Evaluation of Body Composition in CrossFit® Athletes and the Relation with Their Results in Official Training

Abstract

CrossFit® is a high-intensity sport that combines weightlifting, gymnastic skills, and cardiovascular exercises. To find the anthropometric references that define the optimal body composition, it is essential to first find an optimal body composition for one’s physical preparation. The objective of this study is to describe the anthropometric characteristics of 27 Spanish CrossFit® athletes, 19 males aged 39 years old (24–44) and 8 females aged 28 years old (23–40), and how these characteristics influenced their performance. The athletes performed the Fran, Cindy, and Kelly workouts, establishing minimum marks, and the CrossFit Total workout to assess maximum strength. Significant differences were not found in time and repetitions between sexes in skill training, although there was a positive correlation r = 0.876 (p < 0.001) between muscle mass and the Total CrossFit result. We can conclude that the CrossFit® athlete has a low amount of fat mass and a small relative size, which is an advantage when training with bodyweight exercises, and a high muscle mass that provide benefits when strength training. In addition, despite executing movements from a multitude of disciplines, the physical demands for lifting heavy loads resulted in the anthropometric values of athletes being more similar to elite weightlifting athletes than in other sports.