Effects Of An 8-week Crossfit Program On Psychophysical Well-being In Healthy Adolescents

Abstract

It is well known that High-Intensity Interval Training, such as CrossFit, positively influences physical and mental well-being. However, few rigorous studies evaluated both psychological and physical fitness variables in young people. PURPOSE: To investigate if 8 weeks of CrossFit training program could positively influence the psychophysical well-being in adolescents. METHODS: 30 healthy participants (n= 18 males and 12 females) were matched into pairs based on gender and randomly allocated into an intervention group (n=15; 18.2 ± 0.8 years) that performed the 8 weeks CrossFit training program or control group (n=15; 18.3 ± 0.8 years). At baseline and after 8 weeks, physical fitness tests (i.e. squat, push-up, lunge, and 20-meter run) and psychological measures (PCS and MCS indexes of the Short Form-12, and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy scale (RESE, negative and positive)) were performed. RESULTS: After 8 weeks, the intervention group showed significant improvements in the number both of maximal repetitions for the squat test (Δ 6.66 ± 2.58, p < 0.001), push-up test (Δ 5.87 ± 4.23, p < 0.05), and lunge test (Δ 7.89 ± 3.11, p < 0.001) and of maximal laps for the 20-m run test (Δ 3.60 ± 2.27, p < 0.01). Also, higher scores for the PCS (Δ 4.7 ± 1.3, p < 0.01) and MCS (Δ 5.2 ± 0.9, p < 0.001) indexes, and the RESE negative (Δ 6.0 ± 3.9, p < 0.001) and RESE positive (Δ 4.0 ± 2.7, p < 0.001) scales were found in the intervention group. No statistical differences were detected in the control group for all dependent variables. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that an 8-week CrossFit intervention program could positively affect the general physical well-being and mental attitude and improve the emotional perceived self-efficacy in managing negative affect and in expressing positive emotions in healthy adolescents.