not that easy.
CrossFit is an excellent starting point for weight loss, but you will only maximize your results if you follow a few guidelines.
Stay and discover how with CrossFit you can lose weight while having fun. If you don't know this sport yet, learn more about what is CrossFit here.
Why lose weight with CrossFit?
The main reason to lose weight with CrossFit is that high intensity exercise is practiced using the combo of speed, weights, own body weight and some machines. Combined strength and cardio exercises that help you not only lose fat, but also gain muscle. The best way to change your aesthetics.
The first adaptations of someone starting CrossFit is weight loss. Normally, those with a low level of training see how quickly, compared to other training such as regular fitness or classes, their body tends towards its ideal weight.
But once the first adaptation phase is over, you will have to add more factors in order to keep losing weight.
Physical change in 1 year and 4 months -22 kg
How to lose weight with CrossFit?
Losing weight remains one of the most common problems of the general population. Moreover, it is recurrent because people are used to follow a diet, instead of learning how to eat. In most cases, people follow a diet, and then they will get some improvement and after weeks of sacrifices, they abandon the diet and a rebound effect will happen and leaving them worse than they were at the beginning.
Losing weight is a task that involves working on several areas at once. There is no magic, no one can tell you that just doing CrossFit, or dieting, or taking this supplement...
It is imperative that your CrossFit training is accompanied by a proper diet. This word is scary, but dieting does not mean to be on broccoli and boiled chicken, but to learn to eat well and forever.
If you want to lose weight once and for all, there is only one way: changing your lifestyle..
How I managed to lose 6 kg in 3 months
If you want to know how I managed to lose 6 kg relatively quickly I recommend the following article:
Josรฉ increased his muscle mass and reduced his fat percentage.
How long does it take to lose weight with CrossFit?
Luckily in CrossFit, if you're doing your job, you'll see results quickly. Within a 3 months you will see significant changes and even more striking at 6, and even more so at 12.
And even though it may seem like a long time now, when you start, you won't want to stop. You will experience things like: lifting more load, being faster, being at your weight, achieving small challenges in each training session... it is an inexhaustible source of motivation..
You'll come to CrossFit to lose weight, you'll stay because leading a healthy lifestyle is engaging.
Abel's change was -25 kg in 1 year.
Myths about CrossFit and weight loss
Let's look at some of the most repeated questions regarding CrossFit and the supposed magical effects. Let's look at the truth and only the truth, because CrossFit has a lot of good things, it has everything you need. ๐
I want to do CrossFit to lose fat from my bell and legs only.
No one (except a cosmetic surgeon) can assure you that you will lose lose weight from here or there. Not even in a CrossFit class.
The physical adaptations of this sport involve a body fat loss without being able to choose from where! and an increase in muscle mass.
The only way you could focus your efforts on a particular area would be to target muscle hypertrophy (growing muscles) with a specific program. Normally, the training that is done in the fitness gym is with analytical exercises that can target an specific area. But it only refers to the muscle gain, never to fat loss.
I have gained weight since I've started CrossFit
The scale can be one way to assess fat loss, but it should not be the only way, as it can cause you to come to false conclusions such as "I weigh more, I'm not losing fat".
Muscles are part of the evolution process in CrossFit. They must be valued as a positive gain. In addition, they are denser than fat, which means that for the same volume, muscle weighs more than fat.
For a good analysis of your evolution, tape measurements can help. Many times it is enough to look in the mirror to see that you have less waist, and more gluteus, for example. But if you are one of those who like to do an exhaustive follow-up, do not stay only with the number on the scale, use the tape as well.
Another spectacular change is Eneko's. 20 kilos lost in 2 years.
That time when I didn't do sports, when I almost weighed 100 kilos, when I got tired quickly, when I often had headaches, slept badly... I can't be happier about my change during this time. I feel more awake, more agile, healthier, more self-confident ...
– Eneko
I don't want to do CrossFit because I gain muscle too fast.
We have said that, with CrossFit you get to lose weight and gain muscle, but it's not all that fast as we think. In particular muscle gain is usually a slower process.
There are different types of metabolisms with more or less ease in achieving an athletic body with less fat and more muscle, but still, no one sets foot in a CrossFit box and automatically starts growing new muscles like mushrooms.
If we look for information about CrossFit we see elite athletes who are fully dedicated to this sport and we compare ourselves with them, we will be making a big mistake.
We cannot think that we will have the physique of Mat Fraser or Tia Toomey's husband who are the fittest people in the world for several years in a row. Their volume of workouts, meals, breaks... has nothing to do with yours or mine who practice CrossFit for fun. So don't worry about picking up a barbell, you won't automatically become the Hulk.
If you are interested in this topic, I recommend you to read about the psychological benefits of CrossFit and benefits for women.