Sensory and locomotor responses following CrossFit, Les Mills and traditional resistance trainings in sedentary subjects

Background: There is a paucity of literature on the effects of fitness programs such as CrossFit (CF), Les Mills (LM), and traditional resistance training (TRAD) on sensorimotor responses, which define overall motor skills levels that are major factors in improving quality of life of fitness training practitioners. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the sensorimotor responses after 16 weeks of CF, LM and TRAD trainings. Methods: A total of one hundred and seven sedentary participants (81 men, 26 women, age 30.5 ± 5.7 years, weight 78.9 ± 11.1 kg, height 174.9 cm, fat mass 25.4 ± 5.3%) were assigned randomly into 3 groups CF (n = 34), LM (n = 33) and TRAD (n = 40), they followed the training allocated at the rate of 5 sessions/week for 16 weeks. On three occasions: before (T0), after eight (T1) and sixteen weeks (T2) of training, participants underwent different tests of sensorimotor measures; coordination (Extremity Motor Coordination Test), accuracy (Motor Accuracy Test), agility (Illinois Agility Test) and balance (Y Balance Test). Results: Coordination improved only in the LM group for upper (T0-T1: p < .001, d = 0.09-0.13; T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.16-0.18) and lower limbs coordination (T0-T1: p < .001, d = 0.16-0.25; T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.24-0.26). Agility test showed improvements for LM (T0-T1: p < .001, d = 0.55; T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.87) and CF (T0-T1: p = .002, d = 0.20; T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.40) and no difference for TRAD. For balance, results showed improvements in lower limbs for CF (T0-T1: p < .001, d = 0.08-0.14, T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.05-0.23) and TRAD (T0-T1: p ≤ .003, d = 0.05-0.08, T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.08-0.13) and at T2 for LM (p = 0.04, d = 0.06-0.2), for the upper limbs, results showed improvements for CF (T0-T1: p < .001, d = 0.04-0.09; T1-T2: p < .001, d = 0.15-0.28), at T2 for TRAD (p = .01-.03, d = 0.03-0.10) and no difference for LM. For motor accuracy, results did not show any difference. Conclusions: CF and LM trainings helps develop agility; however, CF and TRAD are more oriented to balance while LM are to coordination improvement, all three trainings have no effect on motor accuracy.