CrossFit can MAKE you or BREAK you !!

CrossFit can make you or break you. Let me explain what I mean by this bold statement. Firstly, what we need to look at what CrossFit is. Its constantly varied, functional movement at high intensity. That does not mean high skill gymnastic and barbells like you see at the CrossFit games. CrossFit is an affiliation model meaning as a gym owner you buy the right to call your gym CrossFit ABC and you have 100% of the control over the entire running of your gym from day to day dealings with memberships, class structure and Programmeming. CrossFit is just a brand and a training methodology. CrossFit did not invent high intensity training, metabolic conditioning (met con’s) or barbell movement’s, gymnastics or even coupling them together.  CrossFit HQ simply formulated the most complete training methodology i.e. Constantly varied, functional movement at high intensity. The problem is that this is more often than not interpreted wrongly and thousands of coach’s Programme for the general population incorrectly.   CrossFit can MAKE you; CrossFit is in my opinion the most complete training methodology for the general public if you understand how to Programme properly for the general population. Why is it the best methodology? Because it simply factor’s in every aspect of fitness from absolute strength to strength endurance, to endurance, speed, flexibility and balance. Noting is overlooked and this is the type of fitness Programme the public need.  Along with looking good naked and being healthy, people need fitness which tranGuerilla Fitnesss into the real world and allows them to do whatever is asked of them in an instant. What CAN make CrossFit so exceptional is this constantly varied method when applied right. We need to move our bodies and objects in different planes of direction such as up and down, to us and away from us, side to side and rotational.  The key here is creating balance within the body, working the sagittal plane, transverse plane and the frontal plan equally, working unilateral as well as bilateral movements with supinated, pronated and neutral grips.  An example of good balanced Programmeming would be to Programme pull ups with a pronated grip one day, a supinated the next and a elevated ring row in a neutral grip. This works all grips and almost all planes of movement and is a perfect example of constantly varied Programmeming which creates balance and continues to move the body toward progress.   Another aspect of CrossFit which makes it so popular and entertaining is the use of barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, dumbbells, rowers, bikes, skipping ropes, gym rings, sleds, you name we use it. We perform functional movements with different training implements which carry over into the real world. As opposed to using a machine we use free weights and real life movements such as squats, hinges, pulls, pushes and carries along with jumping, throwing, skipping, running, rowing and biking.  All of which are movements we do regularly in real life. In short the movements we use in CrossFit can and will make you better at life.   Finally, the last aspect to the CrossFit methodology is high intensity training. High intensity wields results, its time efficient, it makes people mentally stronger, it’s the antithesis to the modern-day lifestyle which is dare I say it breading a softer weaker individual.   As you can see I Love CrossFit, I love coaching and I have been in this industry coaching for 10 years learning my trade and constantly furthering my own education thought different courses and seminars with world leaders. The problem is however that the more I learn the more I realise the less I know, which is a good thing as I am always trying to learn more and learn from the best. However, this is rare in my field and the vast majority of coaches stop trying to learn after getting a weekend qualification and a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing as the 99% of coaches and trainer in the industry, especially within CrossFit feel they know everything, which is why CrossFit is not dangerous, bad coaching is. And this leads me into the 2nd part of this post. CrossFit can BREAK you ; CrossFit when poorly coached and Programmemed can lead to injuries which is the opposite of what we want. The problem is that I see people who just don’t fully understand how to Programme for CrossFit, they don’t fully understand what CrossFit is and don’t know how to scale appropriately for different abilities. Firstly, let’s look at the methodology again starting with constantly varied. We posted above what this should look like, Programmeming for balance considering different planes of movement and different energy systems etc. However, the reality is that people believe CrossFit to be what they see at the CrossFit games and Programme all barbell movements and gymnastics. Problem here is that everything is in the frontal plan and all with a pronated grip. Its all short and heavy and leaves massive holes, creating imbalances and deficiencies which leads to injuries!! Secondly, CrossFit should be focused on functional movements, but unfortunately people get side tracked on what they see at the CrossFit games and think its functional to have a class of people doing high skill or attempting high skill gymnastics coupled with high skill barbell movements. How is this functional?  That is a sport, this is a training methodology and you should be training people to get stronger and healthier not to do the same workout as Rich Kahlipa !! TRAINING IS ONLY TRULY “FUNCTIONAL” IF IT HELPS THE PERSON FUNCTION BETTER, IS IndividualiseD AND IS GOAL-FOCUSED.   Although a snatch may improve someone’s balance, coordination, speed, power and mobility, it’s not functional for the vast majority of gen pop to do this at speed, under fatigue. It doesn’t match up to their needs or goals and isn’t functional ( NOTE I am a weightlifting coach and my favourite movement is the snatch). Instead getting the gen pop to push a sled or sprint on an assault bike because when you’ve taken away all skill and all risk, the only thing stopping you is you, this forges mental toughness and makes people better at life without question.   There you have it, in my educated opinion CrossFit is without question the best fitness Programme available worldwide right know, especially for the general population who need to be coached and Programmemed appropriately for. At Guerilla Fitness and many successful CrossFit athletes, I feel we do this well by Programmeming for the needs of individuals and not just the wants.  We have small groups of less than 10 in a class so we can ensure 1-2-1 attention and give a masterclass in coaching by helping make people healthier. However as we have seen, this is a terrible industry with no standardisation where any coach and do and or say as they wish and bastardise us all. So while many people are getting it wrong, not everyone is. Choose where you train and your coaches wisely.