The term “CrossFit” isn’t an unfamiliar one for most people these days. And yet, despite the popularity of CrossFit, not many truly understand what it means to be a CrossFitter. You might even know a CrossFitter or two without really knowing what they do.
Being that CrossFit has to do with fitness and exercise, many lump it in with bodybuilding. And at first glance, the two training styles do share some commonalities. However, there are several key differences between the two, especially in terms of mindset and strategy. Read on to learn more about what it means to be a CrossFitter, what it means to be a bodybuilder, and the key differences between the two.
What Is a CrossFitter?
According to the official CrossFit website, “CrossFit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition.” It’s a high-intensity fitness program that encompasses exercise, diet, and community support. The plans and workouts are designed to be customized to the individual and to change each day. Because the plans are so customizable, anyone at any level of fitness can become a CrossFitter.
A CrossFitter’s daily workout consists of four main elements: warm up, strength training, workout of the day, and cool down. The exact exercises involved in these elements change from day to day. In general, the workout involves a combination of weightlifting, gymnastics, and cardio.
The end goal of CrossFit is to help you get in shape and achieve your desired fitness outcomes, whatever those may look like for you personally, so you can build and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
What Is a Bodybuilder?
Bodybuilding focuses on building up muscles through strenuous exercise and diet control. The goal, as the name implies, is to sculpt the body, so bodybuilding prioritizes weight training that targets specific muscles above other forms of exercise. However, that’s not to say bodybuilders neglect other forms of exercise. They’ll do things like cardio, for example; they just won’t do them as much as they do weight training.
While bodybuilding can be done professionally, many bodybuilding programs simply exist to help people bulk up muscle and reach their desired fitness — and aesthetic — goals. But for both professional and amateur bodybuilding, the end goal is first and foremost to build more muscle mass.
CrossFit vs. Bodybuilding
As you can see, there are some similarities between being a CrossFitter and being a bodybuilder. Both use weightlifting and strength training, and both use intense workout routines. Additionally, both disciplines call for a healthy diet and varied daily exercise. Both disciplines also require commitment and concentrated effort.
However, there are some important distinctions. Most notably, the end goals and priorities of CrossFitters and bodybuilders are usually different. While a bodybuilder is laser focused on building muscle, a CrossFitter aims for a total transformation of body and mindset.
Because of these different goals, the two training styles apply different approaches to fitness. CrossFit focuses on building up endurance and improving overall fitness using a variety of exercise types throughout each daily workout.
Meanwhile, bodybuilding places less emphasis on endurance and more emphasis on aesthetics and lifting ability. To accomplish this, it prefers focused lifting routines that target specific areas of the body and increase muscle mass.
Don’t Forget the Fuel
Whether you’re a CrossFitter, bodybuilder, or regular gym goer, nutrition plays a huge role in ensuring your body has the fuel it needs to power through that next workout. In this sense, choosing the right snacks can be just as important as choosing the right type of exercise.
Just as being a CrossFitter or bodybuilder modifies your body to improve your fitness, ModBalls modify your chemistry to fuel your performance. Shop ModBalls today to explore our nutrient-dense energy bites and power up your performance.