Training Habits, Injury Prevalence, and Supplement Use in CrossFit Practitioners
Background: CrossFit® is a high-intensity functional training modality with increasing popularity, yet limited evidence describes the general profile of its practitioners. Objective: To characterize CrossFit® athletes based on their training habits, injury prevalence, and nutritional supplement use,...
| Autores: | , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Jaén |
| Repositorio: | RUJA. Repositorio Institucional de la Producción Científica de la Universidad de Jaén |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ruja.ujaen.es:10953/7161 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doi.org/10.3390/sci8010021 https://www.mdpi.com/2413-4155/8/1/21 https://hdl.handle.net/10953/7161 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | CrossFit® training injury prevalence nutritional supplements athlete profiling N/A |
| Sumario: | Background: CrossFit® is a high-intensity functional training modality with increasing popularity, yet limited evidence describes the general profile of its practitioners. Objective: To characterize CrossFit® athletes based on their training habits, injury prevalence, and nutritional supplement use, with specific consideration given to sex and age. Methods: An online questionnaire was completed by 358 practitioners (182 women; mean age 35.6 ± 9.1 years) from various Spanish regions. Descriptive and comparative analyses (χ2 and ANOVA; p < 0.05) were conducted for training patterns, injury history, and supplement consumption. Results: Over half of the sample had practiced CrossFit® for more than three years, typically training 3–4 days per week in one-hour sessions. Participants primarily reported social and health-related motivations and identified as non-competitive. Overall, 42.2% experienced at least one CrossFit®-related injury, most frequently affecting the shoulder (15.6%) and lumbar spine (10.1%), largely attributed to repetitive overload. Supplement use was widespread (81.8%), with creatine (60.3%) and protein (49.4%) being the most commonly consumed. Conclusions: CrossFit® practitioners train consistently, value the social environment, and show an injury pattern similar to that of other strength-based disciplines. Supplement consumption is highly prevalent across groups. Coaches and health professionals should prioritize injury-prevention strategies, promote safe load progression, and guide responsible supplement use. |
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