I was scrolling through my YouTube feed the other day, and I saw a couple of yahoos discussing why they think CrossFit is overrated and not good at developing sports athletes. Their biggest focus was on the lack of frontal and transverse plane movements in the core CrossFit methodology. One of the podcast hosts referred to Crossfitters as “sagittal plane warriors,” attempting to convey a level of inferiority to CrossFit compared to other training programs.

Let’s break down how the core argument makes the entire discussion pointless. Then we’ll jump into a few other considerations that need to be highlighted, as they’re aspects that many people don’t fully understand about what makes CrossFit effective in so many areas.

CrossFit isn’t for athletes

The definition of CrossFit is:

Constantly varied, functional movement performed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains.

Where in that definition does it say anything about sports performance or athletes?

Sports performance is often specific, not broad. While effective in their sports application, the movements frequently are not functional. The time domains are bound by requirements of the sport or the position a person plays. This is not where CrossFit shines.

Most people have basic movement, strength, and coordination deficits. Improving their ability to perform the most common movements of life is the foundation on which CrossFit is built. The 9 fundamental movements of CrossFit address movement competency in the largest percentage of movement patterns that people need help improving.

· Squatting

· Hinging at the hip

· Pushing things

· Pulling things

Keeping in mind that CrossFit is designed for the unfit and physically deficient person, these fundamental movement patterns are not the endpoint of the CrossFit method. They are the beginning of the journey. Progression and scaling concepts dictate the addition of more movement patterns and exercise selection. As a person improves, the breadth of movement and stimulus they are exposed to increases.

CrossFit is designed for the average person to follow a progressive program that helps improve functional movement and an ability to engage with their environment and people around them. The effect of improved functional fitness on work capacity can be a fantastic sports performance enhancement. Many people see measurable improvements in their recreational sports activities after they start a CrossFit program. That doesn’t mean the CrossFit methodology is intended for that purpose.

Can it and, dare I say, should it be a part of a holistic approach to athletic development? I think any coach would be short-sighted to exclude CrossFit as a tool to improve overall performance. Including CrossFit means that variations of intensity, time, exercises, and targeted stimulus will be a part of the training program. Excluding CrossFit means the training program will be reduced to sport-specific stimulus that may or may not impact overall performance.

CrossFit is just another name for General Physical Preparedness (GPP). If you’re a strength and conditioning coach, it’s likely you’re already programming it in some variation. The difference is that GPP is done intermittently in a sports strength and conditioning program to develop certain aspects of general athleticism that improve other areas of specific sports performance. This is the same stimulus and adaptation that regular people get through consistent exposure to CrossFit because the demands of their life are general, not specific.

All that to say, no one should be looking at CrossFit as the answer to athletic development, but the concepts behind improved work capacity, adaptive response to varied stimulus, and developing competency in movement pattern efficiency is something that athletes can benefit from just as much as the regular person trying to stay healthy and fit.

There is no place for arguing over the relevance of CrossFit in developing athletic performance. As part of a holistic development t program, it absolutely can be a benefit to athletes. But it wasn’t developed with athletes in mind. It was developed out of a need to have a structured method for helping regular people get fit and healthy. The reason it can help both populations is this simple concept explained best by the creator of CrossFit, Greg Glassman.

“The needs of the elderly and professional athlete differ by degree, not kind.”

“Sagittal Plane Warriors”

If CrossFit is hyper-focused on improving functional movement in the average person, sagittal plane movement, by definition, will dominate the exercises included in the program.

The sagittal plane is the conceptual area that occupies the space in front and back of the body. It is the area where we can move any part of our body forward or backward. When I bend over to pick up a box some parts of my body move in front of where they started. That is a sagittal movement. If you can perform an exercise in a narrow hallway without facing a wall, or moving a body part outward touching the wall, it’s likely a sagittal movement.

There are 7 essential functional movements. The fundamental movement patterns for 6 of them happen in the sagittal plane.

1. Squat

2. Hip hinge

3. Lunge

4. Pressing

5. Pulling

6. Carrying

7. Twisting (Transverse Plane)

How in the world is being a Sagittal Plane Warrior a bad thing. I’m half tempted to go out and make some T-shirts to normalize and celebrate people gaining their physical independence in the sagittal plane!

Anyone trying to disparage CrossFit for its lack of agility work, lateral movement, unilateral exercises, or some other aspect of advanced athletic programs, is completely missing the point. Besides, for someone with the need and performing at an appropriate level, adding those things in, is consistent with the definition and method of CrossFit.

CrossFit is defined by the variety it empowers
CrossFit isn’t limited to sagittal plane movements, it starts there because that’s where functional movement begins for most people. But the methodology is defined by constantly varied, functional movement. That means when a person is ready for more, the program adapts. Variety isn’t just encouraged in CrossFit; it’s required.

So yes, if someone needs lateral lunges, rotational med ball throws, or agility ladder work, guess what? That’s CrossFit, too. The tools are there. The framework is built for it. Variety doesn’t mean random; it means purposeful adaptation based on readiness and goals.

The issue is that critics confuse what CrossFit does by design with what they think it should do to meet their definition of athletic training. But CrossFit isn’t built for athletes; it’s there for everyone. It’s designed to build capacity, confidence, and control over your body in the context of real life. That’s the goal.

CrossFit isn’t about athleticism. It’s about physical freedom.

It’s about reclaiming the capacity to move, to live without limitation, to say yes to adventures, to be present for your family, and to engage with the world without fear of being overwhelmed by it.

That’s what matters. That’s why CrossFit works.