Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Superman (a.k.a. Elliott Bayev, owner and head trainer of OpenMat BJJ and Kimonogirl BJJ, a BJJ Brown Belt and Abu Dhabi competitor) definitely takes his CrossFit training outside of the gym.
Although CrossFit can be considered a sport in and of itself (that is, being the fittest possible simply for the sake of doing so, and, of course, being fitter than the next guy), according to CrossFit’s World Class Fitness in 100 Words“, that alone is not sufficient: “… Regularly learn and play new sports”. Likewise, CrossFit’s Theoretical Hierarchy of Development has “Sport” at the peak of the pyramid, with nutrition and different fitness elements providing the supporting layers. These are equivocal statements that you need to actually do something with the fitness you develop through your training. As fun as the training component can be, you must look to apply your physical capacities in arenas outside of the training environment. In other words, put your training into practice; train for something.
This does not necessarily have to be in the context of a competitive sport or otherwise organised activity. However, it most certainly should be something outside of the gym that makes use of your physical abilities, and ideally in a challenging way, at least on occasion. Playing with your kids, skiing, canoeing, hiking, mountain biking, and even just climbing a tree (when was the last time you did that?!) are all examples of non-competitive activities that are fun, physical, and can make good use of your fitness levels.
That said, there is of course nothing wrong with taking your fitness into a competitive arena. We work with numerous competitive athletes, including rugby, hockey and baseball players, not to mention a number of boxing, BJJ and MMA fighters.
What are you training for?
Workout
Power snatch 3-3-3-3-3 reps
rest 5 minutes
Power Cindy
Complete as many rounds as you can in 10 minutes of:
- 5 Clapping pull-ups
- 10 Clapping push-ups
- 15 Box jumps (20″)
