Development And Application - Where Do You Apply What You Develop?

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

[caption id="attachment_3499" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="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."][/caption]

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″)

Mandatory Fun

Sunday, November 29, 2009

DSC_0332

If it tastes good, it must be bad for you.  How often have you heard that?  We Paleo-ers know it’s not true (mmmm… bacon…) but there are many who believe “healthy eating” looks like dressing-less salads, dry bagels, and skinless chicken breasts.  But fat tastes good!  I like fat!  You like fat!  Our brains are made out of it!  Needless to say, if it’s good for you it should taste good, look good, be good.

A similar philosophy should govern your fitness.  Working out should be fun, and hard, and make you feel delicious.  Everyone has a different definition of “fun” (Murph, anyone?), but whether your fun is hundreds of pullups or a game of freeze-tag, enjoy it!  The internet is full of theories and analysis of whose regime is more effective, what will get you leaner faster, why one version of this movement is inferior to this other variation.  Some of this analysis is valid and valuable, especially if you’re a competitive athlete.  If you’re just looking to improve your longevity and quality of life, and the choice is between moving in a fun way and doing something you hate?  Do the fun thing, for heaven’s sake.  Lucky for all you CFers, our workouts are always new and challenging, and our community’s constant support keeps things friendly and, yes, fun.

Workout

Nasty Girls

Complete 3 rounds for time of:

  • 50 squats
  • 7 Muscle-ups
  • 10 Hang power cleans (boys: 135#; girls: 95#)

To Explode or Not to Explode...

Thursday, November 26, 2009

DSC_0378

Conditioning Research has posted this article about explosive movement… the study (or rather studies) cited contend that explosive weight bearing movements don’t offer transferable benefits to athletes.  So doing cleans won’t make you a faster sprinter or more agile soccer player (if I understand correctly) but will make you better at cleaning.  What are your thoughts?

Workout

Front squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

    Improve the web with Nofollow Reciprocity.
    CFJ Sample Article CONTACT US
    E-mail
    info@crossfitto.com

    Phone
    647-351-6336

    Address
    32 Logan Ave.
    Toronto, ON M4M 2M8
    QUICK LINKS
    Home
    Getting Started
    Member Services
    Create blog account
    Contact Us
    Archives
    Store
    FOLLOW US
    RSS Feed Posts Feed (RSS)
    Facebook Facebook
    Flickr Flickr
    Twitter Twitter
    YouTube YouTube

    Sign up for our Email Newsletter
    Terms and Conditions - Privacy Statement
    Copyright © 2010 CrossFit Toronto - All Rights Reserved

    Mastercard