Due to little available research on elite CrossFit athletes, the present investigation was undertaken to provide knowledge about their physical and physiological characteristics. Nineteen international level CrossFit athletes (8 men; 11 women) were tested for maximum oxygen consumption (
O
2max), Wingate, squat 1 repetition maximum (1RM), countermovement jump (CMJ), lower body force–velocity, and body composition (DXA). To provide perspective, the results were compared to sixteen elite-level Alpinists (8 men; 8 women). There was no significant difference in absolute nor relative
O
2max between the CrossFit and Alpinist men (
p = 0.335 and
p = 0.279, respectively). The CrossFit women showed similar absolute but higher relative
O
2max than the Alpinist women (
p = 0.055 and
p = 0.005, respectively). Mean anaerobic power was higher in both CrossFit men and women (
p = 0.021 and
p = 0.008, respectively). There were no significant differences in squat 1RM and CMJ for both men and women (
p > 0.05). Both CrossFit men and women showed lesser lower body force production (
p = 0.043 and
p = 0.034, respectively) but higher power (
p = 0.009 and
p = 0.003, respectively). The CrossFit men and women had a lower fat mass (
p = 0.018 and
p = 0.002, respectively) and fat percentage (
p = 0.027 and
p < 0.001, respectively). These observations show that elite CrossFit athletes possess physical and physiological characteristics comparable to world-class Alpinists.
Full article