Does the Crossfit Workout Work the Chest?

On visiting a CrossFit gym, you'll probably see kettlebells, barbells, squat stands, rowing machines and pull-up bars, but you won't see any chest machines. Chest machines, along with exercises like dumbbell presses, flyes and crossovers, are rarely performed in CrossFit workouts. Many CrossFit athletes still have impressive pecs though, so while CrossFit may not emphasize chest exercises, your pectorals do still get a good workout.

  1. The CrossFit Methodology

    • Rather than aiming solely to build muscle mass, strength or even just get you fitter, the aim of CrossFit is to develop well-rounded athletes, with a host of different skills. CrossFit includes Olympic lifting and bodyweight and suspension training and aims to develop power, along with building muscle and aerobic capacity.

    The Workouts

    • Most CrossFitters will base their workouts on the workouts of the day, or WODs, that are published on the official CrossFit site. These workouts change day to day, but there are certain benchmark workouts that come round time and time again. Two of these that involve chest exercises are Lynne and Linda. Lynne is a pairing of bench presses and pull-ups. Each is performed for a maximum number of reps and repeated five times, and the bench press is done with the equivalent of your body weight. Linda groups bench presses with deadlifts and cleans. You perform 10 deadlifts with one-and-a-half times your body weight, 10 bench presses with body weight and 10 cleans with three quarters of your body weight. Round two is nine reps of each, round three is eight reps and so on, until you just perform one rep of each.

    Variety is the Spice of Life

    • Variety is key in CrossFit and because of the many different forms of training involved, you may only work your chest once a week or so, or possibly even less. Pushups are fairly commonplace in WODs, but you don't often see bench presses make an appearance, with the exception of the Lynne and Linda workouts. This is because the bench press is rarely included in CrossFit competitions, notes weightlifting coach Brandon Morrison. Similarly, pushups are the only other chest move you'll get in competition, which makes exercises like flyes, machine chest presses and dips non-functional for CrossFitters.

    The Transition to Powerlifting

    • Since its beginnings in 2000, CrossFit has gradually transitioned to more strength-focused workouts and many CrossFitters also compete in powerlifting. If you're a competing CrossFitter and powerlifter, then you will need more chest work in your training. Bench presses become particularly important, as these are one of the competition powerlifts. Strength coach Chad Smith recommends utilizing the close-grip bench press to work your chest and performing it twice a week. You may also benefit from adding other chest exercises in to your routine to boost your strength. Do these after the CrossFit portion of your workout, or on a separate day.