Dutch Lowy

I have had the pleasure of hanging out with Chris (Crossfit Park City) for the last week and i have to say it is always a pleasure to be around him. He is a legit athlete and really GETS what crossfit is and how to push performance to the next level. He also has a pretty hoppin gym in Park City. I got to spend last week training his clients and i have to say that he really has something special here. I hope you enjoy this little interview and if you have anything else you want to hear about just post it to the comments.
Enjoy,

Dutch

How much of a role do “other sports” play into your everyday training? (ex. Climbing, biking, skiing, etc.) On days that you “leisure sport”, do you train using Crossfit also? (From Danny)
Danny,
I dig skiing and love being outside when the weather is nice in the summer. The way I look at it is that CrossFit is my “sport”. So that takes priority in my training for the most part. I still do a 3 on 1 off schedule and rest when needed. The days I have time to ski or bike, I still do it but for the enjoyment. I’m not competitive in these sports but enjoy doing them. I don’t care if I win a mountain bike race, or can ski 6 hours in a row. I want to be able to feel good when I do those activities and still be able to have a solid level of fitness in other domains. So CrossFit is my every day training and those sports are just plain fun. They can also be used as a great “recovery” or “active” rest day since I’m not going to go out and hammer them for more than a couple of hours. Hope that helps out Danny.

Tell us your feelings about running and wether you have attended a running cert yet?
I Already atteded a running cert.
The reason i don’t like it is because it isn’t fun. Even if i was better at it i don’t think i would like it. It is not a sport like skiing that i enjoy doing. Even though i understand the technique i learned at the running cert, i still don’t like it.

Do you consider yourself good at it?
Not compared to “runners.” As for Crossfit i feel like i can hold my own with the distances used in the workouts.

What about getting better at things you aren’t good at?
I don’t want to neglect my weaknesses but i don’t feel like running is the weak link right now.

What is the weak link?
30 reps of 155 lb clean and jerks. haha.
Heavier loading at higher reps.

How do you plan on overcoming that?
exposing myself to heavier loads when i am already exhausted. For example doing a couple reps after a workout just to feel it when i’m not fresh.

What is your personal programming like?
I don’t schedule it out.
I try to do at least one heavy aspect every three day cycle. Other than that i do what i feel like my body needs. Whether it be a hard metcon or a 5k row.

So you are pretty strict 3 on one off?
yea. but if i need a break i might do 3 on 2 off but rarely do i take weeks off at a time.

Do you think 3 on 1 off works for everyone?
I don’t think it works for everyone especially new people. If scaled right it can work but most people don’t scale it right. I have seen 2 on 2 off work really well for people.

Do you follow .com?
I do when i feel it is beneficial to me. For example when it works my weaknesses.

What does your warm up look like on a daily basis?
Metcon days my warm up is longer than the workout.
Start with something to get my body warm (rowing, jump rope)
Movement prep from head to toe
Skill specific for the workout (pullups, burg warm up)
Heavier days:
Similar stuff raise my core temp, mobility work
I use the movement for that day and progress in load as a core warm up.

Is it difficult to keep your training load while constantly on the road and working full time?
Not really. When i am home i have down time between classes to work out and when i am at certs other trainers usually want to workout. It may not be ideal as far as time of day, recovery, etc but i am still able to get workouts that are beneficial to me in.

Why do you do crossfit?
hmmm… It works better than anything else for a general level of fitness. it feels more like a sport than working out and i enjoy the camaraderie and healthy competition between friends and other crosfitters.

How would you describe the clients in your gym? Die hards, or recreational athletes?
They are mostly recreational athletes that want to improve their sports perfrmance.

What are their sports?
cycling, mountain biking, marathon, endurance sports, fire fighters, skiing, snowboarding.

Because of this do you do anything special with the programming?
Usually keep workouts under 15 but about once a week we do a longer workout to feed their endurance itch. I make sure they get at least one heavy day a week otherwise they will totally neglect it.

Are you as hard on them as you are on people at a level 1 cert?
No. I have a little soft spot. I like to see my members work hard and when i see that i don’t like to take reps away. But i am just as hard on form.

So you program for 5 or 6 on 1 off, do most of your clients come 5 days a week?
No, on average they come 3 days a week.

How do you make sure everyone gets the necessary work they need on a weekly basis?
It is partially their responsibility to look at the website. I make sure monday wed, fri have all the elements i talked about before because this is when the majority of my clients show up.

Thank you Chris.

Enjoy everyone. Let me know who you want to hear from next.
Did anything Chris said shake your notion of what you thought his answer would be?

So in my travels i have met many of the Crossfit Giants and become pretty good friends with most of them. I want to bring their knowledge to you. I am going to embark on an interview circuit to find out what makes these crossfitters do what they do. I am going to dig into their programming and get you what works. Since i am in Park City, Chirs Spealer is first. If you have any questions you would like for Chris to answer post them here and i will get them to him tomorrow or Friday.

I am going to steal a post from a past client and hopefully soon to be new owner of Crossfit ATM. She has been an amazingly hard worker and is going to be an awesome trainer. I suggest taking her advice and getting out of your comfort zone as a trainer.

“Letting go of my coaching clutches

“We need to get you strong!”

Jonny K told me this the other day as I was about do 21-15-9 of over head squats and knees to elbows. So of course we added on the weight.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what makes a phenomenal coach. How do you communicate effectively to get across your expectations and achieve the goals set by the client? How do you know when to push and when to step back and decrease weight? ….

These questions floating around in my head after a while begin to intimidate me into thinking that I wont be on of the “greats” in coaching. I know there is so much to learn. That mindset I think is the first step.

Realizing that I do know some things but still have worlds to learn….

From there…. I think the best thing to do is just start doing!

This past week Danny and I helped out at the gym because Jonny and Marshall were out for a couple of days. It was so good to be on my own without my current coaching clutches. (jonny, marshall, and danny)

I think I gained more confidence and learned more in the past couple of days than I have in a while. Ive realized by doing things that make me incredibly uncomfortable I learn more! And my experience is that much richer, because I actually did it on my own! It makes me grow and be creative and it is just down right good for me!”

Jordan, Thank you for letting me steal your post.
You can read more from Jordan Here.

Post your experiences outside your comfort zone.

Do you know how much you deadlifted February 19, 2006? You should.
Many of you who know me know that i do everything in my power to not track a fucking thing.
It is to my detriment and i am working on keeping better records.

Do your clients know what their max deadlift is? Do they care? Probably but thats if they remember what the deadlift is. Many times as a trainer you forget that your clients are as down with crossfit as you are. It is frustrating to hear clients ask if a deadlfit is this thingy (as she flings her arms over her head with a jump)? patiently you answer no, its when you pick something up off the ground.
I digressed but my point is they may not know enough to remember things that they can look back on and see improvement. It is important for clients to look back and see their progress.

How do you track your clients progress? How do you track your progress?

As crossfit emerges as a sport it is important as a trainer to realize that not everyone does crossfit to get better at crossfit. Day three in Park City has proven to me that this town is full of ski bums and outdoors people. The conversation invariably drifts toward weather conditions and time availability to hit the slopes. I heard today that people regularly skip work to ski. These same people don’t lose their jobs. That blows me away!

The reason i bring this up is to show the importance of realizing as a trainer you need to facilitate your clients success. If there is huge snow dump last night and everyone shows up in the morning for a workout with snow in their eyes is it gonna make them want to come back to crossfit if they aren’t able to ski that day because you dosed them? Fuck No! They will probably curse you to the depths of hell.
I say think first about your clients goals then about your goals. Not everyone cares about the CF Games. (I do, but i’m a little crazy). Don;t get so carried away with crossfit that you miss your clients goals.
Do you know your clients goals? What are some of them? (No names please)

What is your passion?

My good friend Nicki Violetti (the better half of Crossfit Norcal) has finally put her knowledge to good use. She just put up her blog where she is discussing what she has learned in her 5 years as a crossfit affiliate owner. She has done it all so listen to what she has to say and ask questions.
What area do you have expertise? How can you contribute to this amazing community?