Crossfit vs Running: Which Is The Best To Choose

Most people are becoming cautious on how they look and they are taking up various forms of fitness programs to help them lose weight, add muscle or even keep fit. For good cardiovascular health, it is recommended for one to do endurance exercises as they work on the heart and they reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke.  Different exercises work on raising the cardiac activity such as the CrossFit and running. Both types are known to have similar effects to the heart as they increase the heart rate at different levels and help burn calories. However, most people are in doubt if they should engage them both in their exercise schedule or substitute one for the other.

CrossFit  is a form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) which consists of multiple sets of intense exercises that last less than five minutes each, and they are spaced with short periods of light exercises or rest.  Many muscles are targeted when you are doing the CrossFit because the exercises done include pull-ups, weight lifting, aerobics, gymnastics amongst others.  This type of exercises improves on the capillary growth which ensures that there is sufficient flow of blood to the tissues and muscles.

In running the only muscles that are impacted are the leg muscles, and this leads to workout plateau. When you run you increase your cardio performance, which helps the body function well. Just like the CrossFit, running improves the quality of your mental and emotional life as there is an increase in the feel-good hormones known as endocannabinoids.

The choice of either doing CrossFit or running will depend on:

• If you are looking for overall fitness, choose CrossFit because it involves all parts of the body, unlike running which concentrates on the leg muscles. With the different types of exercises, you will work out different parts of the body.
• If you are training to run faster or running a marathon, choose running and continue increasing your running pace.
• In CrossFit workouts, you will burn more calories and sweat alot during a 30-minute workout than when you run for 30 minutes.

If you are always running as you exercise,  it is important to involve CrossFit in your schedule so that you can strengthen the other parts of the body not only the legs. It also helps you lose overall fat, which will help increase your speed and endurance and keep you inform while running so as to avoid injuries. All in all, CrossFit helps develop an all rounded athleticism with a high level of health and fitness. The same process would apply those who concentrate more on CrossFit but is not really important for them to run. 

Above all, choose the exercises that suit you best, and you enjoy doing as this will make you to commit to doing it most days of the week. Choose according to your fitness goals, and you can do this exercise for a longer period.