Stick to the basics and when you feel you’ve mastered them it’s time to start all over again, begin anew- again with the basics- this time paying closer attention- Greg Glassman
I recently passed a big anniversary. August 1st was my 5 year anniversary as a certified Level 1 CrossFit coach. It turns out that every 5 years it is required that coaches repeat their Level 1 seminar to get back to basics, so I celebrated with a strike trip to Sacramento to do exactly that.
Friday 7:12pm
get on the road. Podcasts and spotify playlists preloaded.
Friday 9:15pm
Over the Grapevine. In-n-out, Starbucks, fill gas tank. Apparently the person in front of me at starbucks has never ordered coffee before and this is a very demanding decision.
Saturday 2:33 am
Check in. Sleep has never felt so good.
Saturday 7:45 am
Alarm. Shower. Pack bag with 3 changes of shirts, it is supposed to be (balls) degrees today. Find a coffee trough to consume.
Saturday 8:20am
Check in CrossFit Iron Mile. Immediately recognize an old friend from CrossFit San Francisco. Among the seminar staff are Katie Hogan (rockstar) and Pat “the manimal” Barber. As tired as I feel I am pumped to be here.
Saturday 9:00am
Start of seminar. Reviewing fundamentals of exercise, movement, intensity, wellness. Its like putting on my favorite old sweater on the first chilly day of the year. We review our front squatting, pressing, and deadlift set ups. PVC pipe can be heavy when used appropriately.
Saturday 4:18 pm
We finish the day with a workout. 15 thrusters 95lbs/ 12 burpees. I happen to be working adjacent to Marcus Filly, NPGL athlete and CrossFit games athlete in 2014. That was a humbling experience. I’m not revealing how much he beat me by, but it was more than 3:00 in a workout that took me 7-ish. There is always room to grow
Sunday 9:00am
Back at it. Review of nutrition, snatching and muscles ups, programming in the afternoon. Somewhere in there we did a beauty little 8 min AMRAP smoker. Marcus beat me by a large margin again.
Sunday 5 pm
On the road home. Got a long time to think. So what did I learn repeating my Level 1?
There is always something to clean up in your form, some hidden flaw, lack of tension, subtle loss of position. Experienced athletes are better at hiding it. Good coaches are good a spotting it. High intensity exposes it.
All the technique in the world cannot replace excellent work capacity
The best work capacity in the world can be laid low by poor technique
The best training is a meeting of intensity and technique, with neither totally winning out. 100% perfectly executed technique 100% of the time is not truly being tested. Push out to the margins, that’s where the money is made.
To clarify the last statement: work on the margins of your abilities, skills, experience, and comfort. Don’t hide inside your comfort zone; you’ll fail to progress. Don’t blow past the margins and go working in a totally unfamiliar place; your body will fail.
Nutrition is the base of the pyramid. If you are putting in the work in the gym and not seeing a result, its probably what you are putting in your mouth. Nutrition is simple: eat food. Real food. In amounts that sustain exercise and not body fat. No. Don’t make it more complicated than that. No really, you already know everything you need to know about nutrition, just ask yourself, food or not food?
As coaches, when we program, sometimes we have lots of goals. This can end up in some pretty complex programming, which is fine, and sometimes needed. However when it’s time to get back to basics, CrossFit is about intensity and community. The intensity part is simple: put in hard work with a few simple exercises and see results. Community is even easier: it’s why we keep coming back.
Good luck and have fun to all attending the Level 1 seminar this weekend!
Heads up! One month from now, Sat Sept 26th, CrossFit SouthBay will be hosting the CrossFit Movement and Mobility Seminar, details here: http://www.mobilitywod.com/seminars/. I will be leading the seminar and would love to see a strong CFSB showing. The seminar is designed as a primer for both coaches and athletes on breaking down foundational movements into several common archetypes and learning mobilization techniques to improve athletic performance and resiliency.
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