Send us a text If Snatch > 65% Back Squat , just get stronger. No full Olympic lifts until absolute strength improves. If Snatch < 55% Back Squat , you need to practice Olympic lifting at low loads and high volumes often. If Snatch is 55-65% Back Squat . Look at your strength:weight ratio. If Back Squat is <2.25x Bodyweight, get stronger. If Back Squat is >2.25x Bodyweight, you’re already quite strong. You may be able to see a similar performance increase with less effort by prioriti...
May 09, 2024•10 min
Send us a text These Events are a lot more “game-y” and entertaining than Quarterfinals. The tradeoff is that they are more exciting to watch but there will also be less separation, making it partly a test of fitness and partly a spectator sport. Event 1 5 Rounds for Time 800m Run 10 Clean and Jerks @185/125 Time Cap: 30 Minutes 4k Run = 15+ Minutes 50 C+J = 3+ Minutes This is a running event. Assault Runner will favor larger athletes. Posterior chain hot from this. This will be about running pa...
May 07, 2024•20 min
Send us a text For those who Quarterfinal Workout 3 was significantly lower than their other scores. 1. You need to get stronger in your strict press, close grip bench, weighted pullup and rope grip pulling. The gymnastics reps in CrossFit are very high percentage contractions. Even for a strong person, a rope grip pullup is tough. This means that the best way to improve your muscle endurance is to get stronger. These 4 exercises ensure you’re getting stronger in the movement patterns and muscle...
May 02, 2024•12 min
Send us a text Start with the lowest hanging fruit Look at your results from the Open and/or Quarterfinals. This Quarterfinals was great because the programming prioritized distinct attributes in each test. And there was good separation in each test. So it wasn’t about execution, there were real limiters in every test. Look at your scores. 1. Your scores are pretty balanced. Time to get strong. 2. You have one score that was significantly lower than the rest. Find your lowest score. If 2 was you...
Apr 30, 2024•16 min
Send us a text 1. Lifters 2. Training Shoes 3. Versalifts 4. Straps 5. Runners 6. Grips 7. Tape 8. Synthetic Belt 9. Knee Sleeves 10. Clothing My picks: Lifter TYR L-1 https://www.amazon.com/TYR-L189-Lifter-BLK-Gold/dp/B0CFPL1T1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1W6H4TRUHC3XS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9JnoXy-UtB6BzqRUrTCmim9TkmGYYOifoMbi9SaeEbbj8sqEiZvIdawO8pecqyO-fX7ohHEHS464Pje-MH2PzSBAP5Cmj80ZuT9bG-DgLUzJa1rXX623jtggX8ihUTtrbgcIrj_iWYgirJ97vLJft6Z_zqFm7cn1vwh_Xo9KqQQky-M1gHJn1Ojjh4FsmdyJnw2JfT_quOZ2Nu_veBY47STgmP4...
Apr 18, 2024•16 min
Send us a text Love these tests. Love the movement selection. Love the length. More separation and less execution-dependent than previous years. Order Prioritize 1 and 2. Earlier submission window. More room for error with pacing, longer, possibly more room to improve your score with a redo. Workout 1 Rest is gonna bait people. Imagine this is written as a “16 Minute AMRAP.” Or 12. 3:1 Work:Rest not enough to effect pacing that much. Row cals accumulate faster than snatches and box step ups – ai...
Apr 17, 2024•15 min
Send us a text Abusive Notion #1 If I stop training full tilt for a week, I’ll lose fitness. Truth #1 3-10 days is not enough time for detraining to occur. Abusive Notion #2 Tapering doesn’t do anything. Truth #2 Tapering helps you perform better. Evidence suggests 1-3% better in endurance sports. 1. Fresher – lower fatigue while maintaining fitness 2. Time for aches and pains to go away – less restraint when it’s time to compete How to Taper 3-10 days Half the volume always Half the intensity s...
Apr 16, 2024•8 min
Send us a text A common cause for lack of progress is prioritizing conditioning at the expense of strength and skill. This results in a few negative outcomes: 1. Not strong enough because of the Concurrent Training Effect 2. Mobility never gets addressed 3. Too much high intensity conditioning leads to central fatigue and burnout Instead, prioritize strength and skill first. Here's how: 1. Train with the Minimum Effective Volume of strength and hypertrophy ~3–6 top sets of 1–5 repetitions each w...
Apr 11, 2024•14 min
Send us a text Stimulus to Fatigue Ratio (SFR) in Fitness Sport Three Types of Stimulus 1. Strength Mechanisms: Recruit more motor units Inhibit GTO Hypertrophy Outcomes: Can handle larger loads without encountering the muscles inability to supply the necessary force All movements in that pattern require a lower % of 1RM Contractions become more repeatable Examples: Top sets, accessory work 2. Conditioning Mechanisms: Increase rate of metabolite clearance Increase metabolite tolerance (if high i...
Apr 09, 2024•13 min
Send us a text Muscle endurance is the ability to repeatedly apply submaximal force , and it is directly tested in CrossFit in a variety of combinations and movement patterns. Maximal strength appears to have significant predictive power over muscle endurance above 40% of 1RM. This was demonstrated in a study that compared bench press 1RM to the results of a muscle endurance test. Performance in the muscle endurance test depended on maximal strength , bodyweight and maximum absolute power. The r...
Apr 04, 2024•10 min
Send us a text The fatigue mechanisms that produce exhaustion depend on the exercise intensity. Exercise Intensity Domains Moderate – below lactate threshold Heavy – above lactate threshold, below critical power Severe – above critical power Almost everything you do in CrossFit occurs in the severe intensity domain. Below critical power, there are stable levels of muscle PCr, blood lactate and VO2. Above critical power, you’ll deplete PCr and progress towards your maximum lactate tolerance and V...
Apr 02, 2024•9 min
Send us a text Previous studies that demonstrated the efficacy of low load resistance training were on less trained subjects , not elite athletes. Until recently, the proposed explanation for these findings was neuronal adaptation common among novices. This was a preliminary study that sought to test this training methodology with elite athletes. 18 Elite Korean Weightlifters trained 3x a week over 8 Weeks in one of three groups: Light – 30-60% 1RM Heavy – 60-90% 1RM Blended Back Squat 1RM, Isom...
Mar 28, 2024•11 min
Send us a text KEY TAKEAWAYS Individualization = Quality The individual is a key variable in the dose-response equation, whether that dose is training, nutrition or recovery Control your Intensity Maintain your composure in training Trend #1: Increase in training volume Increase in training volume over a career, mainly through an increase in the amount of low intensity training. Modern athletes are tolerating higher training volumes than previously recorded. 500-900 hours per year 9-17 hours/wee...
Mar 26, 2024•14 min
Send us a text Minimum Effective Dose for Strength Why this is important for CrossFitters: CF athletes often have multiple training priorities and a concurrent training approach. Knowing minimum effective doses allows athletes and coaches to maximize the return (gains) on energy expenditure (effort). Effort is the input, gains are the output. MED is the minimum training dose to produce meaningful gains. MEDs can maximize gains in a few ways: 1. MEDs leave more energy expenditure for other traini...
Mar 21, 2024•11 min
Send us a text CONCURRENT TRAINING REVIEW Strength – adaptations to resistance training that include hypertrophy, maximal strength and power Endurance – adaptations to endurance training that include aerobic endurance and capacity; define CT High Intensity – Training Zone 3, above LT2 aka the anaerobic threshold Low Intensity – Training Zone 1 or 2, below LT2 aka the anaerobic threshold VOLUME The less you do, the less you attenuate. Low intensity – 45 minutes, low glycogen, energy deficit can a...
Mar 19, 2024•22 min
Send us a text Modern, elite endurance athletes perform ~80% of their training at low intensity and ~20% at higher intensity. It has not always been this way. This training intensity distribution appears to have increased in popularity each decade. The % of training at low intensity has increased. Defining the terms LT1 is the lowest exercise intensity at which there is a measurable increase in blood lactate concentration, compared to resting lactate concentrations. LT1 is not really a threshold...
Mar 16, 2024•12 min
Send us a text Metabolism in Fitness Sport 1. Energy Contribution 3 pathways To what extent are each of the three energy pathways active? Intensity and duration dictate energy contribution from the three pathways. Fitness sport is often supramaximal in intensity: -the task is only sustainable for a brief period -the task requires anaerobic metabolism Duration is tricky – because it’s constant work:rest scenarios – “12 minutes” is a misnomer – even a single wall ball is it’s own work:rest scenari...
Mar 12, 2024•13 min
Send us a text DIETARY PATTERNS FOR CROSSFIT ATHLETES Carbs are king Primary fuel substrates in CrossFit – blood sugar and muscle glycogen Protein functions as the building block for muscle mass - between lean body mass and bodyweight in g/lb per day Fat functions mainly as hormonal support as opposed to upping intramuscular triglycerides as for endurance athletes - .3-.5 g/lb per day Replenishing blood sugar and muscle glycogen by eating carbs seems to be of utmost importance to the dietary pat...
Mar 07, 2024•13 min
Send us a text 2024 QUARTERFINALS PREP The Open does not matter. QUARTERFINALS 6 days instead of 4 Overall Higher tension requirement than Open – strength increases in value Higher density than Open - more bottlenecks, more grouping of scores Both of these have lead to lower work rates than Open Commonly tested movements (for most of these hit 2x per week): Rope Climb GHD Sit-Up HSPU/Strict HSPU/WFHSPU Battery + Box Jump Total/max or near-max contraction Row Dumbbell Overhead Lunge/Carry/Shoulde...
Mar 05, 2024•19 min
Send us a text Almost everything you do in CF is physiologically sustainable only for short durations 30 UB muscle ups = 90 seconds 150 UB WB = 5 minutes The movements have one pace – and that pace is above critical power – unlike endurance modalities where the pace can shift above and below critical power Critical Power - the physiological term for the separation point between sustainable and unsustainable work In CrossFit, athletes must use constant work:rest scenarios in order to complete the...
Feb 29, 2024•13 min
Send us a text Intensity Distribution in Training for Fitness Athletes Extensive-Intensive is a continuum to be managed in training. The further from competition, the more extensive the training. The closer to competition, the more intensive the training. Energy expenditure is the number one way to understand extensive to intensive The reduction in energy expenditure is one of the mechanisms that allows for more intensity If you are not prepared for the volume of the event, then do not expect to...
Feb 27, 2024•11 min
Send us a text Base Training for Fitness Athletes I have met loads of fitness athletes who... do loads of competing . Then they wonder why they've been at the same competitive level for years. The reason is, they're trying to expand their abilities beyond what their base will allow. Why Aerobic Endurance? Energy expenditure Why Maximal Strength? Maximal strength is the foundation for muscle endurance Down to 40% of 1RM, maximal strength predicted performance in an ME test. Strength and Aerobic E...
Feb 22, 2024•13 min
Send us a text There is no apparent reason why intervals would be more fatiguing than endurance work as long as energy expenditure is matched. The thing is, equating energy expenditure is tough to do, especially in the field. As an athlete who trains multiple disciplines, the bottom line is the more you do, the more you’ll attenuate strength gains. Use subjective fatigue measures like libido, resting HR, exercise HR and sleep quality to dial in your aerobic volume. Also make sure you're retestin...
Feb 20, 2024•16 min
Send us a text |STRENGTH FIRST| 1. Strength takes a long time to develop Peak biological age for powerlifters is 35 Retained for a very long time Especially for CFers 2. The concurrent training effect The more aerobic volume you’re doing, the more your strength and power gains will be attenuated. You need to do a lot of aerobic volume to compete in CrossFit. BUT, if you’re not strong enough yet and you start turning up that volume, then you’re making it less and less likely that you’ll get stron...
Feb 15, 2024•11 min
Send us a text |PLAY THE LONG GAME: MODELS FOR THE LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT OF CROSSFIT ATHLETES| CrossFit demands a range of physical attributes. These attributes each have a time horizon: a training time, retention time and a relationship to biological age. A long term athlete development model must consider these attributes and their time horizons. Peak Biological Ages: Bodybuilding – 36 Powerlifting – 35 Endurance – 33 *GAP* Weightlifting – 26 Sprinters – 25 Middle Distance Runners – 24 Older p...
Feb 13, 2024•10 min
Send us a text How to Find Your Weaknesses as a Fitness Athlete Every piece of your program serves one of these 3 purposes. Get STRONG - Increase the cross sectional area of muscle (hypertrophy/muscular strength) and/or the extent to which motor units can activate muscle --> Increases capacity for producing tension --> Contractions make up a lower percentage of the athlete's capacity to produce tension --> Contractions produce fewer waste products --> Contractions become more repeata...
Feb 08, 2024•11 min
Send us a text The Demands of Fitness Sport Number of contractions x Tension of contractions ( relative to individual’s 1RM ) x Rest periods = Physiological Dose-Response 80% of fitness sport produces fast aerobic physiological dose-responses. How are we getting this output? Let’s look at the inputs. 1. Number of contractions The average fitness competition is: 12 minutes/event x 15-30 contractions/minute = 180-360 contractions/event x 8 events = 1,440-2,880 contractions . 2. Tension of contract...
Feb 06, 2024•10 min
Send us a text Once you have the lean body mass and the strength to handle the loads, CrossFit is about who can endure . Relative to other strength sports, CrossFit is a marathon. The average CrossFit event lasts 12 minutes and has 300 contractions. Once you’re strong enough, athletes should deprioritize strength and train like a conditioning biased athlete. In this episode, we cover when you should switch from a strength bias to a conditioning bias, and guidelines for training like a conditioni...
Feb 01, 2024•11 min
Send us a text In this episode, I argue that CrossFit is, first and foremost, a strength sport. I also cover: Should you train like a strength-biased athlete? How to train like a strength-biased athlete.
Jan 30, 2024•18 min
Send us a text Premise: you experience 80% of your potential gains during the first four years of training. Key points: 1. Openness to experience. Curiosity about the 20%. 2. Hard work is necessary but not sufficient. 3. Accuracy becomes more important because you’re past the point of diminishing returns. Difference between beginner and intermediate? Consistency. Difference between intermediate and advanced? Work ethic. Difference between advanced and elite? Time. Details. Accuracy. Time – you h...
Jan 09, 2024•10 min
