Like it or not, us triathletes operate in a fairly narrow, specialised range. Our training is designed to move us through the swim, run and ride in the most efficient way possible. If you're training for Ironman 70.3 or Ironman events, you may not even be worried about how fast you cover the ground, concentrating on just building the endurance necessary to simply survive 12 or so hours of torture.
An unfortunate side effect of this concentration on covering miles and building volume is the loss of speed, and in some cases strength. No matter how far you run or ride, you may very well finding your performance plateauing as your body adapts to the consistent running, cycling and swimming. Adding more volume can often just lead to overuse injuries.
A relatively new, and increasingly popular, addition to many triathletes training regime is CrossFit. Designed to increase conditioning and strength, CrossFit's combination of weight lifting, resistance and explosive movements can help stagnating endurance athletes get faster and stronger without compromising their ability to "go long".
As a busy person, I can appreciate the real benefits to my performance that are packed into a short CrossFit session. Most of the "real" training that I do involves a two-three hour time commitment that is not always possible in a modern professional's life. An intense, blistering circuit of exercises could be just the thing that I, and many others, need to spice up a mundane training regimen.
Staying healthy is an additional benefit of CrossFit to endurance athletes. A focus on core strength and whole body conditioning add not only stability and improved posture, but also help to prevent injuries that often result from the body's response to a weak core. Back, lower leg and other common triathlete injuries can be avoided through an improvement in core strength. Strengthened back and shoulder muscles aid in swimming, cycling and obviously in the run leg of any event.
If you are constantly getting injured, trying to get faster, or just looking for a bit of variety in your training, maybe you should look into CrossFit.
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