Strength as a motivator for women participating in CrossFit

Objective: Women are often less likely to engage in strength training than men, despite the health positives which this can confer. This disparity has been presented, at least in part, as a result of body image concerns - namely women are concerned about how they will look, including wanting to avoid becoming muscular or masculine. However, there are examples of women who are engaged in strength development but seem to experience less such image concerns. One environment where this has been observed is within the CrossFit community.<br/>Methods: In response to a snowball sample, 161 CrossFit participants completed an online survey about body image and muscularity. <br/>Results: Data indicated that women who participate in CrossFit are more motivated to develop strength and report to be more satisfied with their appearance compared to expected norms. <br/>Conclusion: The more apparently gender neutral training paradigm, such as that offered in CrossFit, is suggested as a possible key to helping more women into regular exercise participation in general but strength and conditioning in particular.