While scanning over articles posted on the CrossFit Games website, one titled, Doug Chapman’s Thoughts on Virtuosity and Coaching, really caught my attention. Doug Chapman is a coach at CrossFit Ann Arbor and coach of CrossFit Games bound athlete Julie Foucher. He shares his experience coaching a Games level athlete as well as his observations while judging at the Regionals and Games levels. Throughout the article he tries to answer why a select few athletes have the work capacity and tools to be successful in any competition and why others fall short.

He first discusses virtuosity vs the no rep. He has seen that the top athletes complete each movement the exact same way every time, almost making it difficult to keep up with the rep count. These athletes train with “uncompromising attention to detail everyday.” Virtuosity is achieved through practically perfect movements even during practice so that great form becomes muscle memory, almost automatic. Athletes consistently getting no reps are a result of not meeting the standard for movements during training. If you do a movement wrong or don’t complete the movement on a regular basis, you sure aren’t going to do it correctly every time in competition.

He then moves on to movement standards. The first part of this segment I don’t entirely agree with. He believes that the low bar back squat does not serve the needs of the CrossFit athlete because it does not encourage complete range of motion and leaves the athlete leaning forward at the bottom of the squat. However, if you and your coach are diligent about getting to full depth using low bar back squat it is extremely useful for strengthening your posterior chain. Again, regardless of whether you do high bar or low bar back squat, it’s still about achieving full range of motion while maintaining the correct body position. However his point in all of this is a good one, push athletes to have good form and achieve full range of motion before adding weights and completing work outs “as RX’d.” This is something that the trainers here are very strict about, and obviously for good reason.

In the last section, coach Doug discusses programming. He has noticed that athletes at the top have no glaring weaknesses, they find themselves at the top of the leaderboard regardless of the type of work out (short, long, heavy, body weight focused, etc). It is the job of the trainers to come up with balanced programming to build athletes as evenly as possible in all areas (see Ruth’s post from earlier this week on this exact topic). It’s your job as an athlete to know where you are unbalanced and put in the effort to minimize your weaknesses and expand your strengths with the guidance of your coaches. Overall, an athlete who practices movements with full range of motion, good mechanics and is well rounded with no obvious weaknesses will come out on top.

Doug goes into a lot more detail in his article and has some great words of wisdom that can’t easily be paraphrased. While his advice in this article is primarily directed toward coaching in this article, it is easy to see where the responsibility for virtuosity in training also falls on the athlete. Also, take the time to re-read Ruth’s article on The Pursuit of Virtuosity. It’s an important topic that should be at the front of your mind when you come in to train everyday.

WOD 6.14.12

Skills Day

Happy Birthday Tina B.! Tina has been kicking butt in the morning sessions!

After reading Ruth’s Quality Control post from last Friday, I felt I should go a step further and discuss how we should approach our movement training.  Movement training is something that we stress, especially with beginners, but oftentimes we neglect cleaning up our movements because, honestly it can be kind of boring and slow.  Far less appealing than the allure of lifting a bar loaded with weight or the rush that draws many towards the “sexy met-con.”  In Gray Cook’s book entitled Movement, he discusses trainees’ mindset in the early days of weight training and how squatting was approached, saying that they, “took time to learn to squat properly with full range, balance, and control.  They developed a strength platform built on a good squat pattern,…”(p.192).  Three things stand out to me in his statement:  the elements of time, skill, and strength.  Time is necessary to learn, refine, and perfect a movement pattern.  Skill is required to maintain balance and control through the entire range of motion.  Finally, once one has taken the time to build a consistently good pattern, we start to add more resistance and develop strength.  The sequence is no accident, and is how we pattern our coaching here at Intrepid.  So how can you begin to work on correcting limited movement pattern?  According to Gray Cook here’s how we should address improving our movement:

1. Focus first on mobility.  We can’t expect to squat to full depth or press weight overhead if our mobility restricts us from attaining those positions without using any weight.  Mobilitywod.com is a great resource and I’d recommend searching your mobility issues here for ideas.
2. Second, we need to address stability.  Stability targets postural control of starting and ending positions.  Its focus is on fine-tuned control, not brute force.  For many athletes, poor pelvic stability has as much to do with not squatting to full depth as having tight hip musculature.  These drills require a bit more finesse and often require an extra set of eyes or a mirror so you can see yourself.
3. Finally, after mobility issues have been resolved and stability has been attained, the focus can then shift to movement pattern retraining.  Here we are working the coordination and timing needed to redevelopment the movement pattern.

It’s not a smart use of time or worth the wear and tear you’ll endure if you overlook or ignore the skill of the movement in order to load up and lift heavy.  Whether you’re caressing your ego or claiming ignorance, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re indeed serious about your training and development.  Squatting to partial depth or elevating the heels to attain full depth squats are meant to be temporary accommodations, not permanent solutions.  Understand that unless we address the your soft tissue restrictions, joint mobility dysfunction, and/or your stability and motor control issues we’re avoiding the root issues keeping you from enjoying the freedom of full movement.  Respect movement enough to recognize when your limited or when a coach points a limitation out to you.  Work on correcting the issue with the approach outlined above:  mobility, stability, pattern retraining (which often takes time depending on how limited you are).  Very few things in life are given to us, and movement is no different…you’ve gotta earn it.  Some are working to the earn the ability to squat to full depth, while others are earning the opportunity to go heavier in weights by showing they can maintain range of motion, control, and balance at the current weight they’re lifting. Either way the moral of the story is that you have to earn it.

Order’s for Steve’s Original products are due by Thursday night (June 7th). Grab an order form in the gym or email us what you’d like to purchase.

WOD 6.06.12

Front Squat 4×3

5 Rounds for Time:
6 Jerks
12 Pistols
18 Sit Ups

Whole 9 recently did a series of posts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) asking 12 fitness professionals from different specialties a question: “If you could only perform five exercise movements for the rest of your life, which five would you do?”  The assumption was that they were training for overall fitness (much like we do here at Intrepid) and not one specific sport.

The answers they came up with, although somewhat different on paper, all had striking similarities in function.  For example, most were multi-joint movements and involved moving large loads long distances.  When we program workouts at Intrepid, we try to incorporate pulling, pushing, and overhead movements, as well as hip opening and hip closing movements.  During the course of a week, we try to vary the intensity, lengths, and styles (AMRAP, interval, or Rounds for time) of the workouts.  During the course of the month, we try to hit most of the skill based movements at least twice (pistols, muscle ups, double unders, etc).

So I pose the same question to you guys.  If you only had 5 movements to choose from for the rest of your life, which would you choose?  Be objective.  It’s ok to favor certain lifts or movements, but think about what will make you most well rounded.  You can be specific or somewhat general.  Keep in mind though, while there are no wrong choices, sometimes there are better choices.

Post your answers to comments, and then check out what 12 fitness experts said here Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Happy birthday to Kris today! (Also camera shy)

WOD 5.01.12

Snatch 2-2-2

3 Rounds:
10 Hang Power Snatches
50 Double Unders

Today, a short film posted below inspires us to make the make the most with what we’ve got, make time to experience the world and our fellow human beings, and above all else…make our time on this planet count.

WOD 4.21.12

AMRAP 15:
2 Hang Power Snatches
3 Overhead Squats
4 Strict Pullups
200m Run

Ruth and I fell in love with coaching because in small groups we witnessed the amazing progress of every athlete and the bonds built between classmates as they struggled through heavy lifts, grueling met-cons, and the thrill of coming out on top every time with each other’s support.  As coaches we prioritize and divide our attention on a lot of things depending on the class size, the workout of the day, and the athletes in attendance.  We do our best to encourage and push you but oftentimes it really hits home when we hear it from our peers. There’s nothing like an encouraging word from the person next to you between stations, as you pass one another on a run, when you see each other struggling, when you see other hitting their “wall”. This is where we rely on our peers, those busting their asses to our right and left, to help us get the spark we need to grind through the next 5 burpees, the next set of back squats, the next 400m run, or whatever it is that lies ahead of you when you fell like you’ve hit your wall.  We all reach that point sometime where we fall vulnerable to the voice in the back of our heads questioning what the hell we’re doing to ourselves, holding us back, and keeping us from our true potential.  It is important that everyone have another voice, the voice of a classmate or coach to encourage, support, and help one another push through, keep moving, and challenge their mental and physical limits.

It’s this supportive atmosphere that often characterizes “small gyms” since everyone has a familiarity with one another and with the coaching staff. New faces come through our doors everyday but one of the first things they notice is our “small gym” vibe where everyone is friendly and supportive, and let’s do our best to keep it that way. As our gym family continues to grow, it ultimately comes down to everyone doing their part to maintain our “small gym” vibe that can only be described as the X-factor that separates Intrepid from “globo” gyms and other run-of-the-mill CrossFit boxes to make this a fun and inspiring place to be.

WOD 4.11.12

Back Squat 3×5/Wendler

3 Rounds for Time:
20 Goblet Lunges
5 Handstand Pushups (HSPU)
40 Double Unders
5 HSPUs

In light of the recent boom in CrossFit’s popularity and the competitions that have been arising, I think it’s necessary to take a step back and look at the big picture.  CrossFit’s model and formula for increased work capacity across broad and modal domains is indeed effective and has created tight-knit communities of individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle.  However, sometimes the goals are lost in translation when the focus turns to WOD til you puke, push through the pain, throw more weights on the bar  mentality.

Physical therapists, doctors, and chiropractors alike have enjoyed an increase in business since numerous CrossFit boxes have sprouted up in the last years.  Does this mean that I’m saying CrossFit is dangerous?  Perhaps in its application, but not if the athletes are willing to recognize that fitness is a journey and to respect their bodies while in this pursuit.  For most people, however, proper lifting only exposes injuries, imbalances, and postural issues developed over a lifetime that didn’t need to be addressed until they made it a personal goal to lift heavy weights.  In these cases, I find that those ‘doctor visits’ are rather beneficial and can prevent major injuries down the line.

The purpose of a WOD is exercise.  The goals of which are:

• building strength (and to reduce injuries by building stronger bones, muscles, and connective tissue)
• reinforcing your body’s ability to adapt and recover
• building neural adaptation and ‘practicing’ good movement
• to push to the limit of your physical and mental boundaries
• but most importantly: to be able to come back the next day and do it all again!

The purpose of a WOD is NOT:

As a beginner your main goals are to:

• ‘bank’ good muscle memory and perfect your movement
• identify any mobility issues, muscle imbalances, or weaknesses and prehabilitate to prevent future injury
• get to know yourself as an athlete.  What are your physical and mental boundaries?  How hard can you push yourself in a 2, 5, 15, 30 minute workout? Where do you reach muscle failure in pull up/push up reps, how fast can you recover both within a workout and in the days after?
• increase body awareness
• seek out resources and learn about the importance of nutrition, recovery, and sleep.

As an intermediate athlete:

• be even more conscious of form as now your weights are getting heavier
• have the discipline to employ proper recover techniques (foam rolling, stretching, ice bathes, etc)
• know the difference between sore, overtrained, and injured and be smart enough to scale when necessary
• to improve skillwork and work  your weaknesses during active rest days or before/after workouts
• work to become a balanced athlete (strength, speed, skill, endurance, work capacity)
• continue with prehabilitative movements as you transition to an advanced athlete
• push your ability to recover during and after workouts

As an advanced athlete:

• have a dialed-in routine in workouts and competitions (when/what to eat, sleep,visualization, mental preparation, and recovery for multi WOD days)
• increase work capacity
• fine tune technique and be consistent in your lifts
• know exactly what your body is capable of,  recognize signs of neural or physical fatigue, and adapt your training appropriately (ie you didn’t get much sleep and your snatches are sluggish and clumsy.  Instead of pushing through it and getting hurt, know how much to back off on the lift and metcon in order to maximize your training for that day)
• seek out and play new sports *

**This doesn’t mean beginner and intermediate athletes shouldn’t play new sports, but they should remember that what they are learning in the gym is  essentially a new sport in itself.**

WOD 03.13.12

Bench Press 3×5 or Wendler

AMRAP 4:
7 Ring Push Ups
11 Med Ball Sit Up Toss
15 Double Unders

Rest 2 Minutes. Repeat.

In a word, maybe. Many of you have heard this from friends when you tell them about CrossFit. Some will talk about articles they’ve read about rhabdo and other such injuries. The truth is that CrossFit’s methodology is incredibly effective in achieving GPP when executed correctly. But, in all athletic activities where the challenge is intense physically and mentally, there is an element of danger.

CrossFit WODs are often referred to as intense. CrossFit defines intensity as going as fast and hard as you physically AND mentally can. Although for some, describing Fran as intense may be a ridiculous understatement, but the definition still applies. There are innumerable factors that factor into a WOD such as:

• the athlete’s current and past fitness level, tenacity, and ego
• the trainers’ experience, knowledge, and ego
• the athlete’s sleep, diet, and recovery
• the wod’s movements, loading, reps, and intensity
• the previous day’s wod’s movements, loading, etc
• the environment’s temperature, humidity, and altitude

Most of the serious injuries that have come out of CrossFit occur with athletes who have an incredible tolerance for pain and have pushed the mental envelope to its limits in the past. Their bodies are in decent shape, but their minds remember how to push as if they are the finely tuned athletes they were a few years back. The mind, then is both a beautiful and dangerous thing. It’s then the coach’s job to scale back this athlete’s reps, weights, and sets until his body catches up with his mind.

Other times injuries occur from weaknesses and inflexibilities that have accumulated over the years that prevent us from performing the functional movements our bodies were meant to. Here, it’s up to the coach to identify the mobility issues, scale back (or sub) necessary movements until the athlete is capable of performing these lifts safely.

I’ve also seen people suffer through a WOD and look like roadkill afterwards (ok, MORE like roadkill than usual) only to tell me they slept two hours or haven’t eaten all day. Here, it’s the athlete’s job to keep the coach informed about their condition. There is merit to training for the unknown and the unknowable, but there is also stupidity in trying to throw heavy weight around when you are not physically OR mentally capable of it. So, embrace the suck but do so intelligently. There is a time and a place for bootcamp style training, but not while snatching your bodyweight.

Hopefully this helps you when your friends try to quote numerous articles about the dangers of CrossFit. Long story short (too late), CrossFit is only dangerous if the coach or athlete acts irresponsibly or without regard for the athlete’s long term health and wellness. We as CrossFitters poke fun at ‘globo gyms’ but our culture has sprouted a new breed of “CrossFit globos” where shredded hands are a badge of honor, where Rx’d is a religion, and where form and safety are traded for seconds shaved off their girl WODs.

It is an athlete’s responsibility to find a coach (in CrossFit or any sport) who knows the importance of scaling, recognizes athletes’ limitations and strengths (especially if those strengths become limitations), cares about the athletes’ longevity beyond the immediate future, and maintains an open line of communication with their athletes. Trying to wrench your body through movements or under loads that you’re not prepared for is dangerous and so is a coach that permits and/or encourages it.

WOD 01.17.12

Barbara5rds:

• 20 Pull Ups
• 30 Push Ups
• 40 Sit Ups
• 50 Squats

35 Minute Cap

For all the Intrepids going strong on the Whole 30, Congratulations! You’ve made it through two weeks and the food logs are looking pretty good. I’ve already seen impressive gains with your pullups and am looking forward to the end of the challenge to see how everyone does.  Keep up the great work guys and gals!

If this is your first rodeo, folks around you might be wondering why you’ve been eating differently lately.  And I know you have done your research reading our various Nutrition posts and don’t mind discussing with others, but if you’re like me I can only go into it so many times before I’m simply tired of hearing myself talk and debating with others. Here’s a simple video I recently posted on CrossFit Inland Valley’s blog that does a nice job breaking down the logic behind much of the “why” behind our nutritional recommendations and is simple enough so just about anyone can get the gist of it.

Next time someone is curious about your new eating habits simply tell them you’ll forward them a video link and viola, you’re back to enjoying your meal and going about your day. Not to say you shouldn’t share your new found knowledge and success with those around you, oftentimes folks are attracted to the new “shiny” and then quickly on to something else. Only those that are seriously interested may revisit you with some questions, but at least it helps filter out those simply attracted to the “shiny”.

WOD 1.14.12

In Teams:
Each team member must complete the following movements. All the reps from one category must be completed before moving on to the next.

3 40yrd Prowler Runs
4 150yd Sandbag Sprints
20 Tire Flips
40 Wallball Shots

A few months down the line, those same athletes have gained ‘enough’ proficiency to complete 30 clean and jerks in a WOD and the pursuit shifts from technical proficiency to beating their friends’ WOD times. The lure of the Stopwatch Siren is hard to resist and it’s all too tempting to just get ‘er done. The problem with this mentality (besides really ugly lifts and the huge potential for injury) is the Stopwatch Siren will fail you. If you are complacent and stop improving your movements, you will have capped your potential. Your PRs will plateau and eventually decline.

I won’t lie. It’s hard when you’ve done the lifts hundreds of times and your muscle memory tells you to go through the motions. Your warm up sets are just extra work and you don’t even turn your brain on to do them. In fact, they’re sloppy most of the time because ‘it doesn’t count’ until the work set, right? However, your warm up sets are the perfect time to make sure your form is perfect. An Olympic level lifter can snatch an empty bar and his 1RM and the form would look exactly the same. He doesn’t ‘need the weight’ to have perfect form.

However long you have been CrossFitting, whatever your level as an athlete (or coach), however heavy your deadlift is, do not lose that determination you had as a beginner. Make each lift better than your last. Call a trainer over to watch your lift and give you feedback. Come in on Thursdays and use those last 15 minutes of class to work on it. Never stop pursuing virtuosity, and I promise your results will show for it.

WOD 12.13.11

Box Squat 8×3

4 rounds of:

• 12 Pistols
• Broad Jump 20m
• 6 Handstand Push Ups (or Sub heavy presses)
• Bear Crawl 20m

With CrossFit gaining more and more momentum now that the 2011 CF Games are being aired on ESPN2, have you ever wondered how it all got started? The CrossFit Journal sat in on Coach Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, as he was being interviewed. In this video he goes into how he came to his realization on why building work capacity across broad time and modal domains might prove more beneficial than specializing solely in one specific area. He also goes into how and why he began training athletes in groups, and his answers are surprising, yet very common sense. You do not need a CrossFit Journal account to view the video of his interview, but you should really consider getting a subscription because the material is top notch and very relevant to what we do everyday at Intrepid.  Interesting to hear about the evolution of CrossFit from how it began in a small Santa Cruz gym and to see where it is toay with affiliated gym worldwide and competitions being televised on national television.

REMINDER: The 9am and 10am classes have been cancelled and have been replaced with a 9:30am class. If you can’t make it in to workout then come out and support your fellow Intrepids as they take on the Manhattan Beach 10K this morning.

WOD 10.01.11

In teams of 2:
Run 400m for time
Rest 5 mins
then…
2 Rounds of each:
1 min stations w/ 1 min rest b/n each station
Wallball Shots
Rope Climb
Burpees
Slam Ball
Med Ball Toss Situps