Absolutely, it will help improve his cycling all around! Why wouldn't he? If he does, make a video series about it, so some of the stupid negative commenters can understand it a little and keep their crying baby comments to themselves!
I was a bike racer for many years and switched to CrossFit about 10 years ago. GCN did a great job having fun with this and showing the differences. Obviously if they had done a bike ride up a climb, silverback would have fallen back quickly. But the GCN guys are humble and funny and weren’t looking to embarrass anyone. Just have fun and show the differences between 2 very different activities.
@@gcnI cycled competitive for many years. Got old and fatter then got into CF, then started riding again. No point doing more CF video’s because this audience just knocks CF due to lack of understanding. For example… all the people knocking the CF butterfly pull ups, they are way harder than what people think
The CrossFit guy likely would have issues on flats compared to a cyclist if on a real bike. Any extra upper body muscle becomes quite detrimental on a bike
I'm an avid CrossFitter as well as dedicated road biker. These are two different disciplines, though lots of what I do in CrossFit prepares me well strength-wise and VO2max-wise. Plus throw in lots of indoor rowing (as I do), and you can get build your aerobic capacity and the mental toughness needed to climb the big climbs.
Cycling is primarily an endurance activity. Crossfit is 'general fitness' without too much endurance, which is why their moves are not complete moves. A true test: 1. Full Crossfit style workout, timed (this is what they do in Crossfit anyway) 2. Full 100km ride, "rolling hills" route, timed. Then we'll talk about comparing apples to oranges.
Here's to Si for the effort! I was a 3 sport athlete when joining the Air Force and was in great shape or so I thought. My room mate was a skinny kid from Trinidad with multiple black belts in marshal arts. I tried one of his workouts and died. It starts with 400 setups followed by 10 press-ups on flat handed, followed by 10 raising a finger on each hand repeating until you did 10 on just your thumbs then drop a finger do 10 finishing with 10 flat handed. this totals to 100 press-ups. This was his speed warm up. It took me 4 months to do the warm up.
@BernhardKohli yea for his weight he seemed to have done amazing though! Some really big weight lifters still have an extremely low FTP even in absolute numbers, in relative numbers I think Si is very high above the fit average person.
Good Fun! Love how humble and funny Si is, and the silverback was a good sport too :) I do wish people would try something before commenting - makes for a far better conversation.
Would've found it much more interesting if you tested his riding fitness and capabilities at a small hill outside. Mabye 15min 6-10% gradient. I think its much more accurate.
This was hilarious from the beginning! Well done si...much better than I could do. I bet the Xfit guy wouldn't win on the cycling if he was actually on a proper bike, pushing his own weight, though.
The definition of fit is "of a suitable quality, standard, or type to meet the required purpose." So you can't say someone is the fittest person on the planet without stating the category/competition (required purpose). Fit is relative to the activity you're doing.
This video is a good look at why I would never get into Crossfit. A cyclist in spandex might look silly, but a crossfit pull-up is downright ludicrous.
That was no pull up, it was a swing. His push-up was not much better either, to be fair.. At least in the clearly unfair competition he could have done proper pull-ups, to see what he's made of. Of course a cyclist like Si has zero chance against anyone who uses his arms in a sport, cyclists are simply the weakest of all sports when it come to arm strength. It's almost a must to avoid using your arm muscles, to be optimal in cycling.
Tbf Crossfit could do itself some favours by just referring to it as a butterfly pull up so as not to make people think it is just a cheat pull up. It’s more of a gymnastic movement in competition, still very hard to learn! Also consider that if Si could have done butterfly pull ups I’m sure he would have done them. I’ve seen lots of people try them and get humbled!
@@masterpep7218 Considering chess is considered a sport (and I know most people don't think of it as a traditional sport though :P) I'd reckon a cyclist would have a pretty good chance against liren, nakamura, carlsen in any kind of hand exercises :P It would not be much to look at, as a spectator, but hell xD
I counted 0 pullups on Zack's side. And even by CF standards his squats (below! Parallel) and pushups (chest to ground) were highly questionable. I get if the CF crowd optimizes some sport specific exercises, but don't call it a pullup or general fitness test if you're doing flopping fishes on the bar. The performance doesn't fit the cocky attitude.
A more realistic one would be an endurance ride test. Crossfit does make you explosively strong, but all goes out pretty soon. Interesting nevertheless.
The kip up is an official pull up. It requires more muscle activation and a stronger cardio base to to do. A strict pull up is harder because you're using less muscles. Try them, see how long you last!
Si did much better than any of us cyclists thought he would. As soon as they got to the ramp test i thought it was over. Well done man anyone saying anything is just upset you proved you are very fit
Former cyclist turned crossfitter here. They are easy to criticise but butterfly pull ups require a strict rhythm which is hard to maintain under fatigue and is a skill movement that moves the emphasis away from strength endurance and more towards aerobic/anaerobic capacity. if you think they are easy, go try them (especially in the middle of a workout!). If Zack used the same band as Si and did strict pull ups instead, I'm sure he still would have beat Si by a long way. I'd encourage anyone who considers themselves fit to try crossfit - you'll already have an excellent aerobic base to build from (and you'll discover that fitness can take many forms!). Great to see this collab. Well done Si!
@@rcmag13 Most people who begin doing pull-ups start like this, i.e. flopping around, then they improve their strength and technique resulting in them doing proper pull ups.
@kirkprl highly unlikely as the programming is scaleable to your ability, which would make it suitable for Si (or anybody else) to start at a point that is right for them whether that is reduced weight, or using a band or 2 or even 3 to assist with pullups or literally anything else within crossfit. Of course you are welcome to your opinion.
For the cycling challenge… Zack is way heavier, juiced and still actively competing… exact watts or W/kg would be nice. I have an FTP of awound 320 which would be mega for a 60kg dude, but as I weigh a little over 80 that’s nothing special anymore. I don’t doubt his fitness, but numbers would be great to get a good feeling…
@@neoneherefrom5836 You have little understanding of cycling, mate. ;) Si's "sport" is not short track cycling, he's an all rounder. Give him a decent hill and the crossfitter pukes his guts out in 5 minutes, due to the sheer weight difference he needs to drag up. Track cycling is just one type of cycling and this ramp test was all about a short flat section where weight makes all the difference. Even the worst pro cyclist beats a crossfit guy easily in any bike race that is not DH or short track. Putting an all-rounder like Si against a short track guy makes zero sense, this video was purely entertainment, zero science. It's like having Mike Tyson fight against a retired lightweight: the best in the highest class against a decent low weight class. You do realize that, right?
This is a amazing colab! I'm a huge fan of Zack and he seems like a great person. I would love to see more cross training videos for cyclists and I want to see Zack get out the road with Si!
So, the Crossfitter has a more developed anaerobic energy system, while the Cyclist is stronger aerobically. I'm glad Si didn't get injured during this.
GCN team, what about bouldering? I think it's the perfect counter-balance to cycling, as it focuses on upper body+core strength, which is exactly what cycling is lacking. On top of that, compared to dry & boring gym workouts, it's actually fun (well, if you like it). And on top of that, since you're already fairly skinny, you'll be good at it in no time. ;)
Fun episode. I'm a former amateur crossfitter and have recently gotten into cycling more now. If anyone here was looking for a serious test, they shouldn't have expected it. You're comparing 2 completely different types of athletes. Like comparing an Olympic swimmer to a powerlifter. Throw a crossfitter into a 100 mile ride, and they'll do alright, but the cyclist should win more times than not. Each athlete is fit in their own way, it just depends on parameters that each particular sport demands on them. Also, already saw comments about "crossfit pull-ups and squats", the standard arguments of why crossfit it terrible. Makes me laugh. Crossfitters can also do normal pull-ups just as well, the butterfly is about efficiency though. But people like to hate, what can I say 🤷♂️
@brayan8346 It's clear you've never watched a crossfit competition before. Your comment is no different than the thousands of other crossfit haters coming from people who've never even lifted a weight in their life.
@@brayan8346definition (Webster): an exercise in which one hangs by the hands from a support (such as a horizontal bar) and pulls oneself up until the chin is level with the support specifically : such an exercise done with the palms facing outward ----------- Do you see any mention of HOW you achieve the work? Hence: racing is not the same as training yet both are perfectly valid. Can you even do butterflies? If not, try it next time you are at the gym and post a video on how easy it is 😁😉
Whenever you guys do these matchups, you do them in a way that plays to the opponent's strengths. It's not a real comparison between cycling and body building, or CrossFit etc. Cycling involves, so often, long, fast rides up mountains. So make a crossfitter do a 50 mile ride up through the mountains and then we'll see who's fitter. That's a real test of aerobic fitness and power in cycling terms. Or do a 20km time trial, or both. If you're going to do a CrossFit workout, you should do a real cycling workout.
i agree (as a Crossfit fan) a longer real bike ride would be cool. They should do the GCN hill test 😁 Also, an echo bike workout would very interesting
Interesting but do think the tests could have been designed in a way allow for better comparision. 1. The AMRAP workout should not include excercises where technique is a huge advantage. There is a lot of complains about the pullups Zack perform. I think they are just part of the crossfit world, but also something that Si are not capable of performing. Either swap excercise or restrict them to controlled pullups. 2. The bike test should end up with power output in some form, so we somehow can get a sense of W/kg
Bodybuilders do half reps too like Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler and other world class bodybuilders, you gonna complain about them too? There is a reason they do these this way.
@@alexseguin5245 who cares!? They still do half reps, this wasn't really a competition and the biker was using a band, so he wasn't doing your so called "pullups" either. Many competitions of crossfit do the same type of pullup, that is the whole point, it is a more efficient version of the pullup but taxes the cardio system more and requires a higher level of skill.
@@alexseguin5245 to be fair, in an actual crossfit competition, his squats might not have counted, he wasn't going low enough from my view in the video, typically you have to pass parallel before the rep is counted. It isn't ATG because most people just don't have the mobility to go that low anyway unless they are super flexible in the hips
The cycling should have been based on a sportive, 120km and 2500 mtr of climbing. Mr crossfit would be in serious deep water and learn a hard lesson, which would have deflated his ego a bit. This would have been more representative of crossfit v cycling
Love this video! Zac is a legend and unbelievably fit! This video had me laughing as I could relate to Si so much and he took the ass whooping in great spirits!
Been doing CrossFit for 2 years, never felt or looked fitter. I lost 8kg and gained a lot of muscle mass. My 5km run time went from 30min50s to 23min. My heart rate doesn’t spike up anymore when I get on the bike so my Zone 2 rides are better than my (not always intentional) Zone 3-5 rides before I started CrossFit. I really don’t get all the hate, it’s a completely different sport with different objectives compared to cycling but they can work together very well if done right. It was very interesting to see the fitness comparison. I love both CrossFit and cycling and will keep doing both for as long as I can. Unless you’re really a pro cyclist and can’t afford any bit of upper body muscle because you want to compete at the very top, I guarantee that accessory training like CrossFit 2-3 a week will improve your rides substantially. A little bit more leg muscle and less belly fat could really help, too ;)
Fun to watch video! In Si's defense though both tests were anaerobic fitness ones, endurance sport magic happens when trying to push the body's aerobic fuel tank (that is practically limitless), to produce anaerobic power levels over long periods of time, if you can't beat them, bonk them...
Those butterfly pullups gives me eye cancer as I did some calisthenics before cycling. The pullup is such a great exersice for the latisimusdorsi and then you make it into a kipping exercise...
Exactly, I'd rather do a range of different sports and be decent than do crossfit. It's better at making you a well rounded athlete than crossfit just taking the worst parts of cardio and the worst parts of gym and calisthenics and combining it.
To be honest the gladiator's pull up are sh*t. To me a proper pull up is all the way up and all the way down to a passive hang. Definitely not the jerky movements you can see on the video. This is the crossfit/street workout cheat to get more reps for less effort. The rest of the exercises are also not very impressive but pull ups are simply a joke. 😂
This was definitely stacked in favor of CrossFit - you take the best CrossFit guy in Britain and put him up against a good cyclist, but one who isn't really in his full prime any more (by Si's own admissions). It would be interesting to see Zack up against a top ranked, world class cyclist in some real world head-to-head stuff. Sure, Zack would still crush it on certain workouts, but the cyclist would crush others, by an equally huge margin.
I’d like to start a new fitness wave with something called FormFit, where CrossFit athletes actually perform each exercise with proper form… Suddenly, we find that the fittest on earth are not so fit! 10 proper, full hang pull-ups are at least 3 times harder than 10 kipping pull-ups. In all seriousness, CrossFit really should change its ways - everyone should be performing every exercise with good form to the proper degree, depth, etc. instead of just trying to smash times, reps, etc. otherwise you just invite injuries, especially for those who are just starting out and in the longer term for more experienced athletes and joint health.
As a crossfitter and cyclist I love reading comments of people who have no idea about a kipping pull up and its purpose. Remember Manon broke her foot from running (RUNNING!!) and said it’s because she was only cycling. Vary your fitness people and don’t throw stones at people on their fitness journeys. We’re all trying to be healthier.
We do have an idea about kipping pull ups, they're not actually pull-ups! We shouldn't make fun of people on their fitness journey but it's okay to make a joke about a guy full of steroids not doing pull-ups correctly.
@@martinius1234321 Lucky I don't live in a glass house and I can do actual pull-ups. Everyone who does weight lifting or calisthenics makes fun of crossfit pull-ups. That guy can clearly do a proper pull-up and chooses not to.
@gcn I would argue that cycling isn't one of the toughest sports on the planet. How can it be the toughest if you can compete the next day. Or even every day for a week or longer? In sports like say boxing you cannot compete the next day - maybe needing weeks or months or more for recovery.
I have been an avid cyclist for over 10 years and I have been doing CrossFit for about 6 years. Love this. - A kipping pullup is a gymnastic movement. It is a generally a part of a progression from chin over bar, to chest to bar pullups to muscle ups. CrossFit does strict pullups as well and you can do Strict Cindy. Injuries - I have never been injured from CrossFit. I have been crazy sore, but never injured. CrossFit sued the NSCA and won after the publication of a falsified injury report. There are lots of studies comparing injury rates in CrossFit to other sports. Overall rates of injury are equal or lower than most other sports although I believe shoulder injury is generally higher.
@@baum7des7lebens7 I have certainly put on a little muscle but I don't have a body type or age to add lots of muscle. I'm just trying to be as healthy as I can be. Mostly, I have gotten leaner which helps my cycling. I ride a bike because I love cycling. I do CrossFit for overall health and full body fitness.
The problem is what metric are you using to measure fitness? Cyclists are great at riding bikes. Crossfitters are great at crossfit. The thing is crossfit as a sport is unbelievably lame. Also, that guy wasn't even doing real pull ups! His chin wasn't even clearing the bar!
Rep standards: Arms locked out at the bottom of the rep: check Chin above the bar: check Squats fully locked out at the top and parallel at the bottom: check It’s a sport and these are the rules. I guarantee that the CrossFit athlete can do perfect strict pull ups in the gym but it’s a race so why would he sacrifice time just to prove he can do them strict too. Plus butterfly pull ups are wayyyy harder than they look - many people who do CrossFit at an amateur level can do strict only and can’t yet string together butterfly pull ups.
Generally agree, but a lot of those push-ups and squats would be receiving no-reps at the CF gym I attend. Chest nowhere near the floor on a lot of the push-ups and squat depth not even hitting parallel. Sure, it’s a race + we’ve all missed reps, but come on…
The thing everyone ignores about butterfly pull ups is they use momentum to assist the movement. Lets have a think about weightlifting for a moment. For example the Clean and Jerk. Broken down, that's a deadlift, followed by a reverse bicep curl, and an overhead press. Olympic weightlifters do this all very quickly, providing the barbell with upwards momentum so they can get under the bar and then again so they can press it overhead. Why is it ok for them to do it, but it's not ok for Crossfit to use momentum in pull ups?
The people complaining about the pull-ups are actually embarrassing themselves, showing that they don't actually know what the definition of a pullup is. I am a bit baffled that people still don't understand that there are different variation of pullups, like there are different variations of everything. How are people this ignorant? I mean, it can be forgiven when crossfit first came out because the variations were there but not quite main stream...but this is 2024...People that are complaining about it. Hey, there is a search engine called google, I know you have never heard of it, but you might want to try to use it before making comments. He was doing Butterfly Pullups, it is a variation of a pullup, just like a kipping pullup is a variation of a pullup, or a band assisted one is, or a strict pullup, or weighted, or one-arm....lol. A muscle up is a variation of a pullup as well. Crossfit didn't invent kipping, they just made them more common practice and for whatever reason people think they are so cool by commenting about them. Kipping is also used in gymnastics on certain movements.
No, the people commenting on the pull ups are normal people who can see that not one pull up was completed by that cross fit bloke. Pathetic. All roids and no technique
Hanks comments made it hard to watch with a straight face. I feel for Si having to fight breaking into a lough and a cross fitter simultaneously. Well done Si! :)
A real comparison would be to put him on a bike and see how he does, not some machine bike. He was given to opportunity to show off his expertise and technique in his field, it's only fair if Si can do the same.
I cycle and do CrossFit and love both and each help towards fitness in different ways. My cycling is definitely better as a result. PS. Was Zack locking out his arms when doing his push ups???
Fun video! I do Crossfit and include some Zwifting and road cycling. I get bottom ranks in the 2.5-3.2 Watt/kg and Zack mentioned he'd get beat on a hill workout. GCN was being kind to the guest - Si knows he could win in a road race. Just like Zack didn't program the Diane Workout or DT for Si. However, I'm surprised by the hate on Crossfit and lack of education around fitness racing movement standards. The pullups were fine while the pushups and squats were shortened range of motion and mostly no reps, technically speaking (chest to ground and hip crease below parallel, respectively). Zack was emphasizing speed for show - he'd still get 20+ with perfect movement standards. Most cyclists would enjoy a bit of CrossFit in their training (rowing, running, bodyweight workouts) so give it a try 😄🙌 and please chill in the comments - we all love sports!
I knew Zach would win even the cycling test. Only because of his fitness on a static stationary bike. Si would have the advantage on a real bike because I presume Zach doesn’t have the tactical capability to race against various environmental challenges on the road cyclists face. I think there should be a second race on a real bike between Si VS Zach again. Still an interesting and fun video
Not sure why everybody's complaining about things like form for the pull-ups. This is a race. The object is to go from elbows locked out to chin above the bar as quickly as possible. How you do it is irrelevant, except for those two factors.
Should Si get into CrossFit next? 🏋
NO!
Go MMA straightaway, no half measueres
Absolutely, it will help improve his cycling all around! Why wouldn't he?
If he does, make a video series about it, so some of the stupid negative commenters can understand it a little and keep their crying baby comments to themselves!
Si dont use steroids and looks better
How many cyclists does it take to beat a crossfitter?
I was a bike racer for many years and switched to CrossFit about 10 years ago.
GCN did a great job having fun with this and showing the differences. Obviously if they had done a bike ride up a climb, silverback would have fallen back quickly.
But the GCN guys are humble and funny and weren’t looking to embarrass anyone. Just have fun and show the differences between 2 very different activities.
Awesome comment- 100% agreed. And Zack is under no illusion that he'd win the TdF.
Thanks Jeff! We had great fun with Zack... well some of us did 😉 Would you like to see more crossfit content on channel?
@@gcnI cycled competitive for many years. Got old and fatter then got into CF, then started riding again. No point doing more CF video’s because this audience just knocks CF due to lack of understanding. For example… all the people knocking the CF butterfly pull ups, they are way harder than what people think
The CrossFit guy likely would have issues on flats compared to a cyclist if on a real bike. Any extra upper body muscle becomes quite detrimental on a bike
Exactly weight matters
I'm an avid CrossFitter as well as dedicated road biker. These are two different disciplines, though lots of what I do in CrossFit prepares me well strength-wise and VO2max-wise. Plus throw in lots of indoor rowing (as I do), and you can get build your aerobic capacity and the mental toughness needed to climb the big climbs.
At least Si didn't do crossfit pullups
💯 kipping is not pull ups
Si didn’t do a true pull up either. He used a band…
@@kirkprlit's not even kipping at this point, it's sexual assault of the bar
Have you ever tried them? Come back when you can control your body enough to do 50 kipping pull ups
@@marcusbaxby6798This comment! It’s not easy at all.
Still waiting for that one honest pull up...
Simon actually did a few atleast... assisted but honest...
@@bopndop2347 Can't argue that! 🙂
Kipping pull-ups are a variation of a pull-up.
@@zarbins these aren't even kipping pullups. It's so exaggerated that they call them butterfly pullups
Could not have hit the nail on the head better my friend. Ha ha.
We’re all talking about the pull-ups, but what the hell are these squats?!
Just Crossfit Things... (aka, sloppy af)
Speed over form, not actually working out your muscles, thats what the steroids help with
@@_Tp___ Dont talk if you have no idea about it please.
CrossFit squats just need to be below parallel (hip crease below knees). But pushups should be chest-to-ground 🤔 which wasn’t happening at 6:19
@@nagasava8439 I do have an idea of what I'm talking about so kindly 🤐
Si vs Zack in a hill-climbing race next!
You name the hill and we'll be there! 🙌
@@gcn The hill by my house! In comparison to the hills a lot of people ride, it's nothing, but it sure beats me lol
Cycling is primarily an endurance activity. Crossfit is 'general fitness' without too much endurance, which is why their moves are not complete moves. A true test:
1. Full Crossfit style workout, timed (this is what they do in Crossfit anyway)
2. Full 100km ride, "rolling hills" route, timed.
Then we'll talk about comparing apples to oranges.
Do Murph then a 100km ride. That would be an equivalent test
Watching Si without a top on has just reminded me to get the chicken out of the freezer…….!!🤣
Lmao thanks for reminding me as well 😂😂😂
You and everyone else in the comments 😉
Here's to Si for the effort!
I was a 3 sport athlete when joining the Air Force and was in great shape or so I thought. My room mate was a skinny kid from Trinidad with multiple black belts in marshal arts. I tried one of his workouts and died. It starts with 400 setups followed by 10 press-ups on flat handed, followed by 10 raising a finger on each hand repeating until you did 10 on just your thumbs then drop a finger do 10 finishing with 10 flat handed. this totals to 100 press-ups. This was his speed warm up. It took me 4 months to do the warm up.
What where both results on the ramp test? How does there FTP (W/kg) compare? Very interested to know 🙂
Excellent question. I bet Si would win on W/kg or a hill race (and I'm a big Zack George fan)
@BernhardKohli yea for his weight he seemed to have done amazing though! Some really big weight lifters still have an extremely low FTP even in absolute numbers, in relative numbers I think Si is very high above the fit average person.
Good Fun! Love how humble and funny Si is, and the silverback was a good sport too :) I do wish people would try something before commenting - makes for a far better conversation.
Si won with like 6 pull-ups vs. zero
This was incredible fun, way to go Si & Zach
Thanks! We had loads of fun with Zack 🙌 Should we get him back on the channel for more?
Would've found it much more interesting if you tested his riding fitness and capabilities at a small hill outside. Mabye 15min 6-10% gradient. I think its much more accurate.
It’d be no contest with 30kg extra body weight and when on the flat skinny is aero.
Maybe we can get Zack back on the channel and onto two wheels... 🚴
Agreed. On a stationary bike (or stationary anything) mass and bulk trumps. In a real world climb I suspect it would be very different.
This was hilarious from the beginning! Well done si...much better than I could do. I bet the Xfit guy wouldn't win on the cycling if he was actually on a proper bike, pushing his own weight, though.
Should we get him on a bike? Maybe some hill climbs and sprint races 👀
I kind of knew strightaway that I won't see any pull ups from a xfit guy, but this one went even further and butchered the squats...
Was going to say, if they're pullups, I'm the Pope!
my thoughts too, his form was atrocious. clearly on a ton of juice too
@@PercyTP5161 All hail Pope Percy the First!😂
Yeah no pull ups or squats were done on this day
@@xeesa-l2l I'm currently preparing on joining our army reserve force, not even those pushups would count.
The definition of fit is "of a suitable quality, standard, or type to meet the required purpose." So you can't say someone is the fittest person on the planet without stating the category/competition (required purpose). Fit is relative to the activity you're doing.
Do you think that cross fitters will have an amazing base fitness that us cyclists might struggle to match 👀
This video is a good look at why I would never get into Crossfit. A cyclist in spandex might look silly, but a crossfit pull-up is downright ludicrous.
That was no pull up, it was a swing. His push-up was not much better either, to be fair..
At least in the clearly unfair competition he could have done proper pull-ups, to see what he's made of.
Of course a cyclist like Si has zero chance against anyone who uses his arms in a sport, cyclists are simply the weakest of all sports when it come to arm strength. It's almost a must to avoid using your arm muscles, to be optimal in cycling.
Tbf Crossfit could do itself some favours by just referring to it as a butterfly pull up so as not to make people think it is just a cheat pull up. It’s more of a gymnastic movement in competition, still very hard to learn!
Also consider that if Si could have done butterfly pull ups I’m sure he would have done them. I’ve seen lots of people try them and get humbled!
My chiropractor said he likes CrossFit because it's one of his biggest feeder activities.
@@masterpep7218 Considering chess is considered a sport (and I know most people don't think of it as a traditional sport though :P) I'd reckon a cyclist would have a pretty good chance against liren, nakamura, carlsen in any kind of hand exercises :P It would not be much to look at, as a spectator, but hell xD
@@Popmycherryyo Pretty sure I lost at least half of my arm muscles since I got into cycling, so I wouldn't dare bet against a darts player even :D
What a great bunch of sports all around. Was a fun video to watch.
Silverback is an absolute unit.
He's a beast! We loved filing this one 🙌
WOW! I'm 5:20 into this video, and Si is already topless :D
Kudos for your true pull-ups Si!
Get Zach George onto some challenges, e.g.: climbs, sprints, endurance, etc.
We would love to have him back on the channel! He smashed us in the gym... we might have him on the climbs though 😉
@@gcn Would love to see this! If you can get him back on the channel 🙂
I counted 0 pullups on Zack's side. And even by CF standards his squats (below! Parallel) and pushups (chest to ground) were highly questionable.
I get if the CF crowd optimizes some sport specific exercises, but don't call it a pullup or general fitness test if you're doing flopping fishes on the bar.
The performance doesn't fit the cocky attitude.
Have a play swing on the bars = crossfit technique... lol
Si work out DVD coming out soon?
What would Si's workout name be? 🤣
A more realistic one would be an endurance ride test. Crossfit does make you explosively strong, but all goes out pretty soon. Interesting nevertheless.
Zack done 0 pull ups
I was going to comment the same thing. I don't even know what to calll what he was doing.
@@LouieBaLLz the guy is a machine obviously lol but would have liked more deliberate pull ups
The kip up is an official pull up. It requires more muscle activation and a stronger cardio base to to do. A strict pull up is harder because you're using less muscles. Try them, see how long you last!
Nowhere near the bar. Cross fit is all looks and no substance 😅
And zero pushups too.
Si did much better than any of us cyclists thought he would. As soon as they got to the ramp test i thought it was over. Well done man anyone saying anything is just upset you proved you are very fit
7:47 not really. the big advantage Si has is aerodynamics to power ratio and aerodynamics doesn't matter on a stationary bicycle.
Zack was the fittest man in Britain 2020, before Si claimed the title in 2021 and holds it ever since.
This was class 😁👊🏻 love it guys! Top effort si 💪🏼
Last test should be a full blood panel for PEDs
Jealous much?
Former cyclist turned crossfitter here. They are easy to criticise but butterfly pull ups require a strict rhythm which is hard to maintain under fatigue and is a skill movement that moves the emphasis away from strength endurance and more towards aerobic/anaerobic capacity. if you think they are easy, go try them (especially in the middle of a workout!). If Zack used the same band as Si and did strict pull ups instead, I'm sure he still would have beat Si by a long way. I'd encourage anyone who considers themselves fit to try crossfit - you'll already have an excellent aerobic base to build from (and you'll discover that fitness can take many forms!). Great to see this collab. Well done Si!
Exactly. results speak for themselves. Crossfitter looks great no matter what the style of pull ups.
Great video, but was Zack injured? Squats weren't to depth.
What the hell were those pull ups.
It's known as a kipping pull-up.
The ones you can't do
@@zarbins Otherwise known as "not a pull-up"
@@alexseguin5245 Correct it is the butterfly version of the kipping pull-up. Glad we're on the same page.
@@rcmag13 Most people who begin doing pull-ups start like this, i.e. flopping around, then they improve their strength and technique resulting in them doing proper pull ups.
Love your sense of humor! A cyclist.
We don't like to take ourselves too seriously 😉
So Si won the pull up challenge? Cause I didn't see any pull-ups from the other guy
Totally bonkers how fit that lad is. Personally I’d like to see how well Si does after a 12 week CrossFit training programme…
That would be great to see. 👌🏻
He'd be worse than now after recovering from multiple injuries.
@kirkprl highly unlikely as the programming is scaleable to your ability, which would make it suitable for Si (or anybody else) to start at a point that is right for them whether that is reduced weight, or using a band or 2 or even 3 to assist with pullups or literally anything else within crossfit. Of course you are welcome to your opinion.
Hank is like the best MC/moderator for these types of challenges.
Great hype man 🤣
"I feel like I'm letting you guys down... " Before the workout even starts! Classic Si!
Hahaha he did us proud really 👌
For the cycling challenge… Zack is way heavier, juiced and still actively competing… exact watts or W/kg would be nice. I have an FTP of awound 320 which would be mega for a 60kg dude, but as I weigh a little over 80 that’s nothing special anymore. I don’t doubt his fitness, but numbers would be great to get a good feeling…
Xfit guys cycling up a hill probably would stop in the middle and count it done
You do realize Si couldn’t beat him at his own sport right
The hill takes fitness out of the equation though. The CrossFit guy is fitter. Gravity just makes him slower.
@@neoneherefrom5836 You have little understanding of cycling, mate. ;) Si's "sport" is not short track cycling, he's an all rounder. Give him a decent hill and the crossfitter pukes his guts out in 5 minutes, due to the sheer weight difference he needs to drag up.
Track cycling is just one type of cycling and this ramp test was all about a short flat section where weight makes all the difference. Even the worst pro cyclist beats a crossfit guy easily in any bike race that is not DH or short track.
Putting an all-rounder like Si against a short track guy makes zero sense, this video was purely entertainment, zero science. It's like having Mike Tyson fight against a retired lightweight: the best in the highest class against a decent low weight class.
You do realize that, right?
@@masterpep7218 oh so this was specifically designed to make us laugh at Si
Got it
@@neoneherefrom5836 It pretty much was ;)
Thank you GCN guys for creating this light entertainment content for me to enjoy on a Saturday evening. Mos appreciated!
No worries! We hope you enjoyed the video? Was it post ride?
This is a amazing colab! I'm a huge fan of Zack and he seems like a great person. I would love to see more cross training videos for cyclists and I want to see Zack get out the road with Si!
Join the fan club 🙌 We'll see what we can set up with Zack. Hill climb or sprints? 💨
@@gcn both of course!
Really enjoying these cyclist vs videos
Have you got a favourite? We've been enjoying working with some other athletes 🙌
So, the Crossfitter has a more developed anaerobic energy system, while the Cyclist is stronger aerobically. I'm glad Si didn't get injured during this.
Should we get more Zack back for more? We're sure we could test him a bit further on the bike 😉
Have Silverback and Si cycle up Belmont Hill 10 times and then a time trial and see him in Si's environment.
Dafuq is that pull up?
It's known as a kipping pull-up.
@@zarbins wrong, its butterfly pull ups
Please do the cycling challenge again. Crossfitters are used to short time high effort and cycling is about endurance. Basically you tested a sprint
Testing FTP doesn't really make sense when one is much bigger than the other. On an actual bike, your bodyweight matters. Here it didn't
Everyone who is critiquing the CrossFiters form. Tell me you don’t workout without telling me you don’t workout
This is definitely one of the best challenge videos you’ve done.
That was very entertaining! Thanks GCN!
How about measuring fitness by factoring in strength to weight ratios?
I never know how to feel about Crossfit. But one thing I can say for sure is, that most of them are very very fit. Awesome.
GCN team, what about bouldering?
I think it's the perfect counter-balance to cycling, as it focuses on upper body+core strength, which is exactly what cycling is lacking. On top of that, compared to dry & boring gym workouts, it's actually fun (well, if you like it). And on top of that, since you're already fairly skinny, you'll be good at it in no time. ;)
Fun episode. I'm a former amateur crossfitter and have recently gotten into cycling more now. If anyone here was looking for a serious test, they shouldn't have expected it. You're comparing 2 completely different types of athletes. Like comparing an Olympic swimmer to a powerlifter. Throw a crossfitter into a 100 mile ride, and they'll do alright, but the cyclist should win more times than not. Each athlete is fit in their own way, it just depends on parameters that each particular sport demands on them.
Also, already saw comments about "crossfit pull-ups and squats", the standard arguments of why crossfit it terrible. Makes me laugh. Crossfitters can also do normal pull-ups just as well, the butterfly is about efficiency though. But people like to hate, what can I say 🤷♂️
@brayan8346 It's clear you've never watched a crossfit competition before. Your comment is no different than the thousands of other crossfit haters coming from people who've never even lifted a weight in their life.
well said 👍
@@brayan8346definition (Webster): an exercise in which one hangs by the hands from a support (such as a horizontal bar) and pulls oneself up until the chin is level with the support
specifically : such an exercise done with the palms facing outward
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Do you see any mention of HOW you achieve the work? Hence: racing is not the same as training yet both are perfectly valid. Can you even do butterflies? If not, try it next time you are at the gym and post a video on how easy it is 😁😉
Whenever you guys do these matchups, you do them in a way that plays to the opponent's strengths. It's not a real comparison between cycling and body building, or CrossFit etc. Cycling involves, so often, long, fast rides up mountains. So make a crossfitter do a 50 mile ride up through the mountains and then we'll see who's fitter. That's a real test of aerobic fitness and power in cycling terms. Or do a 20km time trial, or both.
If you're going to do a CrossFit workout, you should do a real cycling workout.
i agree (as a Crossfit fan) a longer real bike ride would be cool. They should do the GCN hill test 😁 Also, an echo bike workout would very interesting
Interesting but do think the tests could have been designed in a way allow for better comparision.
1. The AMRAP workout should not include excercises where technique is a huge advantage. There is a lot of complains about the pullups Zack perform. I think they are just part of the crossfit world, but also something that Si are not capable of performing. Either swap excercise or restrict them to controlled pullups.
2. The bike test should end up with power output in some form, so we somehow can get a sense of W/kg
That’s a whole lot of half reps from the crossfitter
Wouldn't have passed muster at Superstars gym tests in the 1970's. Who else remembers Brian Jacks?
Bodybuilders do half reps too like Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler and other world class bodybuilders, you gonna complain about them too? There is a reason they do these this way.
@@rcmag13 Bodybuilders are not doing rep competitions, their goal is to look muscular and lean.
@@alexseguin5245 who cares!? They still do half reps, this wasn't really a competition and the biker was using a band, so he wasn't doing your so called "pullups" either. Many competitions of crossfit do the same type of pullup, that is the whole point, it is a more efficient version of the pullup but taxes the cardio system more and requires a higher level of skill.
@@alexseguin5245 to be fair, in an actual crossfit competition, his squats might not have counted, he wasn't going low enough from my view in the video, typically you have to pass parallel before the rep is counted. It isn't ATG because most people just don't have the mobility to go that low anyway unless they are super flexible in the hips
Much respect for Si pulling his shirt off 👏
Fun to watch
The cycling should have been based on a sportive, 120km and 2500 mtr of climbing. Mr crossfit would be in serious deep water and learn a hard lesson, which would have deflated his ego a bit. This would have been more representative of crossfit v cycling
Love this video! Zac is a legend and unbelievably fit! This video had me laughing as I could relate to Si so much and he took the ass whooping in great spirits!
Been doing CrossFit for 2 years, never felt or looked fitter. I lost 8kg and gained a lot of muscle mass. My 5km run time went from 30min50s to 23min. My heart rate doesn’t spike up anymore when I get on the bike so my Zone 2 rides are better than my (not always intentional) Zone 3-5 rides before I started CrossFit. I really don’t get all the hate, it’s a completely different sport with different objectives compared to cycling but they can work together very well if done right. It was very interesting to see the fitness comparison. I love both CrossFit and cycling and will keep doing both for as long as I can. Unless you’re really a pro cyclist and can’t afford any bit of upper body muscle because you want to compete at the very top, I guarantee that accessory training like CrossFit 2-3 a week will improve your rides substantially. A little bit more leg muscle and less belly fat could really help, too ;)
Fun to watch video! In Si's defense though both tests were anaerobic fitness ones, endurance sport magic happens when trying to push the body's aerobic fuel tank (that is practically limitless), to produce anaerobic power levels over long periods of time, if you can't beat them, bonk them...
Those butterfly pullups gives me eye cancer as I did some calisthenics before cycling. The pullup is such a great exersice for the latisimusdorsi and then you make it into a kipping exercise...
Exactly, I'd rather do a range of different sports and be decent than do crossfit. It's better at making you a well rounded athlete than crossfit just taking the worst parts of cardio and the worst parts of gym and calisthenics and combining it.
Quality video. Funny as 😂
Should get a XC-Skiier like Andrew Musgrave on. Unfortunately there are not loads of them in Somerset for some reason.
We can see what we can do! We think that's a great idea though 🙌
To be honest the gladiator's pull up are sh*t. To me a proper pull up is all the way up and all the way down to a passive hang. Definitely not the jerky movements you can see on the video. This is the crossfit/street workout cheat to get more reps for less effort.
The rest of the exercises are also not very impressive but pull ups are simply a joke. 😂
Yah, using momentum to do half the work for you isn't a "rep" as far as I'm concerned.
We where impressed 👀 We couldn't do it
@@gcnGood to know. I think people forget that Crossfit adapted moves so that they can do more volume. But Zack’s air squats wasn’t deep enough
This was definitely stacked in favor of CrossFit - you take the best CrossFit guy in Britain and put him up against a good cyclist, but one who isn't really in his full prime any more (by Si's own admissions). It would be interesting to see Zack up against a top ranked, world class cyclist in some real world head-to-head stuff. Sure, Zack would still crush it on certain workouts, but the cyclist would crush others, by an equally huge margin.
That floppy butterfly thing is not a pull up. ZERO REPS for Silverback Crossfit
I’d like to start a new fitness wave with something called FormFit, where CrossFit athletes actually perform each exercise with proper form… Suddenly, we find that the fittest on earth are not so fit! 10 proper, full hang pull-ups are at least 3 times harder than 10 kipping pull-ups. In all seriousness, CrossFit really should change its ways - everyone should be performing every exercise with good form to the proper degree, depth, etc. instead of just trying to smash times, reps, etc. otherwise you just invite injuries, especially for those who are just starting out and in the longer term for more experienced athletes and joint health.
As a crossfitter and cyclist I love reading comments of people who have no idea about a kipping pull up and its purpose. Remember Manon broke her foot from running (RUNNING!!) and said it’s because she was only cycling. Vary your fitness people and don’t throw stones at people on their fitness journeys. We’re all trying to be healthier.
We do have an idea about kipping pull ups, they're not actually pull-ups! We shouldn't make fun of people on their fitness journey but it's okay to make a joke about a guy full of steroids not doing pull-ups correctly.
@_Tp___ oh please, give it a rest!! Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house!!
Another dope with no idea!
@@martinius1234321 Lucky I don't live in a glass house and I can do actual pull-ups. Everyone who does weight lifting or calisthenics makes fun of crossfit pull-ups. That guy can clearly do a proper pull-up and chooses not to.
Кроссфитеры изобрели свою технику подтягивания и она довольно смешная :)
ZERO pullups counted for the crossfitter!
@gcn I would argue that cycling isn't one of the toughest sports on the planet. How can it be the toughest if you can compete the next day. Or even every day for a week or longer? In sports like say boxing you cannot compete the next day - maybe needing weeks or months or more for recovery.
With reference to boxing. It's not the fitness that's stopping them competing the next day. It's concussion and damage that needs to heal
@@johnnewman2472that is a bit of a strawman argument ….
Genuinely surprised about that ramp test!
I have been an avid cyclist for over 10 years and I have been doing CrossFit for about 6 years. Love this.
- A kipping pullup is a gymnastic movement. It is a generally a part of a progression from chin over bar, to chest to bar pullups to muscle ups. CrossFit does strict pullups as well and you can do Strict Cindy.
Injuries - I have never been injured from CrossFit. I have been crazy sore, but never injured. CrossFit sued the NSCA and won after the publication of a falsified injury report. There are lots of studies comparing injury rates in CrossFit to other sports. Overall rates of injury are equal or lower than most other sports although I believe shoulder injury is generally higher.
Doesn't the extra muscle weight slow you down on your bike?
@@baum7des7lebens7 I have certainly put on a little muscle but I don't have a body type or age to add lots of muscle. I'm just trying to be as healthy as I can be. Mostly, I have gotten leaner which helps my cycling.
I ride a bike because I love cycling. I do CrossFit for overall health and full body fitness.
Comic sans with fart noise for introducing Si - my respects to your editor 😂
We do very serious work here at GCN 😉
The problem is what metric are you using to measure fitness? Cyclists are great at riding bikes. Crossfitters are great at crossfit. The thing is crossfit as a sport is unbelievably lame. Also, that guy wasn't even doing real pull ups! His chin wasn't even clearing the bar!
Rep standards:
Arms locked out at the bottom of the rep: check
Chin above the bar: check
Squats fully locked out at the top and parallel at the bottom: check
It’s a sport and these are the rules. I guarantee that the CrossFit athlete can do perfect strict pull ups in the gym but it’s a race so why would he sacrifice time just to prove he can do them strict too. Plus butterfly pull ups are wayyyy harder than they look - many people who do CrossFit at an amateur level can do strict only and can’t yet string together butterfly pull ups.
Generally agree, but a lot of those push-ups and squats would be receiving no-reps at the CF gym I attend. Chest nowhere near the floor on a lot of the push-ups and squat depth not even hitting parallel. Sure, it’s a race + we’ve all missed reps, but come on…
Also, we have the same last name. Lmao.
The thing everyone ignores about butterfly pull ups is they use momentum to assist the movement. Lets have a think about weightlifting for a moment. For example the Clean and Jerk. Broken down, that's a deadlift, followed by a reverse bicep curl, and an overhead press. Olympic weightlifters do this all very quickly, providing the barbell with upwards momentum so they can get under the bar and then again so they can press it overhead.
Why is it ok for them to do it, but it's not ok for Crossfit to use momentum in pull ups?
The people complaining about the pull-ups are actually embarrassing themselves, showing that they don't actually know what the definition of a pullup is. I am a bit baffled that people still don't understand that there are different variation of pullups, like there are different variations of everything. How are people this ignorant? I mean, it can be forgiven when crossfit first came out because the variations were there but not quite main stream...but this is 2024...People that are complaining about it. Hey, there is a search engine called google, I know you have never heard of it, but you might want to try to use it before making comments. He was doing Butterfly Pullups, it is a variation of a pullup, just like a kipping pullup is a variation of a pullup, or a band assisted one is, or a strict pullup, or weighted, or one-arm....lol. A muscle up is a variation of a pullup as well. Crossfit didn't invent kipping, they just made them more common practice and for whatever reason people think they are so cool by commenting about them. Kipping is also used in gymnastics on certain movements.
No, the people commenting on the pull ups are normal people who can see that not one pull up was completed by that cross fit bloke. Pathetic. All roids and no technique
@@manwithnoname6580 lol. normal people is translation for ignorant people now? And now you are throwing out roids...lawl
@@manwithnoname6580 You still failed to search the definition of a pullup *facepalm and now you are accusing him of taking steroids, what's next?
Next version of this, the crossfit dude versus the best cycling has to offer. That would be an epic matchup.
Fun video. The fact that Si ran him so close on the bike a decade after retirement makes me think the title was kind of ceded to Crossfit though.
Hanks comments made it hard to watch with a straight face. I feel for Si having to fight breaking into a lough and a cross fitter simultaneously. Well done Si! :)
Fun video. It would be cool to see current pro vs. current pro.
The Tour De France is just about the corner 😉
A real comparison would be to put him on a bike and see how he does, not some machine bike. He was given to opportunity to show off his expertise and technique in his field, it's only fair if Si can do the same.
Si clearly won the cycling test if we're going by watts per kilo.
These famous crossfit "pullups"
*and yes, yet another reminder that crossfit is NOT a cult.
I cycle and do CrossFit and love both and each help towards fitness in different ways. My cycling is definitely better as a result. PS. Was Zack locking out his arms when doing his push ups???
Fun video! I do Crossfit and include some Zwifting and road cycling. I get bottom ranks in the 2.5-3.2 Watt/kg and Zack mentioned he'd get beat on a hill workout. GCN was being kind to the guest - Si knows he could win in a road race. Just like Zack didn't program the Diane Workout or DT for Si. However, I'm surprised by the hate on Crossfit and lack of education around fitness racing movement standards. The pullups were fine while the pushups and squats were shortened range of motion and mostly no reps, technically speaking (chest to ground and hip crease below parallel, respectively). Zack was emphasizing speed for show - he'd still get 20+ with perfect movement standards. Most cyclists would enjoy a bit of CrossFit in their training (rowing, running, bodyweight workouts) so give it a try 😄🙌 and please chill in the comments - we all love sports!
The fart introduction of Si was sooo wrong but I couldn’t help laugh so hard! 😂😂😂 Si is awesome! Ok, time to finish the rest of the video
Si obviously won.. the crossfitter didn't even do a single actual pullup did he?
I knew Zach would win even the cycling test. Only because of his fitness on a static stationary bike. Si would have the advantage on a real bike because I presume Zach doesn’t have the tactical capability to race against various environmental challenges on the road cyclists face.
I think there should be a second race on a real bike between Si VS Zach again.
Still an interesting and fun video
It is under appreciated that fitness is event specific
I've never understood, the point of crossfit pull-up. Is it only just for numbers, or does it actually have any benefits over full range.
Butterfly pull-ups are for speed in competition, he will be doing a lot of struck work too.
My Cindy time is 5 minutes, as in i made it to 5:00 before i was laughing so hard at Zacks "pullups" before tapping out 😂
Butterfly pull up? WTF? You'll regret those by the age of 45.
Not sure why everybody's complaining about things like form for the pull-ups. This is a race. The object is to go from elbows locked out to chin above the bar as quickly as possible. How you do it is irrelevant, except for those two factors.