I have a feeling that fitness junkies often ask this question from Alexa and Google. Before I started writing this article, I asked Siri too, but she seemed to be a bit sassy as she wasn't willing to give me a straight answer; instead, she threw a couple of useless links at me. So me being an S&C coach and a CrossFit L1 trainer myself, I decided to gather my thoughts on the topic and share it with you. Let's start by defining both of these terms, and then we can dive more into the differences and similarities between these training philosophies and methods. Strength and conditioning is "The practical application of sports science to enhance movement quality of humans". Strength and conditioning is a systematic training solution that builds robustness and increases strength, speed, endurance, and agility while improving coordination, balance, flexibility, and mobility. CrossFit's definition is this: "CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity." CrossFit's speciality is not specialising at all. The programme prepares trainees for any physical contingency, for the unknown and the unknowable. CrossFit is the sport of fitness. Differences The main difference between the two training methods is the desired outcome. Strength and conditioning is a precision tool used to enhance an athlete's or individual's physical performance (including movement quality, strength, explosiveness, speed etc.), while CrossFit aims to boost overall fitness. Another difference lies in the programming. For example, with S&C, in the case of a novice athlete/trainee, the goal is to build overall strength and robustness, so the person can generate greater force and withstand forces that occur during physical activities. (One of the best examples of robustness is the F1 drivers who have to be able to endure outrageous G forces when turning and braking. To avoid snapping their neck or sustaining spinal injuries, F1 racers must participate in strength training to build a robust body, especially being mindful of the neck). After the foundational work has been completed, strength and conditioning has to become more specific. The training regime must be goal specific, time-framed and trackable. Here is an example to help you understand why I call Strength and Conditioning a precision tool. Let's say we have an 18 years old semi-professional male tennis player who often struggles to reach balls sent to the corners. Besides that, his arms become significantly weaker towards the end of the game, and he complains about fatigued shoulders. We have two issues to address: speed and upper arm strength. We have to work on his acceleration, lateral speed, shoulder strength, and muscular endurance, to be more specific. Knowing this, we will develop a training plan that focuses on improving those areas. We'll apply progressive overload (gradually increasing load, volume and intensity) and periodisation (breaking up the training plan into smaller time frames, each with its own precise goals). On the other hand, CrossFit aims to seriously enhance an individual's fitness. CrossFit's definition of fitness is "increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains", which means training harder and at higher intensity while performing various tasks for short, medium and long durations alike. Progressive overload and periodisation might be applied in CrossFit programming, but it's predominantly used for individual/bespoke training plan design rather than in the class environment. CrossFit workouts tend to change daily; however, they generally follow a similar structure. This approach makes CrossFit programming a lot less rigid compared to S&C. I like to call it controlled randomness. Due to the continuously changing workouts (except the Benchmark and Hero workouts), there is an element of surprise for each session that not only has physical benefits but psychological too. The last difference I'd like to mention is the structure of the individual workouts. Strength and conditioning workouts normally follow the same format. A strength training session starts with the warm-up using the RAMP protocol, then moves on to the main workout component, which typically contains heavy compound lifts targeting all the major muscle groups. The main component is followed by the complementary and accessory work, which focuses on specific areas of the body that are causing underperformance. This section often includes isolation exercises utilising bilateral and unilateral movements alike. The last component is the cool-down, which consists of some extremely light activity (such as walking around the gym for a few minutes) and some easy stretching, sometimes even breathing technique practice. The CF sessions also begin with the warm-up. It includes some cardio activities, mobility drills and movement specific warm-ups such as overhead squats with a plastic pipe. The next step is the strength component or skill practice. The tendency is to pick a single skill (like the handstand push-up) or a muscle group (like the quads) and work them hard. Once that part of the session is completed, the trainees move on to the WOD. When designing WODs, coaches can use various strategies to plan extremely demanding but effective workouts. The trainees complete WODs in a format chosen by the coach, such as AMRAP (as many rounds as possible), EMOM (every minute on the minute) or FOR TIME (complete the workout in the shortest time possible). The loads are typically predetermined for each WOD; however, the participants can scale the exercises according to their current level. After finishing the WOD, the only thing left is to cool down. Similarly to S&C sessions, the cool-down contains some light activity and stretches. Similarities The primary similarity between S&C and CrossFit is the exercise selection. Both training methods emphasise the application of heavy compound movements, uni and bilateral exercises, power moves (swings, snatch, clean and jerk etc.), gymnastics/bodyweight training and cardiovascular conditioning. Functionality is another quality in common. Coaches of both parties claim that S&C and CF training has a knock-on effect on everyday life. In explanation, trainees won't only perform better on the gym floor or in the arena but during their day-to-day activities such as carrying the groceries or chasing that fool who just stole their Amazon package from the front porch. Summary Strength and Conditioning and CrossFit are becoming increasingly popular, though for very different reasons. Strength and conditioning was the tool to enhance performance almost exclusively used by pro teams and athletes. However, many semi-pro and amateur athletes have recognised the importance of S&C to achieve better results; thus, we can see a significant increase in people participating in strength training these days. On the other hand, CrossFit became famous not only because of the signature workouts but also because of the community spirit. What started as a new approach to fitness quickly turned into a global sport, with thousands of professional athletes participating every year and millions of people supporting the CrossFit community.
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