Fine Motor Function

CrossFit breaks fitness into 10 attributes.  Some of these fitness attributes get a lot more play than others.  Strength, speed, stamina, endurance, power.  Those are the big ones, but there are bunch of others (well, five at any rate) that merit attention.

It’s easy to work on gross motor function.  Most CrossFit WODs focus on just that. Deadlifts, squats, pushups, 400m runs.  These movements don’t require a lot of skill, but they are hard, physically hard.  Do seven sets of three deadlifts at 3 rep max weight.  It is not easy.  It will put you on the floor.  Afterwards, hit a hard WOD.  Maybe Grace with three rounds of Cindy after each ten clean and jerks.  Do the the rounds with a weight vest on. Now that’s a good workout.

But, it was all gross motor function.  Make sure to include fine motor function movements in your training.  Movements that challenge you to simply perform, regardless of weight.  Deadlifts don’t do much for balance, agility, dexterity, accuracy.  Snatches, snatch balances, jump roping, depth jumps, various agility drills.  These kinds of movements work more than just muscles.  They work the neuromuscular pathways in the body.

Do not neglect the other attributes.  There is an attitude that training these neglected attributes does not give one the same workout as heavy weights.  While this may be true, and you can train these other attributes on light days, not every training session needs to leave you on the floor for it to be effective.   CrossFit distinguishes between practice and training.  Training is heavy deadlifts or Helen or Heavy Grace, practice is the deliberate repetition of a movement with specific purpose.  Opening new neuromuscular pathways will yield unexpected results in many areas of life.  For example, in a recent CF Journal article, Amundson writes how practicing double unders improved his marksmanship.

What kind of fine motor function movements do you like to work?

Please post to Comments.

And a big congratulations to Billy, Shaun, and Ian for representing CF Los Gatos with some big numbers at Saturday's Tactical Strength Challenge.  Great work guys.

Workout:

Snatch Balance 7×3

Then:

200m Run

12, 9, 6, 3

Snatch (go heavy even if you have to split the set into 2)

Pullup

Burpee

200m Run

Post WOD and time to Comments.

Everywhere

I‘ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve had my share, man.

Go travel.  Just about anywhere you go, at least in the States, there will be a CrossFit box. Check it out. It is so much fun to hit up a class on the other side of the country.  Going to other boxes will make a cross country road trip a lot of fun.  There are a lot of smaller boxes out there that offer great training, like CFLG.  Go check out some of the more well known or larger affiliates.  Most affiliates won’t even charge you for a visit, we never do, but you can support other affiliates by buying a t-shirt.  Heck, buy me a t-shirt.

Don’t be scared to go to other affiliates closer to home either. Learn from other trainers.  Your box is a special place, but it isn’t sacrosanct. However, going to other affiliates shouldn’t be window shopping for a new home, but a specific trip to learn more.  Other affiliates might have trainers who are expert in Olympic lifting, or kettlebells, or gymnastics, or running, or injury rehab.  Talk to your trainer before you go.  Ask them to recommend another affiliate or trainer for your needs. If your affiliate gets angry or down on you for wanting to experience other boxes, then maybe you need to ask yourself why.

Going to other CF boxes is a lot of fun and is a good time, but if you are trying to become a trainer yourself, then I think it is a must.  Again, ask your own trainers who they would recommend, but experiencing other trainers’ styles and methods is a valuable step in becoming a trainer yourself.  Seek the best out if you want to be one of the best yourself.

What are your thoughts?  What other boxes have you visited?  Please post to Comments.

Workout:

Bench Press 7×3

Then:

AMRAP in 15 minutes

5 Hang Power Cleans 155/100#

5 Thrusters 155/100#

20 Double Unders

Post load and time to Comments.

Programming

A lot of CrossFit programming can be kind of confusing. It’s not, really.  Most CrossFit programming can be divided into several categories:

*Triplets–usually these are comprised of a monstructural element, a gymnastic movement, and a weightlifting movement.  Many of the benchmark storms are triplets, such as Helen, Jackie, and Christine.

*Couplets–in my opinion these are the quintessential CF WOD.  The gymnastic/weightlifting couplet is possibly the hardest WOD to do.  Examples of these couplets are Elizabeth, Diane, and the dreaded Fran.

*AMRAPs–As Many Rounds As Possible–I like AMRAPs a lot, especially when they are heavy (of course!). The 10, 12, or 15 minute variety seem to promote the highest intensity.  I think 3 movements should be the max. I like a very heavy weightlifting movement paired with a higher skill gymnastics movement and a monostructural sprint of some sort.  Good fun.

*Monostructural WODs– best done in intervals in order to keep up the intensity. Split a 2k row into four 500m rows, for example.

*Chippers–these make the least effective WODs in my opinion.  Chippers are usually high rep lower weight lists that are difficult to keep up high intensity with.

*Weightlifting WODs–these kind of WODs are my favorites. There are a lot of ways to do these, such as intervals (1 clean and jerk on the minute for 20 minutes), or for repetitions (Grace, Isabel, Randy).  Other WODs may have a higher output level, but the brutal simplicity of a weightlifting WOD has a lot of appeal.  These WODs also demand a high level of intensity.

What is your favorite programming?  Please post to Comments.

Workout:

Back Squat 20 reps (use your 10RM weight)

Shoulder Press 5×5

Then:

Randy

75 Snatches 75/55#

Post load and time to Comments.

Permanent Revolution

The belle of the ball; Kelly's favorite class.Jen, Mike, and Barry go airborne.

Permanent Revolution. It is an arresting phrase, but it is not mine.  In fact, you might have heard it before.  It most famously comes from one of the most published books of all time, The Little Red Book, although it is the title of an earlier book.  Even though Mao and Trotsky are not usually quoted in CrossFit circles, I think their phrase applies well to CrossFit.  A permanent revolution is exactly what CrossFit is doing.

Although the phrase fitness revolution is a bit of a cliche, CrossFit is the spearhead of just that.  For several decades now fitness has involved sitting on one’s arse and pushing on handles, stepping on treadmills like the proverbial hamster, and rolling around on big bouncy balls.  I consider myself, regardless of popular opinion, a fairly intelligent guy, but I just don’t get it.  What does all that have to do with being strong, fast, powerful, agile, and possessing great stamina and endurance?  I have no idea.

CrossFit is just about the opposite of all that.  CrossFit’s idea of fitness is so radically different from the average golds gym’s that it constitutes a revolution.  CrossFit fitness is so radically superior than the average golds gym that it constitutes a revolution.  CrossFit’s claim to functional fitness is so unassailable by the average golds gym that it stands nearly unchallenged.  While there are certainly other methodologies that are part of the revolution, CrossFit is at the forefront and we are taking America (next: the world!) by storm.

Like Mao and Trotsky’s idea of the permanent revolution, CrossFit is not only spreading to other countries and cultures, but it is constantly evolving.  CrossFit is not the same as it was 5 or 10 years ago.  The workouts have evolved, training methods have evolved, technique has evolved.  It is not a staid or sluggishly flowing stream.  CrossFit as a methodology is dynamic and growing.

CrossFit is alive.

Thoughts?  Please post to Comments.

Workout:

Snatch Balance-work up to several heavy singles

Then:

1000m Row

10 Handstand Pushups

10 Pullups C2B (of course)

750m Row

7 Handstand Pushups

7 Pullups C2B

500m Row

5 Handstand Pushups

5 Pullups C2B

250m Row

3 Handstand Pushups

3 Pullups C2B

Post WOD and score to Comments.

Compassion

CFLG getting high on the bar.

I witnessed a car crash today.  Nothing really serious thank fully, just a fender bender at slow speed.  A small car rear-ended a SUV and had its hood bent nearly double by the trailer hitch on the much larger SUV.  The woman driving the car, her front crumpled and at fault, jumped out of her car, rushed to the window of the SUV and immediately asked if they were ok.  ”Are you ok?  That’s the important thing.  Are you all right?” I heard her say.

Maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t seem that I see people caring about others a lot.  I hope it is just me and that I am jaded and cynical, but I am sad when I look around and see how rudely people treat their fellows.  What happened to the care and compassion out there?

It might be hard to believe, but care and compassion are at the center of being a CrossFit trainer.  The way I look at it, we are in the business of making people’s lives better, and I am sad for trainers who think that CrossFit is just about deadlift numbers and Fran times.  A lot of being a trainer can be taught or comes with greater and greater experience, but that core compassion is usually either there or not.  The successful trainer, the really good ones, are those that are invested in their members’ success and growth, that really care.

A while back, I challenged everyone to find someone they care about and get them on the path to better health and fitness.  How’s it going?  How about an update?  A progress report?

Seriously, get to it folks.  Life is pretty damn precious and, believe me, if someone you love has to go before their time, it better not be from something they could have prevented.  Nagging is probably not going to work.  You can’t just tell them to go to the gym, you have to do more than that.  Do something with them.  Go for walks or bike rides or play catch.  Yeah, we are all pretty busy, but remember that whole compassion thing.  If you care enough, you can find the time.

Any success stories out there?  I want to hear them.  Please post to Comments.

Workout:

Push Jerk

7 sets of 3 reps where the last 3 sets are 3RM

Then:

AMRAP in 15 minutes

10 Power Cleans 80/60% BW

15 Pushups

200m Run

Post WOD completed and score to Comments.