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January 26th WOD

Last modified on 2012-01-27 01:43:18 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

3 x 5 press

then…

9-7-5
thrusters @ 85%
ring push-ups

Frequency

Last modified on 2012-01-25 17:52:55 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

There are some fundamental truths about exercise that cannot be ignored.  Today I am referring to the truth related to training frequency.  If you do CrossFit once a week, or less, you are getting absolutely no benefit from it.  You can argue the point all you want, but you will not improve your work capacity across broad time and modal domains with that training frequency.  You would do just as well to take up knitting to lose fat and build muscle.

Our general prescription is to do CrossFit four to six times a week as your basic training regime.  This schedule will keep you in top shape for any sports or activities you may participate in or it will keep you in excellent general physical condition if you aren’t playing any sports.  This prescription doesn’t work for everyone though and we understand that.  Some people don’t have the time to come in more than three times a week and some athletes can only do twice a week during their season due to games and practices.  The key point in that they are in at least twice a week to maintain the level of fitness they’ve achieved.

Our goal is not to have thousands of clients who come in sporadically and don’t get results. Our goal is to get results for the clients that we do have.  If you want to get those results, you need to train frequently.  Learn the proper technique for all of the lifts, add weight.  Learn how to do all of the gymnastic movements and do more reps.  Take shorter breaks, go faster.  Nobody ever achieved greatness by doing the minimum requirement.  If you want to improve, commit.

Last modified on 2012-01-20 14:59:46 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Form and Intensity

By now, everyone knows that CrossFit is all about performing functional movements at high intensity, the message is everywhere.  Intensity is great. It is why people get great results with CrossFit.  When you push yourself as hard as you can, you get positive adaptation (ie. you get better, faster and stronger).  There are times though when we aren’t looking for intensity.  When you are learning a movement the last thing you want to do is 100 reps as fast as you can.

Form has to come first.  You need to understand how to perform movements properly (safely and effectively) before you try to add intensity into the mix.  How long it takes varies from person to person but if you can’t perform the movement properly at low intensity, doing it at high intensity is a recipe for disaster.  To put it another way: Good form + Intensity = Results where Poor form + Intensity = Injury.

When you work out at high intensity, form inevitably breaks down.  Some argue that this means having good form at the start doesn’t matter.  They think that you should just go as hard as you can and lift as heavy as you can right from the outset.  At our gym, that way of thinking is wrong on many levels.  The better your form is when you start, the better it will be when you finish.  If you are doing kipping pull-ups in a workout and you are starting by massively loading the shoulder in a bad position, eventually you will end up with shoulder problems.  If you start with good shoulder position and a tight kip that doesn’t hyper-extend the shoulder you are much more likely to keep your shoulders healthy even if you start to lose position towards the end of the workout.

The next time you’re in, remember, if your coach tells you to slow down and focus on your form, they are not doing that because they want to ruin your time or your work-out.  They are doing it to keep you from getting injured so you can continue to train and improve.  Healthy athletes get better, injured athletes get nowhere.

Results

Last modified on 2011-12-13 18:42:54 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

People spend a lot of time wishing they got the results they wanted.  Results are a direct reflection of effort.  Instead of wishing that you had done something or that you would have gotten better results from what you did, figure out what you need to do to get the results you want and then do it.