Bastardized CrossFit or ‘just’ CrossFit??

Bastardized CrossFit or ‘just’ CrossFit??

I know what your’e thinking.. What the hell does this title mean.. I don’t really know myself yet but let’s just see where we go!

Bastardized CrossFit or ‘just’ CrossFit?

The bigger the CrossFit name grows, which at moments seems unstoppable – the more people want to be involved. They fall in love with the high socks, the short shorts, the ‘badass’ attitude, and for the first time in their lives feel as though they are part of something.. That’s great and all but at the end of the day – nothing short of ridculous.

When I first started CrossFitting (4 years ago) I realized so many things about myself from a fitness standpoint.. I realized I couldn’t do many pullups – especially not 50 or 100 like many CF wods do on a sub daily basis. I realized I couldn’t squat all that well.. I had little to no knowledge of Olympic weightlifting.. I had my own ideas that closely reflected ‘PALEO’ however had no idea what the paleo diet was..

In short, CrossFit started out grassroots and literally flipped the fitness world upside down! Up until CF arrived on the scene – all there was, was bodybuidling magazines, men’s health, and piles of bogus information all geared at aesthetics with absolutely no emphasis on what really matters.. You know – being strong, feeling strong on all levels, and simply being happy with the journey of better health.. The old world of fitness is boring. CrossFit gave awareness to all ‘camps’ including strongman, power lifting, olympic lifting, etc.. CF made these guys sharpen up and provide a better approach..

So long story short – CrossFit and I will be close forever. I know no matter how ‘circus like’ they can act, at the end of the day we want the exact same thing – a better more scientific approach to pushing the human body to it’s full capacity.. The problem with all coaches, gyms, clubs, programs, etc – is accomplishing these goals without injury or at least preventing it at all costs.

You see now days people want to run and jump 10 foot hurdles before they crawl.. This to me is a goddam joke. If I see one more guy or gal stand up and literally ‘ACT’ like a strength coach I might vomit. I’m dead serious. There is nothing worse than this type of trainer/coach. Their only goal is to play a role. They don’t give a shit about YOU or what YOUR body needs. They put their costume on (high socks, skin tight under armour shirt, etc) and jump into their schizophrenic alter ego – THE STRENGTH COACH.. I love hearing these people discuss exercise science, nutrition, and even functional anatomy.. You see this very same person is even more dangerous because they can’t afford to be wrong.. Their ‘house of cards’ might blow over.. So instead of telling you ‘You know what Claire, I have no idea why your knee is sore, let’s refer you out’… they will instead bullshit you to death and probably destroy your knee in the end. Oh well at least they ‘screamed’ at you when you were doing those 200 burpees for time..

Hey CrossFitter, know the basics before ‘pounding Fran’…

Understand that without a seriously strong base you will never amount to much in the world of CrossFit. After I competed in the sectionals 2 years ago I realized a lot about our club.. We were lacking something.. We all performed well but the same problem kept showing up.. None of us were strong enough with a barbell. The skills of CF like boxjumps, pullups, double unders, etc weren’t the problem – the problem was the lack of strength and power when it came to Oly lifts, muscle ups, and ring dips..

As a coach it was pretty simple. WE NEED TO BE STRONGER.. I NEED TO BE STRONGER.. PERIOD.

This last statement could sum up this entire article.. I don’t care if you’re a senior, a 7 year old, a university scholarship athlete, a Pro-athlete, whatever.. The strongest human will be the best, live the longest, and overcome challenges easier than the one who is weaker. I believe this to be irrefutable FACT!

Here’s the problem.

Stupid gym owners, stupid coaches, stupid trainers, and just straight up stupid people would have you simply ‘work harder’, run more, wod more, go faster, don’t worry about that chronic knee pain I’m sure it’s nothing, etc etc..

They themselves have no base. They believe that making someone functionally sound is … easy!!??

So what is bastardized CrossFit anyway?

Bastardized CF refers to any CF program anywhere that simply posts wod after wod without any purpose whatsoever.. It’s like going to a circuit training class – that’s it. You show up, you perform a few ‘cool’ exercises as fast as you possibly can and form is not overly emphasized.. You see,  ’Coaches’ with little to no experience ignore the most important pieces of the pie.. They ignore real technique (how can they know when they don’t know themselves), they emphasize speed, they emphasize time, and the biggest ‘puke’ factor is how they totally disrespect the importance of ‘real’ strength and proper function..

In short, jumping hurdels before you even can crawl – is impossible. You’ve skipped the essentials, the foundation..

What exactly is a ‘Foundation’?

The foundation is the starting point for all human movement. If you can’t Squat or pick up weight off the floor properly – WE HAVE A PROBLEM! Our focus would shift to first making this happen.. From here we introduce more technical movements but not until efficiency is demonstrated in the basics. This should be applied to all strength programs. I don’t care how fast you can run a 3k or do 50 burpees.. If your squat is weak or your ability to externally rotate your shoulders is lacking – who the f&^%$ cares about anything else. Without your foundation you will break down – period. You will be that ‘mouse’ in the maze always running into the same wall.

So you wanna be the next CrossFit games Champ..

I laugh every time someone says this to me.. ‘Dude, I’m gonna hit up that CF competition next year’ …. ‘No I can’t do a ring dip and I don’t care, I just want to compete in the CF games’..

I hope you see the insanity in these statements.. You can’t just ‘BE’ the best golfer in the world. You can’t just be the number one quarterback in the NFL. You  have to plan and become a humble tactician – executing every step more and more carefully. The answer will NEVER be more, faster, harder, etc… It will in turn always BE – Correct, get stronger, fine tune, re-evaluate, etc..

So….. If you truly want to compete in the ‘Sport’ of CF here’s how simple it is..

1. You need to lift weights extremely well. You need to be getting stronger all the time.

2. If the comp is in April, you should be just getting strong for most of the year – up until about 8 weeks out from competition.

3. You need to develop those ‘skills’ (muscle ups, dips, etc – remember the foundation) on the side.. You need to be getting better. Incorparating these moves in here and there is the only way to get better at them. HOWEVER – Beware of ‘holes’ in your foundation showing up when it comes to most of these skills. The perfect example is Ring dips.. Nobody and I mean NOBODY does these right. They all pushed from an impinged position and simply destroy their own shoulder every single rep.. Not good.

Remember YOU CAN’T just ‘WOD’ it up every day with no plan. You aren’t that awesome – sorry. Pay attention to your weaknesses and ask any of the Coaches to help you develop a real strategy.

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And for all you POSERS out there.. I leave you with a verse from one of my favorite musicians:

It’s extra, ordinary and plain
I walk a thousand paces of light ahead of the game
By the time that you get where I’m standing, I’ll be gone
You make moves, but you just move on
I move in, and you must move on
‘Cause I move to strong
And I know what my feet move for
Made it go without a brand new car
Made it fresh without a brand new song
Don’t give a $#%^ about what brand you are
I’m concerned what type of man you are
What your principles and standards are
You understand me y’all

- Mos Def