Group doing box step-up exercise in CrossFit-style workout class. (Photo by BearFotos on Shutterstock)

Though CrossFit is often seen as a sport for the super fit, that shouldn’t put you off from trying it. CrossFit is designed to be accessible to everyone, with scalable workouts suited for all ages and abilities, embodying its principle that the needs of elite athletes and beginners differ only by intensity, not kind. By combining strength and aerobic exercise, CrossFit can be an effective way of improving functional fitness, muscle strength and cardiovascular health.

But if that’s not enough to convince you, our latest study suggests CrossFit’s benefits for physical health may even potentially reduce the need to use prescription drugs in people living with long-term conditions. This may offer an alternative to traditional medication-based treatment for a range of health conditions, as well as potentially easing the demand on healthcare services.

To conduct our study, we recruited 1,211 people from the UK who did CrossFit. Participants ranged in age from 19-67 – though the majority of participants were in either the 30-39 (38%) or 40-49 (26%) groups. Participants were asked about their health, what prescription drugs they took and any changes in their prescriptions since starting CrossFit.

Of the 1,211 participants, 280 said they took at least one prescription drug to manage a health condition prior to starting CrossFit. Some of the most common health conditions in question included anxiety and depression, asthma, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and chronic pain.

We found that 54% of participants who’d been taking a prescription drug before starting CrossFit said they decreased their dosage after starting. Among this group of 151 people, 69 reported stopping their medication entirely, while the remaining 82 said they had cut their prescription dosage by more than half. These improvements happened primarily within the first six months of training.

Younger participants, specifically those aged 20 to 29, were more likely to reduce their medication. In this group, 43% reported cutting their prescription dosage by more than half, and 27% stopped needing to use a prescription drug altogether (compared to 29% and 25% respectively across all age groups).

We also found that 40% of all participants said they required fewer visits to the doctor after starting CrossFit.

For people with long-term health issues such as chronic pain, CrossFit helped many manage their symptoms. Our study found that of those participants who reported taking painkillers prior to starting CrossFit, particularly to manage arthritis or back pain, over half reduced their medication.

Some even postponed or canceled surgeries for joint or muscular issues due to the strength and fitness they had gained after starting CrossFit. Of the 71 people who reported canceling or postponing surgeries, 55% said it was because their symptoms improved, while 31% actually reported they no longer needed surgery at all.

Benefits of CrossFit

While our study can’t directly prove that CrossFit caused these changes, the effects that CrossFit has on so many aspects of health may help explain why regular exercisers saw a decrease in their prescription drug use.

First, CrossFit is of course beneficial for physical fitness. Improvements in areas such as cardiovascular fitness and metabolic health may help in managing chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

Second, because CrossFit is often done as a group in a gym setting, it fosters a sense of community, team spirit and support. This sense of community may enhance mental health and wellbeing. Exercise also releases endorphins – chemicals in the brain that boost happiness and decrease pain. These two factors may help explain why a number of the study’s participants reported using fewer antidepressants after starting CrossFit.

Third, the fact that CrossFit’s combination of strength, aerobic and functional exercises helps enhance muscle strength and endurance can alleviate pressure on joints and reducing pain. The high-intensity nature of CrossFit also promotes the release of endorphins which can alleviate discomfort and enhance physical resilience, leaving participants feeling more empowered and uplifted.

As well, CrossFit emphasises movement patterns and mobility, which can help improve flexibility and reduce stiffness. All of these factors might help explain why some of the participants who’d suffered with chronic pain prior to starting CrossFit relied less on painkillers after six months of training

Nonetheless, this study has some limitations to note. The data relies on self-reported information, which can lead to biased results as participants may not accurately remember their prescription use or be influenced by their feelings about CrossFit.

Additionally, the study didn’t track other lifestyle changes participants might have made, such as diet modifications or other forms of exercise. So more research is needed to understand the full picture. Nonetheless, our findings provide promising evidence about the benefits of CrossFit that could contribute to reducing the strain on healthcare services.

‘Have fun, careful on the ice,” my 22-year-old daughter shouts as I head off for my run round the park while she loafs on the sofa before Sunday brunch with her friends. “Don’t have a fall.”

I’m not surprised to learn that middle-aged women exercise more than their daughters, with 27 per cent saying they work out at least five times a week, compared with 19 per cent of those aged 20 to 29. My routine is relentless, I realise. First it was a quick run with a friend and the dog round the park after school drop-off and before work, but then I hit 50. Now, to keep supple, there’s Pilates and yoga to fit in before 8am. And this year a girlfriend insisted

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. has promised sweeping changes to the nation’s approach to health following his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services by president-elect Donald Trump, but one thing remains consistent: The 70-year-old will always post his bodyweight workouts to social media to highlight his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) fitness philosophy.

The former presidential candidate recently shared a video on his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts showing off some complicated calisthenics with Ike Catcher, a bodyweight training influencer. The shirtless Kennedy, having doffed his top and tucked it into the waistband of his blue jeans, jumps up to grab the bar as Catcher performs a handstand maneuver on the top of the rig. The HHS-nominee then pulls up, rotating himself into a near-vertical inverted position, before continuing through the motion and dismounting the bar. Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” soundtracks the footage, which is slickly edited to include graphics as Kennedy pulls his lower body up.

“Practicing moves for my confirmation hearing,” reads the post’s caption. Kennedy’s move here isn’t a traditional exercise that targets a specific muscle group. It’s also unclear how the maneuver might factor into his confirmation hearing, during which he will likely be fielding questions about his anti-vaccine stances and his plans to shake up the agencies that would come under his jurisdiction in the office—but it does show a surprising level of shoulder mobility for a man of his age.