Josh Bridges, a six-time CrossFit Games athlete and former Navy SEAL, recently compared his experience in military training to competitive CrossFit in an interview with Men's Health.
Bridges occupies a rare position to evaluate both worlds. His Navy SEAL background subjected him to deliberate, structured brutality designed to break recruits mentally and physically. SEAL training spans months and tests survival skills, tactical knowledge, and absolute mental toughness under extreme deprivation. Sleep deprivation, cold water immersion, and psychological pressure form the foundation of that experience.
CrossFit Games competition, by contrast, compresses intensity into shorter timeframes. Athletes face unknown workouts that demand explosive power, endurance, and technical precision across multiple modalities. The physical demands remain severe, but the duration differs fundamentally. A Games workout might last 20 minutes, while SEAL training operations extend across days or weeks.
Bridges highlighted that the training philosophies diverge. Military training builds soldiers capable of functioning under duress with incomplete information and limited resources. CrossFit tests raw fitness across varied movement patterns with full preparation time. Athletes know the event structure. They train specifically for unknown workouts, but they possess equipment and controlled environments.
The mental component differs too. SEAL training aims to eliminate candidates who lack resilience when pushed past normal human limits. CrossFit demands mental fortitude, but within a competitive framework where participants voluntarily entered. The psychological pressure differs in kind and intensity.
Bridges suggests neither is objectively harder. They measure different qualities. Military training prioritizes adaptability under chaos. CrossFit emphasizes peak physical performance and metabolic conditioning. A SEAL might struggle with the technical demands of Olympic weightlifting or gymnastics movements required at the Games. A CrossFit champion might falter under the sustained deprivation SEAL recruits endure.
For Bridges, both shaped