Interesting question

I've been following a post on tracker in which someone asks whether BFL rewards muscularity or overall fitness. It's an interesting question. I think it's clear that the BFL contest tries to crown winners that make the biggest physical and emotional transformations. I think an improved state of fitness is a by-product of a BFL style bodily transformation. That being said, I do think it is possible to be champion material and still fall well short of your potential as it relates to overall fitness. This is particularly true if the exercises you most often do are isolation exercises rather than compound exercises. If you do not push yourself hard enough on your cardio or vary what you're doing for it, you will also limit your overall levels of fitness. Don't forget that the BFL workout has its basis in bodybuilding. In bodybuilding, asthetics rule, not athletic performance.

Personally, I tend to agree with the definition of fitness as described by crossfit:

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-download/CFJ-trial.pdf

Combining compound movement weight training/gymnastic movements with Crossfit style metabolic conditioning that challenges both the upper and lower body during a workout will lead you to a much higher level of overall fitness than the as prescribed BFL plan. This doesn't mean there is anything wrong with BFL. In fact, adherence to the plan will yield a level of fitness that surpasses most people in your age group. What you won't do is approach an elite level of fitness performing BFL alone, especially if you do a lot of isolation work or machine work. Sorry. It just isn't going to happen. That doesn't make it a bad program. It just has its limits.

BTW, today I added the Crossfit WOD to my LBWO. It was seven sets of 3 reps Hang Squat Clean. This is a perfect example of what I mean. The drive to move the weight up begins in the legs and hips, the traps get involved, and then the quads, hammies and glutes as you drop under the bar, stop its downward motion, and perform a front squat to complete the sequence. It takes some getting used to, and is a very explosive movement. This is the type of thing you'll NEVER encounter in a BFL workout. Workouts like this build your body for performance. Asthetics will follow.