CrossFit May Be COOKED and Here's Why

[@BroncoBen123]

Getting rid of regionals made the popularity go way down. People LOVED looking at the leaderboard and telling their friends exactly how many spots they were away from competing on TV. Now it’s unclear and not motivating to try to train for something when there is t a clear path for “success”

[@TheSurgeonsRoadie]

Agreed. Regionals was the most popular part of the games season. Leadership intentionally decided to move the business in a direction contrary to analysts reports and popularity. Remember when they impulsively deleted their instagram?

[@greuju]

They got rid of that? I'm just watching right now, but that was actually the only reason I was even considering ever doing that sport. Thankfully now I never have to learn how to do a kipping pull up.

[@ABUNDANCEandBEYONDATHLETE]

I agree

[@Gusativo]

I didn't know about that. I don't follow CrossFit, but one of the things I always looked up to the sport was this kind of democratic transparency the selection process had. Too bad they took it out.

[@greywolf7071]

There was an instantaneous shift in the entire community when regionals was canceled. It was the best part of the sport in my opinion and united people on a level that the open alone didn’t. I remember feeling directionless when the announcement was made. If you experienced CrossFit in 2018 or prior you understand. If not no amount of words can convey what it used to be like versus what it is now.

[@loganyates2553]

I started CrossFit in 2010 and competed in the Opens in 2011 and 2012 and team regionals in 2012. The media team MADE the CrossFit Games. The amount of excitement from 2012-2015 was electric. Post Matt Fraser Era, post Carson Era, everything changed

[@barath4545]

I only watched from the outside but followed CF since the 2010 games, when it was just a baby (Kristen Clever and Graham Holberg won) and then the Icelandic revolution till Tia dominated all competitions from 2016 forwards. Guys was just Froning till he couldnt be bothered, then Matt till he got bored. But it was super exciting to watch and the creativity of the events was amazing! - The 2020 Covid version was okay too tbh, especially the final event. I will say I still watch the CF games for fun, but nothing else, I miss the Icelandic girls the most being Scandi-isch myself.

[@AZTinstar]

The way to think about this is to ask: Why should anyone tune into Crossfit as a spectator sport? Did I grow up playing Crossfit at the local park, kicking around a crossfit ball with other unsupervised neighborhood kids? No. Did I do Crossfit in school? No. Did my university have a crossfit team? No. Does my city have a crossfit team? No. Does my nation compete against other nations? No. Do I get to see the strongest people on the planet? No. Do I get to see the fastest people on Earth? No. Do I get to see the most beautiful technical lifting? No. Is it a violent spectacle? No. Is the sport one in which athletes can develop their own unique style of play? No. Do I even know what kind of game they are going to be playing before I choose to tune in? No. I struggle to find any reason beyond, "I currently do crossfit". And that's a hard number to grow year after year because, as mentioned elsewhere, other competitors are emerging in their space and folks that try it are likely to fall away into one of the specialized sports it borrows from.

[@kiwiintrovert6676]

They had a great system with the 5 week open and regionals leading to the games with a great media team creating the desire to join in that community. Greg was too focused on the methodology without realising that we joined because of the hype and then embraced the methodology once there. It doesn’t matter if you have a great methodology if you can’t get people through the door.

[@steveornelas2956]

This is so true. I joined bc I saw the games on tv and wanted to one day compete. Only then did I realize how life changing what I learned in CrossFit would be

[@25hockeyguy25]

It’s because people are broke. It’s not the sport. It’s the expenses of a box or making time to get to class. People are fucking broke.

[@Dirtkid98505]

It peaked no doubt. But it seems people came, found what they like the best from crossfit then went to the sport that specializes in that area, olympic lifting, powerlifitng, strongman, even triathlons. Or learned how to get in a "good workout" now just do that by themselves at home or at local gyms. CrossFit in its OG was a blip in history, the seminars, the teaching, the competitions, the fun, the injuries, etc. Even on KZbin the content was insane, let alone living it.

[@joeberger3441]

Right plus there's other forms of CrossFit style workouts like Hyrox

[@Dirtkid98505]

@@joeberger3441 as much cringe crossfit put out over the years it really did a net positive. The home gym space would be nothing it is now without crossfit, it sucked building a home gym before all these equipment companies popped up. The group learning environments of professionals coming to boxes and doing seminars was truly something special

[@MollymaukT]

@@Dirtkid98505 I think it was Mark Rippetoe that said that he as much as CrossFit might not be great, it put more people under barbells in 10 years than 40 years of Oly-lifting and powerlifting combined.

[@Dirtkid98505]

@@MollymaukT It's true. it normalized so much

[@davida730]

I think the rapid growth also caused a lot of underqualified people to become coaches. If the coach isn't great, it becomes pretty easy to just do the workouts yourself and save $150 a month. It's kind of insane how easy it is to become a crossfit coach considering how many different exercise modalities you have to have knowledge of.

[@PeteBlair]

I did Crossfit from 2013-2020, so I saw the rise and what appears to be the beginning of the slow fall. To me it is two things. First, everything you talked about as it relates to the media produced until they axed the entire media team. The power the media they produced then was in the stories. They told the stories of the athletes, what they went through, what the did, all of it. It was done in a way that was relatable to regular people, even though of course none of us had any hope in the world in being like them. The second thing, the gym industry has caught up to Crossfit. For a long time the industry as a whole didn't really have an answer for Crossfit. Now all the major chains have their own versions of Crossfit and other variations. There are also many boutique fitness companies as well that took part of Crossfits formula for group classes and modified to a slightly different audience. My wife works out at one of them called Burn Boot Camp, it is very similar to Crossfit but gauged towards regular people a little more but is really the same thing. They even have the Burn Athlete games. So really the second point comes down to there just being more competition and in many cases they appear to be more accessible to normal people than Crossfit.

[@xSkorpyon]

This second point is one of the best takes I have seen on this topic yet

[@Juggernaut-fg2up]

Third crossfit is just dumb

[@jrparker4804]

Also gymnastics is killing CrossFit. Less than 1% of adults have ever done it. Until it gets dropped, CrossFit will be a fringe sport.

[@wyattdunlap5811]

Mat Fraser going on Joe Rogan and talking shit about CrossFit is actually hilarious

[@ralphalvarez5465]

I believe that is Mat's personality. In all of his interviews, he talks a lot and trash talks. Watch "Resurgence" and his attitude towards the Aromas Ranch speaks volumes. He just doesn't seem like he's very personable like Dan Bailey, Josh Bridges or Camille Le Blanc-Bazinet.

[@DevHazy]

Where do I watch that

[@ptf55]

I think the downturn may simply be due to the fact that the Crossfit methodology isn't all that good...especially in long-term. It's fun. But it also carries a high risk of injury, creates movement patterns they do not carry over to many sports and is really easy to overdo. It's telling that all the elite Crossfitters don't train anything like Crossfit suggests you train.

[@converse923]

Your last sentence is pure gold. Crossfit gyms always propose WOD, while in reality elites probably have a typical Crossfit WOD offered by standard Crossfit Gyms just once every week.

[@caleb2159]

Yep, it was a real eye opener when Fraser released his programming and didn't think anyone would buy it because it was more bodybuilding/stability work over and over instead of just hammering the fun metcons every day.

[@boowiebear]

Spot on. It just doesn’t really do anything particularly well besides….CrossFit…and injure.

[@tet2755]

I think you nailed it. The regular gym goers would come and go. They may have got injured or bored, then moved on to something else. If they stuck around and wanted to get good, they stopped doing the WODs. The best people in the gym practically never did the WOD with the regular gym goers. They were usually lifting weights or going hard on the assault bike or rower. In the end, it really is a relationship business. People can talk about the CrossFit HQ media strategy all they want, but in my experience, it was the relationships you formed with the owner, coaches, and members. You would gravitate towards people that were of similar skill level and compete with each other. It was fun. As people moved on, you needed to really love the methodology...which has it's flaws.

[@morningstar8187]

The idea behind cross training/hybrid training is sound. CrossFit however is neither the best training method nor is it worth the money. CrossFit gyms are insanely expensive where I live. Like upwards of ten times the price of a regular commercial gym membership. The cheaper ones, which are still much more expensive than a regular gym, are pretty crappy. They also tend to be pretty lame and full of out of shape office workers in their 30’s and up. I’m not saying there are no good CrossFit gyms, but social media is really misrepresenting the “eliteness” of CrossFit. But the worst aspect of it is the cultish vibes.

[@ninja8flash742]

Like yeah anyone can cross train so what's so special about CrossFit that anyone actually would want that instead of being in more control and being cheaper

[@janpicksthingsup]

Such a bad take.

[@TheJuggernaut88]

yeah, CF being culty is a factor

[@HaughtKarl-jx9vr]

@@janpicksthingsup What's so great about watching a bunch of juiced up men and women exercising a lot?

[@janpicksthingsup]

@@HaughtKarl-jx9vr they inspire me to be fitter, and it's entertaining. You can watch whatever you want as well.

[@BlakeBaldwin]

Watching the media back in the day was amazing. We would watch a lot of it together at our box after classes wrapped up and to get hyped during the open. Boy do I miss those days. Great episode ZT!

[@steffanofumo]

It was bound to happen, CrossFit always appealed to a lot of trend hoppers and has soon has it started to die down a lot of box owners moved on to the next trend, I’ve seen a lot of them switch to something called F45 or other functional training gimmicks.

[@K4R3N]

Hyrox ?

[@clintiacuone1703]

@@K4R3Nyep hyrox is the newest functional fitness gimmick that’s gaining traction. Essentially “CrossFit” minus the Olympic lifts and high skilled gymnastics movements.

[@BeyondLumination]

F45 and Orange Theory for sure

[@TheSurgeonsRoadie]

Overuse injuries. A lot of people with 3+ years of Crossfit sustain chronic overuse injuries. The nagging inflammation that doesn’t take you out of the game, but really makes you frustrated. Many coaches failed to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of athletes. Most OG seminar staff were never truly great at ‘reading the room’. Often adversarial and even hostile toward other training styles that they now promote. i.e. bodybuilding splits.

[@billhenderson-f2g]

Yeah I'd very much disagree with you. You're only sustaining overuse injuries if you're doing just that... overusing your body. Overuse is not determined by the methodology, it's determined by the individuals desire to do too much. We have folks in our gym that are in their 60's and have been coming for nearly a decade by now, all injury free. I saw more overuse injuries playing tennis, football, and basketball growing up than I have from CrossFit. @@TheSurgeonsRoadie

[@RogueCylon]

Crossfit games is an intrinsic part of Crossfit as a whole. The two had a symbiotic relationship. The growth of the boxes was because of the road to the games.

[@pricerowland]

I think the biggest killer of Crossfit may just be the plethora of information out there. I can do similar workouts to what Crossfit offers outside with 3 pieces of equipment and no gym membership. Why would I ever join a box?

[@DaannyHD]

This is it!!! What even is crossfit? Is me doing 10 rounds of air squats and push ups in my garage crossfit training? Another problem I see is that crossfit gyms are waaaay more expensive than normal gyms. I’ve wanted to join crossfit gyms but since its almost 150 USD+ a month here in Sweden compared to a normal gym, in which you get a high class one for around 50-60 USD, it’s not even an argument tbh.

[@pauldavies7251]

​@@DaannyHDit's an absolute load of Bollocks & always has been, They talk down about bodybuilding but its been around way longer & is thriving in recent years, Lying about being fake battles doesn't help either

[@cambell-yi2gh]

Crossfit and bodybuilding are completely different. You say "they talk down about bodybuilding" but you just talked down about Crossfit. @@pauldavies7251

[@premiertrainingFL]

Coaching and community, which is what CrossFit was built upon.

[@pricerowland]

@@premiertrainingFL I do think that was there initially, but both have diminished outside of the standout high quality boxes that will last the test of time. And I can still find those things online for cheaper than Crossfit offers. So cost is a barrier and it's not exclusive to crossfit.

[@gnagelschmied]

For me it was the KZbin episodes "Road to the Games", I wasn't deeply into the sport and so the athletes were introduced to me. I could choose my favorite and then cheer along to the Games. Nowadays it's easier for me because I know the names and can follow them on social media. But when I think about getting into the sport as a spectator with no prior knowledge, it's certainly not as interesting. And without spectators, there are no new people to the CrossFit Boxes.

[@nickmatthaes5344]

It seems to me, the biggest issue is oversaturation of the market. It felt elite when there were only a couple gyms in a town of 100k, but by 2017 there would be a dozen. It no longer made people feel special, they were now just a member of the masses who did Crossfit. They franchised at a rate that outpaced Starbucks, and so it became seen as a plebian pursuit. In order to make a comeback they need to find a way to bring back the hipness and make people feel special.

[@heddj10]

Orthopedic surgeons shortage?

[@lordaragorn001]

well. my plans are foiled. i'll be practising in 5 years. hope a new stupid sport rises.,need me some hip replacment and ACL stitching

[@SH-lb1nu]

Crossfit is a cult. Only people who watch are people who 'play it' unlike other sports who have fans that either never have played or will never play it even recreationally

[@jrparker4804]

@@SH-lb1nu It’s also hard to take CrossFit seriously while watching handstand walking. Until they eliminate gymnastics altogether CrossFit will remain a fringe sport on the verge of death.

[@Nexus_One_Alpha]

​@@jrparker4804I believe the sport your grasping at is called Olympic Weightlifting (where strength and technique are important).

[@donttalktome4696]

Yes, exactly this. Incredibly high impact. Destroys joints. Nobody (outside of the competitors) watches this stuff anyway.

[@Simply_Simian]

To me, this really began when CrossFit abandoned their media department, fired all of the key internal media producers, and tried to rebrand as a primarily health-based organization at the direction of Glassman. I would wager that more than anything, the media storm that CrossFit unleashed between 2010-2014 grew the brand more than any modest health promise. For myself, as a high school student in the years 2009-2014, I was mesmerized by the physiques I saw and the capability I saw in the athletes. I didn’t give a shit about blood pressure, diabetes prevention, maintaining function into old age. I just wanted to look good and do cool shit. As simple as that is, I think that’s what pulled most people in, and then all of the health benefits just came as a byproduct. You need to be enthusiastic about something if you want to commit to it long-term in order to derive the underlying benefits, that’s just human psychology.

[@CoachPabloUSA]

Bro 2014-2018 was so amazing. The videos, the games, the story line created through it all made me want to workout 24/7 and help change other peoples lives. I literally made a career out of my passion for fitness in part because of the insane special feeling I used to get at my first cf gym I joined in 2015. The content helped me find connection to something that brought such a fire to my life.

[@jadeaquarian]

Thanks Zack, I think you make some good points. As someone that loved crossfit for a long time and enjoy those workouts for about 7 years, I can tell you that the games slowly over time changed the culture of our box from a community centered organization that was improving people lives through incredible health transformations or helping regular athlete's get in better shape to enjoy the recreational sport they played to a money centered organization. I saw people who lost over 150 pounds to find a life of freedom through living a healthier life and even myself returning to playing softball at a very high level after gaining the benefit of improved flexibility and overall total body strength. Once the games started the box shifted taking it's focus off of improving individual health and sport goals to a games mentality the whole community of the gym started to lose that community health identity and start becoming a money making machine. That left people like myself and others that just wanted to improve their overall health disenfranchised and in a way ostracized from the group only focused on becoming a crossfit star. With a 24 month period the community of people and the types of relationships within the gym completely changed and many people left the box. To me, if crossfit wants to return to glory it needs to remember that it's roots are in improving overall health and helping people live a healthy fulfilled life through fitness like it was in the beginning. Use the games as a way to not only promote the sport but also to showcase the amazing improvements and transformation it's having on peoples lives to capture their attention to motivate them to want to live a healthier life and/or pursue their own sports goals.

[@oorahcrazydog]

I've done crossfit for a few years. Its fun and theres a lot of camaraderie. But one thing I've noticed is that the very thing that makes it unique is also its biggest flaw. Its so random that it's difficult to build the necessary skills, movement patterns and muscle memory to improve in certain exercises. For example, let's say that a box has a workout that involves a muscle up. Then three weeks go by or three months or whatever and there are no workouts involving a muscle up. How is one supposed to master that movement if they're not doing or attempting it enough times? The same could be said about mastering power cleans, snatches, jerks, handstand pushups and so on. It is good that there are scaled versions of every workout, but eventually people would like to get to that point of fitness level and skill.

[@ar3sgaming514]

True and that's why it's easy to overtrain doing crossfit. If you want to get better you need to attend classes, but also do cycles on a specific movement on the side to "unlock it". Some gyms like mine offer specific classes on weightlifting and gymnastics too... It shows the limits of the "constantly varied" programming.

[@senseman3]

Most people don’t care about the games. They want to get a good workout that makes them look good and not get hurt; I guess being associated with serious athletes is also cool. When CrossFit was on the rise, it was the #1 option for people who actually wanted fitness results. Now the market is even more saturated with free info if you want to “do it yourself” and other more approachable modalities like Peloton, Barry’s Bootcamp (& other studio fitness places) have all grown a ton. As more fitness studios pop up, casual folks are settling into casual studios (nothing wrong with that)

[@mitchellsteindler]

My personal experience: I was doing crossfit workouts before I ever heard of the games. It was all about being strong and fit. I never heard of the game until I was done doing crossfit!

[@Rocker17]

Hyrox is gaining alot of traction and growing in popularity. This is potentially eating into the crossfit market.

[@K4R3N]

Was also gonna say Hyrox, good call

[@RogueCylon]

Hyrox is only popular in the UK. 99% of people in the US has never heard of it.

[@segura9]

Never heard of

[@K4R3N]

@@RogueCylon there were well attended Hyrox events in NYC and Chicago this year. I didn't participate but it's growing

[@Rocker17]

@@segura9 prepare to meet your new sport 👌😅

[@Pile_of_carbon]

As a powerlifting/strongman fan, looking at crossfit isn't interesting because it's all fairly normal weights and exercises, just done at absurd volumes. It's why no one competes in bench press for reps. The volume in itself might be bloody impressive, but it not as clear as seeing a huge guy pulling a truck or pressing a 150kg dumbbell over his head or a 50kg woman deadlifting 200kg. Not hating on crossfit athletes, just giving an outside view of why I just can't get into watching crossfit.

[@Spr33h0x]

I see what you're saying. I think the NFL combine is pretty hype though when they rep out 100kg on bench. Because most people know how benching 100kg feels, so seeing someone hit it for like 30 is ridiculous.

[@larsnystrom6698]

I liked the "Crossfit" name. It implied a good idea about what our goals should be. But the way they did their training always seemed so idiotic. The most important thing when training is "to do no harm". I'm one of those training forever, currently age 75. I wouldn't be doing that now if I had gone about it as the crossfitters do.

[@DevHazy]

Yep. I’m a level 2 and it sucked working at a gym . The owner and his “coaches” basically just wanted to brag all the time but could never even do Olympic lifts correctly. Scary stuff

[@alxnd_r6345]

Its literally hybrid weight lifting athletics and gymnastics (calisthenic excercises). You can do all that properly without calling yourself a crossfit athlete.

[@tannermorris84]

I did CrossFit from 2018-2021 as an ex-college athlete i was competitive in class settings almost immediately. It gets frustrating when you realize the people that are more competitive at the meet level (usually coaches) are doing a mix of 1) private programming 2) extra strength/cardio sessions 3) extra stretching / PT / chiro sessions. The high price of CF gyms and the daily workout is tough to justify for your hour time slot when you know that to be competitive you need to be doing another hour of extra strength / extra cardio to progress.

[@tannermorris84]

Tacking on, it was also annoying CF brand didn’t do a franchise model where you pay a flat fee and you can workout at any affiliate.

[@santiagoferrari1973]

what about gyms that do the same but dont call themselves Crossfit? "performance gyms" as Clarence0 calls them

[@TheSwayzeTrain]

They're not affiliates and so they are not part of the Crossfit brand. Paying to be an affiliate is not worth the cost, which is what this video is about because the brand is dying. Its a poor return on investment.

[@chikara2392]

as an outsider that ust got into your content I cansay this: there's a shade of mystery and misunderstanding about what is crossfit, how to start from zero and with minimal equipment/expenses and how to program. While strength training is straight forward and most programs are free, every crossfit influencer just pushes to buy mobility/programming courses by increasing confusion to create the demand for these products. It's just too much, fitness should be mostly free. If I want to compete, or go to high level I would put value in programs and knowledge but it's not possible that everyone just pushes random bullshit courses. Also in general crossfit gyms are more expensie at least in europe and they tend to offer scattered and not professional programming and only group classes, no indipendent training.

[@chrisbrugmans559]

CrossFit is dying because bodybuilding advice has improved dramatically so average ppl are realizing a moderate amount of lifting coupled with 150-250 mins a week of moderate steady state cardio will get them to their goals much easier than the brutal CrossFit workouts will. Most ppl aren't into the sport of CrossFit they just wanna look and feel better but at CrossFit's peak it was the most effective option from the average persons perspective. Now they know better

[@K4R3N]

Injury risk was real from CrossFit. No thanks, I gotta go to work on Monday. Just wanna look a little better gradually. Basic lifting, moderate cardio and clean diet is enough to get me there, and time/recovery.

[@Steve-sp4rx]

@@K4R3N That risk injury is substantially increased by the bad coaching you tend to see. I used a Crossfit gym to do my weightlifting training but didnt take part in the classes. The coaching on lifts like the Snatch / Clean was horrendous. And they'd perform it horribly with high volume.

[@RogueCylon]

Brutal? They are great workouts. Sure I can barely walk today, but loved the workout yesterday.

[@chrisbrugmans559]

@@RogueCylon and that makes you above average you're into the grind that average ppl run from good on you for it but most want the easier path

[@chrisbrugmans559]

@@Steve-sp4rx fuckin A, having novices snatching in a circuit is a recipe for disaster

[@laxduck]

Format changes to the Games literally killed the sport for me a few years back. I said it was bullshit that killed the grassroots feel of the sport, didn’t realize I would literally stop watching any of the content. Love Fraser and the whole OG crew, but when it felt like they switched to a format that gatekept others out it lost appeal for me. I also think that a “grow the game” mentality isn’t foreign to other pro sports (see lacrosse & golf) but the Crossfit governing body inspiring no faith whatsoever makes that problematic. Lax and golf both have governing bodies with credibility that pros can promote with little issue, Crossfit’s HQ org I have long heard massive criticism of and issues. Poor central governance leads to erratic decisions leads to alienation of both participants and fans.

[@seanbays1235]

Ditto.

[@joe3276865536]

I did Crossfit for 8 years leading up to the pandemic and then our gym shut down. Feeling loyal and grateful, I supported our gym for a year by renting equipment from the gym and paying the full membership with no classes or training. But that was getting ridiculous so I built a gym in my basement which has already paid for itself by not paying dues. Also, being able to work out on my own schedule is golden. I miss some aspects of Crossfit classes, but overall it's better for me to go it alone. I do not regret my time with Crossfit as learned so much about lifting, mobility, and "fitness" in general. I still recommend it to some people.

[@Chris-vk6iy]

I think it is important to compare the term Crossfit and the term Functional Fitness in trends. Functional Fitness kinda is Crossfit as a „free“ sport and organizations around official world championships etc. are emerging around the world. I think the rise of functional fitness as a term is kind of splitting the views and searches between crossfit and functional fitness.

[@StrengthCircusDD]

Getting rid of the media team killed the sport. I used to love the watch parties for the open workouts. Then one year the production went to crap and that was the year I stopped crossfit and started strongman. Having great media for social media platforms and to cover events is crucial these days. It's the packaging for their product.

[@chrisdawson9312]

I think CrossFit was a millennial phenomenon and millennials are simply not moving the needle in trends or fashion, music or really anything that’s culturally popular because they are getting old, that’s how generations work. Finn McKenty said it best when he said that 15 year old girls are the ones that set the trends whether we like it or not. Look at all the gen z kids now and they are bodybuilding, if you go into a CrossFit gym now, it’s pretty overwhelmingly older clientele. With that said, I think that’s a reason for CrossFit to actually work a bit harder on media and trying to inch back into those spaces. CrossFit Inc should be finding 21 year old media kids and begging them to make TikTok’s for them, idk what their tiktok presence is, but it’d be a good idea for them to adapt with the way media is going.

[@ryanmcdaniels5014]

As a millennial, I never liked CrossFit. 😂

[@phloem4]

Another thing that Crossfit has not done well is transform itself into an international organizational culture. The sport is all over the globe with champions from around the world. Where ever I travel, I can go to a box. It's still very American (myopic). As an American, who has worked internationally for years, it's very easy to see this. Here is one simple example. The hero WODs, while very motivating as an American, don't work in other countries. Crossfit could have encouraged each country to promote their own hero WODs. When I'm in a box in the Middle East, and the Hero WOD is an us soldier from the war in Afghanistan or Iraq, you can image how that doesn't go over very well. If Jordan developed its own hero WODs that would significantly its reputation here.

[@robertstuart6593]

The most simple video: frantasyland with froning and hobart. Epic!!!! Simple but so impressive. The videos in 2014/15/16 had a huge impact on the community.

[@RogueCylon]

Huge impact as you said. The two were joined at the hip - CrossFit box and Games.

[@axuh382]

It's just the pendulum of popularity. The cycle of something else getting popular in the fitness industry until it falls out of fashion and something takes it place and the cycle continues.

[@chrismize2738]

“I play real sports, I’m not trying to be the best at exercising.” Kenny Powers When I started training CF 20 years ago it was a means to an end, not the end itself. How does the quote go? If your the hero long enough you eventually become the villain?

[@markcorbett1527]

I started CrossFit around 2013-2014. As I started getting into it, I delved into the main site. I couldn’t get enough info on the methodology, the success stories, before and after stories, the camaraderie in the gyms, the interviews with Sevan and the media team. I was about 44 when I started. so, the Games was cool to me but not why I was doing Crossfit. When they fired those guys, then the departure of Glassman, it’s like the soul of Crossfit was taken. There was nobody promoting it anymore. In regards to people searching for it, there is also a cost factor that eliminates a lot of people from joining, especially in this economy. Just my thoughts.

[@MarssMedia]

The 2013 games videos were legendary. They were my gateway to both CrossFit and Olympic weightlifting. I recall thinking back when Glassman went scorched earth on anything related to the games that it would massively bite CrossFit in the ass. Thanks for your awesome content!

[@TheSurgeonsRoadie]

2018/2019 was the end. When they cut the majority of the field after one Games Workout without disclosing the plan, most people felt comfortable not investing anymore mental and emotional energy into the brand. Then the subsequent changes every year made it difficult to follow. Glassman insisted on insulting highly educated professionals instead of being mature and professional. No one trusted him as a leader et al. I will hand it to Castro though. He appears to have matured a great deal in the past two years.

[@julianfranco7689]

I got into CrossFit in 2010 and had an affiliate for a few years and I have to say that the golden era of CF was 2012-2015ish. I remember watching these epic athletes doing the daily workouts on YT and being like "I can do that" and then getting floored attempting it. In 2023 it is very likely that someone in your local gym can beat times from the elites back in the day. What ruined the magic for me was the over-optimization of the sport, which is inevitable, where you just had no chance to even aspire to regionals. I used to know people that didn't do CF for a living that made it to early regionals which was a huge inspiration. When these "3rd wave" athletes that were very young and beating the veterans showed up there was just no way for anyone that did not start young could realistically compete any more. Same as any Olympic sport, you realistically either start young or forget about it. Before that it was amazing to see people from other disciplines and just really good casuals (Not doing CF for a living) make it to the games. Hell, Annie Thorisdottir made it to the games in 2009 without being able to do a ring muscle up. CF used to have a "leader board" of people that could do a ring muscle up, today every other person in a local affiliate can do multiple ring muscle ups in a row and they are further away than ever from being competitive. I think it was the 2013 games where everyone I knew was impressed because Froning did like 100 or 200 DUs unbroken, we went to the gym and were all like "Did you see that!". Athletes used to choke in the games with DUs, Froning lost the games because he couldn't do rope climbs, everything was so different, human, and relatable. Anyways, CF has done amazing things, huge shoutout to some of the unmentioned veteran athletes that made CF great: Rob Orlando, Matt Chan, Mikko Salo, Scott Panchik, Neal Maddox, Samantha Briggs, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Julie Foucher, Chyna Cho, and many others that carried the weight of the CF sport on their back. ❤‍🔥🔥

[@respectedmastermind]

Here's my take on why crossfit is dying: back in 2014-5ish i was looking for a way to get a good physique. I was somewhat into calisthenics thanks to hannibal for king and others, i was not getting the results i wanted so i wanted to start weight training but too scared to join a gym cause in my head that stuff didnt work and it was just a steroids filled environment. At the time there werent a lot of youtube personalities (i followed scooby and mat ogus but i couldnt understand them) compared to now. I found a crossfit gym cause they were popping up like mushrooms and i was hooked. Started following cf personalities and i wanted to look like them. I learned some barbell and i could do a little bit of bodyweight training so it was like perfect. Still, not the thing i wanted. I found out about natural bodybuilding mid 2018 and i understood that was the thing i wanted to do all along. David Laid kind of dudes were popping out, i found Omar Isuf, Eric Helms, Kinobody and many more. Still, it took me so many years to land there. Now fitness culture on social media like tiktok and ig is EXPLODING, people go right to the thing they want to do (powerlifting, weightlifting, bodybuilding) instead of crossfit. This is my take

[@stevescruby1343]

Probably true.

[@bryanjames7528]

Back then not alotta people went to gyms or worked out, so watching people compete in CrossFit games was something new and entertaining. But later on, more workout content creators became huge on KZbin and Instagram, with many of their videos about lifting properly, bodyweight workouts, nutrition, etc, many of which competed with CrossFit content. There were lotta videos on how prone injury doing CrossFit was too, like how bad the competitors' posture were during lifts or how bad their technique were. Lotta people don't wanna compete and get injured, they just wanna lift weights. Even if they want to compete, it's mostly powerlifting or bodybuilding that has people's attention still

[@JohnnyWooh]

Felt what you said about watching old videos before workouts. The 2014 Games highlights with Froning Jr. vs Bridges in the Push Pull event ... unrivaled.

[@The.One.Mind.Collective]

I’ve been in the space for over 10 years and trained at a high level with games athletes for CrossFit and Olympic lifting. And by far the biggest thing that is turning me away is how difficult it is to support yourself financially. Went to the CrossFit games as a teen for the gauntlet and placed second worldwide. And for Olympic lifting at one point I was ranked 3rd in the nation in Olympic lifting and competed and podiumed at national meets. And I never earned a dime. In fact I spent 10s of thousands over the course of a decade competing. My family grew up without much so I had to work full time just to be able to compete occasionally. I think if they took better care of the athletes and like you said focused on better content (not pandering to whatever is going on politically) and better events at all levels of the sport. Not just non stop metcons, with the occasional max out lift or gymnastics event… that they turn into a metcon. Weren’t there 10 aspects to fitness by CrossFit standards? And if so why aren’t they all tested evenly and independently across the board? I agree cardio vascular endurance is important and should be tested, but I think the other 9 are also important and it would be cool to see tests for them outside of a metcon.

[@soldjer21]

I think people started realizing the amount of work that needs to be done on a daily basis for WOD's. Half the people that can afford Crossfit are the soccer mom's and full time dad's. They dont have the time to be fanatics and live at the gym. Crossfit isn't open to them to help them succeed, unless they're all in and become cult-like. Some people just want to work out and get a good sweat.

[@evilflowx]

Instagram fitness influencers. That's why crossfit is dying. Influencers who offer cheap personalized coaching with focus on SBD/power lifting is eating crossfit's lunch at the younger age demographic. Crossfit saw the initial boost from being new and innovative. That boost has died, and the death has been compounded by cheaper, more personal options offered by the instagram fitness influencer movement. The pricing of Crossfit gyms is also ridiculous. Those Crossfit gym owners have to charge a high price because of the palatial spaces they rent out. What young tween is going to pay $250 a month when they could just get programing from an influencer at $20/month and a globo gym membership at $40/month. That's it and that's all. As someone who goes to a globo gym regularly (and does olympic lifting at those gyms), I've noticed over the last 5 years an increase in the squat racks being used up by kids who I would assume are training for power lifting. That mentality of consistently training SBD didn't exist five years ago. I remember a time when I could show up to the gym and there was only one person at a six-rack person squat rack. No exageration the squat racks had spider webs on them from their low-use. Now I have to wait sometimes 30 minutes to an hour for a rack to open up. The globo gym I've been going to for nearly 10 years just does not have enough squat racks any more. Crossfit needs to formulate a way to get the younger, 18-22 crowd into their gyms. Otherwise, it will die off. It can't be a sport/activity only for 25-35.

[@Sifujohns]

Home gyms became very popular during covid. It makes it really hard to justify going back to a CrossFit gym paying $200 to $600 for my family to go. We all can do it at home in my garage with the same if not better results.

[@bluedogguy]

Crossfit started out with wanting to get people back to working out with a barbel. I think as time went on most WOD became so difficult that you left "most people" behind. But I think crossfit wanted to be elite and to showcase elite athlets and 99% of people will never be that - then wanted to go in and do workouts that changed and kept things interesting. This downturn could be a bit of a "purity test", where a lot of the fluff burns off and perhaps they get back to being non-celebrity focused, but having boxes for people to show up and work out.

[@williamcharles7340]

I had a blast with it in the mid-2000s but once it blew up as a sport i noticed something that i think is now dragging the company down. When I was going it was all about fitness and the games were something done on a farm and not taken too seriously. Later it became a televised sport and it felt like fitness took a back seat to being competitive in the upcoming events.

[@SteveBIRK]

The point Marston made about the games being the hype to bring people in is true. I was always aware of the Crossfit methodology and I never really got it. But after seeing a few buttery bros videos pop into my feed in the lead up to the 2022 games I eventually decided to go to a class. Now CF is my favorite way to workout.

[@Doobee80]

I did crossfit for a few years. I went to my first and last gym, back in 2017-2018. For me, I expected more for the price I was paying. You have limited hours, limited class times, and limited instruction. I could pay 1/20th for a gym membership with classes, open for more hours, and pay a little more for 30 min of personal instruction.

[@MultiDriven]

I am a strongman fan, the Rogue Invitational is the only time I would watch cross fit, as an outsider I found the woman's competitions more compelling mainly due to the overwhelming comradery between them, I could not sit trough the men's events. Great video! hope cross fit sticks around.

[@nick0424]

CrossFit is more like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in this sense. It's really a sport for the participants and the hobbyists keep it going. Regular people can't watch the entirety of the CrossFit games just like they can't watch ibjjf championships. Then there were the health concerns, reference to "uncle rabdo", and coaches pushing people into injury. While the majority of CrossFit gyms are good to great, it only takes one overzealous coach pushing people into injury to make the entire community look bad. The difference is that CrossFit was more televised and peaked higher than Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and their problems were much more public.

[@jeff-hh9mc]

Met a former Soviet wrestler in preparation for going to a military school. Anyway, asked him about CrossFit. “It’s a scam. They focus on repetitions NOT proper form. And this will lead to injuries, more so than when you use proper form.” That being said I’ve never done an analysis to see if cross fitters are injured more frequently than regular lifters.

[@bv0211]

there are plenty of reports out there from injuries of prominent athletes- there are also injuries in other sports. The NSCA stated that Crossfit causes more injuries. Crossfit sued the NSCA and won- because they didnt have proof of the statement. The caveat is that most people who get injured at a CF box dont file paperwork or speak to the CF HQ- they just leave and never come back.

[@stevesmith756]

There is no old timers day in CrossFit. I’ve seen so many people permanently injured by CrossFit. It’s just dangerous

[@sethroberts3634]

My interest for crossfit went down a lot once I suspected there is a high likelihood of steroid use at the elite level. I wanted to be one of the elites, but not with steroids. The elite level seemed to get less accessible over time...

[@gamegenie11]

Maybe the economy has to do with it too. I always thought it was overpriced for what it is. I can do all the major lifts and exercises at a large local gym for under 15$ per month.

[@benoboyle8636]

The real issue is CrossFit priced themselves out. CF uses basic materials, a bar, a rope and a box is the majority of workouts, yet you’re expected to pay a premium subscription.. people just got wise to it

[@RicardoGonzalez-bn5uu]

Their model called for it, but it wasn’t sustainable. A regular gym will sell memberships and pretty much auto collect money month to month regardless of the members show up. Cross Fit gyms had a far smaller customer base on average so having a monthly price similar to a Golds Gym let’s say would have bankrupted them way earlier…they likely wouldn’t have enough money to cover the building rent and utilities, let alone pay coaches and making a profit

[@MillerxMiles]

Did you make it out of City 17 safely?

[@moozgit]

I would also add that the competition format is insane. No one in their right mind is going to watch a two hour event at 10am, then another at 2pm, then a third at 6pm, and do that four days in a row. Especially when no one cares about three out of the four heats. By the numbers, less than 25% of the world's affiliate members actually watch The Games. Can you imagine if a mere quarter of folks who play pick up football were the only ones who watch the Super Bowl? We need to be able to have some friends over, sit on the couch, and watch CrossFit in the same way we watch hockey or football. I propose they switch to three-hour competition format with a bracketed tournament: - Ten men and ten women in each competition - no more competitions with two to six heats - They complete three to five events over the course of three hours - like a normal, professional sporting event (also about the same time domain as an elite athlete's training session) - 160 athletes qualify for the tournament online through The Open then The Qualifier (formally Quarterfinals) - Athletes are split into East and West, are seeded, and then compete through a bracket in groups of ten - Out of the ten athletes competing at each event, the top five move on to the next round - Finally, we end up with ten men and ten women who have gone through an incredibly comprehensive test who compete at The Games This competition/season format would give us a watchable sport with 30 opportunities to view competitions instead of eight unwatchable competitions. Furthermore, with a three-hour format actually being watchable, our sport would become appealing to real advertisers which would allow HQ to fund proper media development, provide better support for affiliates, and maybe even pay elite athletes. Please, god, someone make this happen.

[@Siritos]

As an 8 year CF Affiliate owner in the UK I can confirm that...business has never been better. Our gym is vibrant and growing. Like all gyms, the successful CrossFit affiliates are the ones that have figured out how to appeal to the general public who want to get fitter and stronger, and not rely on enticing fire-breathing athletes who want to be like their favourite Games athlete. The majority of our new-comers don't have a clue what the Games are. They do not know who Glassman is, and they do not care about Fran. The industry of independent gyms is extremely challenging, especially post-covid. Most independent gyms fail, and many CrossFit Affiliates are very poorly run businesses. In many ways, gyms are like restaurants. Very little, or almost no regulation. I would speculate that the contraction of CF Affiliates is simply due to the hundreds of poorly run businesses no longer being able to keep their doors open when there are many slicker operations out there. The most professional and serious Affiliates will most likely continue to thrive as you will never find better Coaching for the cost then you will at a great Affiliate.

[@davidboyle9732]

crossfit is a successful demonstration of the conjugate training system that was originally developed by bulgarian weightlifters and popularized by westside barbell, then manufactured and packaged for the masses. covid showed that crossfit can be done at home with what you have, and basically returning it to its roots- follow the main page, work out at home or with a friend or two. crossfit games and crossfit athletes have little to nothing to do with the average gym member especially since most athletes open their own gym unaffiliated with crossfit. crossfit pulled out the rug on themselves when they killed the media program. $0.02....

[@bcspride]

I said back in 2012 that CrossFit would not last. Too many Crossfiters using steroids & CrossFit does not make the athlete more athletic.

[@blackbirdtactics8250]

I remember around at this time too (2011 time frame) because I was working at the local YMCA and everyone was talking about CrossFit. It was entirely possible then that the super athletic guy from your hometown could actually get pretty far in the sport…maybe not to the games, but pretty dang close. A couple of years later, that was pretty much over.

[@brooklynknite]

I have to agree and concur.

[@Colestamper1]

Nothing makes an athlete more athletic, athleticism is genetic. Training just makes you stronger and practice makes better at an activity. There is no improving athleticism.

[@IamAttie]

I think people are losing interest because of the nonsense of “fittest on earth”. CF keeps creating events such as cross skipping… handstand walk with a press up. Yes some of the new events are physically hard but some of it is just a skill. I think they moved too far away from the fitness tests we saw in the old days.

[@joecomi8467]

Big Ups to ZT for using a HL2 background for his video, and always making entertaining, informative content

[@StraitjacketFitness]

What I don't understand is, why the dependence on the word "crossfit"? Can't I use all of the exact same training, and simply not call it crossfit?

[@Ludkut]

I strongly dislike crossfit and crosffit content. I'm here for the weightlifting content and lift companion when your short sidekick is there to join you its even better. Keep up the good work!

[@tccap1218]

One thing I notice on the death by episodes from talking elite fitness - they are always talking about gettting more eyes on crossfit like espn and whatever. If anyone was practicing crossfit back in 2012 or before - going to a crossfit box was almost sketchy. Like the industrial area of a city where you might have to fight someone to make it back to your car. It was kind of underground and exciting. Ever since they fired the media people and are changing the season every year, and changing leadership like underwear - it does not have the same vibe. Feels like HQ wants to be another orange theory or F45. the real fans who started in the box don't want that. Maybe it is nostalgia, maybe a mix of multiple things. The average fan of CF does not care about espn coverage - they enjoyed the sense of community and that sense of it being "our thing" while HQ wants it to be more accessible to the masses - just feels like HQ is missing the core CF fan population. Also - maybe part of it is athletes and fans aging? Think about it a lot of people who enjoyed CF in 2012 to 2018 ish were 20 something maybed 30ish. Now a lot of those people are having or raising kids and focus changes. Just some thoughts.

[@caitlingold4325]

Nailed it

[@tccap1218]

@@caitlingold4325 thanks!

[@zomboii2325]

Perhaps im reaching, but a big reason to me as to why crossfit is dying is because it is now like any other professional sport. It doesnt feel like something your everyday person can get up and do persay. When you look at a lot of the athletes now, its almost like they started off very young training to go to the games. You no longer do crossfit just to do it, you're in there to go to the crossfit games and thats all that matters.

[@Famousestephen]

going by that same line of thought all sports would be going down in popularity lmao what do you mean?

[@zomboii2325]

@@Famousestephen it's obviously not the only reason. Poor management, loss of identity, and not enough money to justify doing it professionally are also factors as well.

[@grandpied]

CrossFit is a sport of competitors doing average at a series of events and is more of a participant sport rather than a spectator sport.

[@janpicksthingsup]

Average?? Lollllll

[@socalgolf9978]

I think most people don’t care about the games , they want an alternative to work out other than the gym but at 200$ a month it’s not practical

[@jolothefighter]

for less than 200 a month i can go to a normal gym AND an mma gym for rock climbing gym. the price range is insane.

[@theicemanhaslanded]

Nostalgia in weightlifting. There’s a video idea in there somewhere. I see Ironmind, Klokov, Iiya 😅

[@cheeks7050]

Elgintensity killed crossfit

[@ikampbush1722]

I’ve never crossfitted , but have always been a keen gym goer. I always kept an eye on CrossFit though. The sport was accessible, it was its trump card and what drew people in. Very quickly though that “Everyman” competitor was replaced with high earning, social media savvy professional cross fitter. Chemically enhanced, personal trainers, home gym … couldn’t be further away from the finishing the day job and getting sweaty with friends in the trenches. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Rizzerio1]

yah, it used to be about the community of average joes feeling included in the sport but they instead chose to focus on glorifying the top athletes. People liked feeling like they could make progress in maybe working up to competing and comparing success and numbers/ranks amongst the community, but instead they scrapped that idea and put all the focus on the same top 100 people like it was the dam NFL. The average joes were the competitors of the sport, but it became too greedy and too optimized to allow for that.

[@ryanunderwood6827]

Barrier to entry of the methodolgy is considerably lower especially with companies like HWPO, Mayhem, PRVN. You no longer need access to an affiliate to get adequate programming.

[@azeemali7102]

They should pitch it to the military breaking it up too each branch making it a standardized test etc..., or sell its rights. It would be cool to see even Police even Swat to have versions. Even in schools elementary to highschool not everyone has to do walking hand stands though im sure it fascinates kids!

[@rg3412]

CrossFit leads to so many injuries, especially shoulder injuries. People are starting to find out.

[@user-vg8ox3he1i]

The CO$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ST is a huge problem. These boxes are insane.

[@caleb2159]

Yep, look to spend minimum 100 plus at most boxes.

[@lucius-clay1002]

Welcome, welcome to CITY17

[@awallner1]

If crossfit is to survive they need to learn how to make stars, market them, and use them to sell tickets like UFC and WWE does.

[@Heisenberg-qo7gu]

That was an excellent analysis, and I agree with you, Richey and Hiller. CrossFit is dying for me personally. This is due to a few factors at the corporate level and affiliate level. As you stated, the hype (marketing) isn't there anymore, and it feels "forced" or unnatural. I believe the current CEO, Don, needs to make better strategic decisions for the sport. He is taking the Games in the wrong direction. I enjoy watching the master-level athletes more than the elites. With him splitting off the age group athletes is a MAJOR error. I will not be supporting the Games moving forward. On the affiliate level, I've noticed a significant change in how coaching has declined over the years. When I started CrossFit, there was a considerable emphasis on all areas of the sport, including Olympic lifting, gymnastics, strength & power, etc. Now, it feels like the coaching isn't there anymore, and you cannot progress after the basic understanding of the movements. The programming has become a glorified group cardio workout, which I don't need. As previously stated, the focus must be on lifting strength, etc. People can only tolerate bad decisions, bad programming, and feeling like the community has been broken for so long. People like me will move on, unfortunately. I hope Don can right the ship, but I don't see that happening with his decision-making.

[@caleb2159]

Yep. Especially when more coaches are worried about filming the class for social media reels instead of actually coaching, you've got a problem.

[@Walsta19]

That’s true. They went from amazing documentaries to a bunch of boring cameras just streaming everything 🤔. I’m still going back to the older super amazing documentaries.

[@pisceanpaul]

Joining a Crossfit box, affiliate, or whatever they want to rebrand their gyms as is just too expensive. The lowest rate is $114 US/month at the one where I live, which is in Ontario, Canada.A regular gym that has metcon and bootcamp workout areas is far cheaper than that.

[@user-eg7cd1si7b]

Could it be that people are also getting burned out at the gyms? A WOD is pretty difficult for your average joe IMO.

[@thommcculloch1541]

What about steroids? The sport's denial of PED usage and arrogance to it. Then it's refusal to implement real testing protocols. Crossfit was popular bc regular(ish) people thought it was possible for them to compete at a high level. Then a sudden "nope these athletes are juiced too."

[@viking0116]

Agreed

[@bennwaters5851]

It started dying when the idiots at the top started adding swimming, biking and exercises no one really wants to do to it’s open, regionals and games. They are not elite swimmers, cyclists nor do people want or need to handstand walk 50 yards.

[@zacharyzbeetnoff7043]

I think the health focused stuff created by Glassmen contributed to it. I also feel that television helped bring it to its peak. Through live tv, I was initially exposed to it and wanted to try back in 2014. Going off of Espn and TSN in Canada did not help. Even though streaming is a thing . Television played its part.

[@martinvulu1848]

It changed when regular folks figured out to have the success like Froning & Fraser had, they were going to have to start 'supplementation'.

[@isaacpiper510]

Weightlifting might be having a tough time getting more athletes then

[@DIPPLEDORP]

10 years ago I got a membership to a gym and that’s when I learned to hate CrossFit. the gym was transitioning to CrossFit and one day I went to use a piece of equipment and I was stopped by a trainer and they said I couldnt use it because their client Was using it for CrossFit. Needless to say when my membership expired I did not re-up and went to a different gym now that gym has closed down two of its 3 locations.

[@andrewschug6406]

I miss CrossFit making constant content. I still watch those old videos regularly

[@jacobellis9419]

Does anyone have info on how many CrossFit fans have never done CrossFit? The sport is largely driven by those in the gyms. CrossFit revolutionized group fitness classes. Since we have seen Orange Theory, F45, Pure Barre and everyone else move into boutique fitness space. I believe this is why there's a decline - more competition and less participants. Additionally, how much does a lack of HQ media really play into this when Mayhem, HWPO, ButteryBros, etc produce more CF content than HQ ever could, and it's all free to HQ? Imo there's more CF media than ever (more competition, less views, there's only so much time in the day for the limited pot of viewers aka participants).

[@BoosterBoysCards]

I would look forward to all the roads to the game and the behind the scenes at the games videos. Such a shame that the decisions made didn't help the brand at all

[@Idontcare0081]

Not surprised, because where I’m from (South Africa) it’s unreasonable expensive and the commercial gyms have caught up in terms of providing the same equipment you find a CrossFit gym. So KZbin can be your coach🤷🏽‍♂️

[@robnoftz]

I'm a newcomer to CrossFit. I wonder if one of the biggest mistakes the leadership made was to allow people who aren't members of affiliates to compete in their games. Maybe everyone who competes in the Games should be required to have a CrossFit coaching certification and to regularly coach CrossFit group workouts. It seems like the leadership let a lot of athletes profit from the CrossFit Games without even being a member of CrossFit.

[@nickfedor210]

Cost of affiliation and certifications was a big thing I think. Then, all fitness stuff has an element of it simply being the latest fad or trend. And, a lot of us who started this back when and were in your face about it are experiencing age related loss and injury. It might be a generation passing on too. It was our thing. I always felt it should be a team sport, not individual. Like, there would be a league you played in against other local crossfits. It never made it to the 'sport' level.

[@dogcatdogable]

Seeing this video in my suggested was the first time I've heard of or about Crossfit in months, maybe even over a year. Feel like it all became a bit insular and the leadership scandals didn't help. Seems like the 'functional fitness' market has moved on a bit with Hyrox and the like as well.

[@Liberum69]

Because who thought the sport of exercising would be more than a trend or a simple niche "sport"? It's been a weird blip on our radar like pickleball, and nothing more. It just lasted longer and got bigger because it was pumped full of rich people money thinking they're getting functional when they could just as easily have been bodybuilders with more cardio work. Have you been to a CrossFit games competition? It's grueling to watch. The announcers try so hard to make it sound hype to the point that I cringe while you're just watching people exercise, the thing you do to prepare for a real sport. Decathlons are far better structured with consistency, and attract far better athletes, and nobody watches those.

[@JackDan89]

You could also add the Functional Fitness "brand" has become more prominal for the last 5 year or so. We have currently World Championship in Norway at this weekend. And I think many are drawn to this part of the sport where the drugtesting isnt a joke and this is the way if we want FF in the Olympics.