Alright, I've sat on it for a couple of days, but I think I'm gonna rehash this one since I didn't chime in originally.
Strongman vs crossfit.
Is Brian Shaw really the strongest man in the world? Is Rich Froning really the fittest man on the planet? In my eyes, these questions can only be answered by the governing bodies of each of their respective "sports".
Strongman was established decades ago. I have no doubt in my mind that there were factions that questioned the overall legitimacy of the competition itself. Is there anyone on the planet that can deadlift, squat, overhead press, bench or move more weight otherwise than Brian Shaw. Undoubtedly, yes. Strongman, like most other competitions, is a culmination of many events over a few days. The individual who possesses the most amount of points at the end is regarded as "the strongest man in the world", and that's accepted now, universally. Looking a little deeper though, would a deadlift in that competition be legal in a powerlifting competition? A good lift in strongman is from the floor to lockout, regardless of "hitches" in between. So the answer is "no", it would not be legal in a PL competition. Should that take anything away from the number since it's allowed in Shaw's poison of choice? I don't think it should.
Crossfit is newer. Quite a bit newer. Since crossfit laid the claim to the overall test of fitness and annually crowns "the fittest man on the planet" and the "fittest woman on the planet", then they have the right to do so. They did it first. The crossfit games, like world's strongest man, is a culmination of multiple events over the course of a few days. Like strongman, the individual who racks up the most points, wins. To say that crossfit is strongman for women is a cop out in my eyes. They're two totally different assessments. Just because the weights may be lighter doesn't mean that the level of difficulty is any lower. I'd go out on a limb and venture to say that the top "athletes" in the crossfit games move a grand total more than the competitors in strongman do (reps*weight). When has there been a swimming, rowing, distance running, or a rope climb event in strongman? As long as I've been watching, never. Crossfit is a test of overall fitness, not of just "dynamic strength". Should it be discounted as a "sport" because of that? I don't think it should.
There's the argument that crossfit produces a lot of injuries. That's like saying that guns kill people or that spoons make people fat. It's bullshït. People with bad form and no sense of their own limitations cause injuries. Do people get injured while performing in strongman? Fück yes. There have been some pretty gruesome injuries in that sport as well. Hell, Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting aren't exempt either. Shït happens, people get hurt, ask Junior Seau.
I think it's narrow minded to discount a sport as a sport because you don't agree with its methodologies, practices or teachings. Overall, most athletes who participate in sports which involve a barbell and weights are after the same end result...bigger, stronger, faster. I think if we could all look past the labels of strongman, powerlifter or crossfitter, we could probably learn something from one another and that would ultimately benefit all.
/rant