Dutch Lowy

Saturday was an awesome showing and turned out to be a great seminar. I am constantly changing as i get more feedback from people and learn new systems.
I want to thank CJ of Crossfit Invictus for having me and hosting an amazing weekend. Michele also gets some love for feeding all of us.
Below are a couple photos and explanations of what you can expect to experience while attending a seminar. By the way this is all in addition to what you will get during the lectures.

You will have to opportunity to meet and chat with affiliates in your area. Find out what is working for them as well as how you can set up extra curricular events. Who doesn’t have a good time when you get a bunch of crossfit junkies together?

Work out!! Because you have to feel it to believe it.

Get a little exposure to teaching big groups and be evaluated like you would at your level 2.

Hang out with friends!

Maybe even get a little one on one hands on attention…

Thanks for coming everyone!

I was reading my horoscope the other day and it had an interesting stat. It said research showed that if a stranger gazes at you for at least 8.2 seconds, he or she is definitely interested in you. If on the other hand the look lasts 4.5 seconds or less there is no attraction.
Interesting gem of knowledge but how does this relate to Crossfit?
2 things came to mind as i read this.
First, think about how long you spend starring at the pullup bar or barbell during any given workout. If you can limit your need to open mouth stare at the bar/floor/kb… your performance will improve. I feel like 90% of the time we stop during a workout to breathe we are just feeling sorry for ourselves. It is time to realize it and move on. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and pick up that bar and get moving!! Next time try to limit the time you spend staring at your nemesis to less than 8 seconds or people might start to talk…

The second thing that comes to mind is women. I’m just saying keep your eyes open.

I got a question yesterday about a couple things that have come up recently concerning programming workouts.  There have been 2 articles recently concerning scaling for a greater power output.  One in the CFjournal and one in the Performance Menu. I wrote something to the same effect the month before in the PM as well. My seminar also covers this topic as well as hands on exposure to making it happen.

The question was in regards to these articles and Tony Buddings comments on the CF Journal article. You can see his comment here . Chris was nice enough to copy it in comments in case you haven’t seen it.
I don’t want to get into a big argument about this topic but i do want to have a chance to refute Tony’s comment.

First of all just the thought of GPP (general physical preparedness) scares the crap out of me! In order to be fit by GPP standards i can’t be good at anything but have to be ok at everything. That sounds ok but how do we make it happen? The last couple days have been spent addressing weaknesses and figuring out ways to make them strengths or at least not so weak. Tony does a good job emphasizing the importance of having a coach that should be able to help you identify these weaknesses and address them. What if you don’t have a coach or enough experience to know when and how to address these issues?
Here is where a couple guidelines come in handy. By having a goal for a workout you are setting yourself up to succeed (or fail if you miss the goal). You can ensure that your experience is uniform with what other people are doing to get the same results. The workload may change but should only be measured on an individual basis. Compare yourself to your self only. For example if i scaled fran to 65lbs and finished in 5 minutes and 6 weeks later i do it at 95 lbs in 5 minutes have i gotten more fit? Yes. Was the 5 minute fran a new experience? No, because i knew what it felt like to be in that time domain.

In my opinion going into a workout with no clue how long it will take is a HUGE mistake. You should, or your trainer should have at least a range in mind when creating the workout. If you believe that Tony doesn’t do this when he trains himself or his clients you are mistaken. I have had numerous conversations with him about how long do you think this workout will take or that workout… He gets it. He would not prescribe someone a workout without knowing about how long it will take them. There are always times when you make a mistake but the expectation is usually there. If you create a workout and have no clue what your time will be you should probably start doing some thinking about your abilities as well as finding baselines for certain movements and workouts.

This quote in particular bothers me.
So much of GPP is being prepared for anything. The reality is that anyone who is capable of performing all the main site WODs as Rx’d, even with “mediocre” times, is very well prepared for the general demands of life (barring the extremes of course).

Like we talked about earlier, by addressing your weaknesses you can bring your overall fitness up quicker by not being bogged down by things that hold you back. To go back to Fran, if 95lbs is heavy you should probably get stronger right? Is there value in doing a 10 minute fran? Sure but is there a better way to improve your performance while getting that 5 minute fran stimulus? Check this out. I would say that using some dedicated strength work to improve your strength while scaling fran down so it takes 5 minutes will give a quicker gain in overall fitness than doing fran as rx’d until you can do it in 5 minutes.

In conclusion i will go back to my first statement, the thought of GPP scares the crap out of me. If we were to take on a true GPP program there would not be any improvement in any of the 10 general physical skills. Why? We would do 1 RM deadlifts one day and go run a marathon the next. Any strength athlete knows that prolonged endurance training significantly decreases your ability to move load. It is interesting to see that the heavy loading does benefit the endurance athlete as we have seen with Crossfit. If the benefits do not crossover it is up to the individual to decide where they need to train (time domain/weaknesses).

Sorry for the ramble i hope this makes sense. Thanks for your comment and question Chris.

Where: Crossfit Invictus – San Diego, CA When: June 27, 2009

I have been trying to get this for months now and finally got it yesterday! Although i haven’t overhead squated much in the last couple months this felt much easier than last time i tried it. It goes to show that progress takes time but all you have to do is stick to it. Something good is happening cause i snatched 93 kg (205 lbs) and pulled 95.5 kg (210 lbs) pretty easily but couldn’t receive it.
I have been lifting alot as well as hitting shorter metcons and feel good!

People keep asking me what i think the games are going to be…
Here is my answer:
I don’t really care. I train myself with what i think of as the best way to achieve fitness. If that isn’t going to allow me to be competitive then maybe our views of fitness are different or they have shot a huge hole in my game and i will have to adjust my definition. I may have to sacrifice some domains to excel in others but that is totally fine with me.
Bottom line is i don’t care what the test is, all i can do is be as ready as i can in my mind. I am getting close!!

Where: Crossfit Invictus – San Diego, CA When: June 27, 2009

Marshall of Crossfit ATM making himself suffer on some Tabata squats.

Weakness Number 2 is the one that brings more suffering. This is the one that makes you uncomfortable during a conditioning session. This is you staring at the bar in Fran with purple lips and no will to move.

How do we fix this person?
Easy make them suffer! Give them light loads and high reps for short time durations. Use the movements that pack a metabolic punch (thrusters, burpees, clean and jerk…). Make their workouts short and simple and force them to work hard. The longer the workout the more time they have to relax and catch their breath. Force them into a place that makes them work hard.
Intervals are an excellent way to push the boundaries. As they say at CF LA push them to the edge of the cliff but not over it.

Work their weaknesses skill wise when they are still fresh then hit them with the conditioning program. This person has no room for longer workouts and low power outputs.

Am i getting my point across? Punish them with conditioning and don’t cut them any slack by lengthening the workouts.
Now get to work!

Where: Crossfit Invictus – San Diego, CA When: June 27, 2009

The ladies of Crossfit Invictus fighting the weakness. Come check out my seminar next weekend. It is sure to be a whos who of Crossfit Badasses!!

Yesterday we talked about how to identify your weaknesses. We decided that you are either weak or out of shape. I want to elaborate a little on how to fix these things. This is by no means a perfect guide but at least it will give you a starting point.

Lets talk about weak people first. As we discussed in comments yesterday there are two ways to be weak. You are either unable to handle load (weak squat, DL, press..) or unable to technically manipulate it (snatch, clean and jerk).
Lets talk about the absolute weakling first.

This is a person that has had little exposure to loading or explosive movements. Strangely enough people that play explosive sports with lots of jumping and sprinting tend to start with a higher strength base than those that are less explosive.
This person will see huge benefits by taking 2-3 basic movements as well as the olympic lifts and progressively overload them. I would start with low volume (3x3s) but high frequency (3-5 times a week). CFSB would be a great program for this person. They need to make sure that technique stays consistent with strength level. If they don’t they will turn into the second type of weak athlete.

The second guy is strong like a bull but can’t show it because of limited flexibility or poor technique. It will be good for this guy to back off the loading and work intensely on creating flexibility and technique. This guy will tend to want to work with heavier loads but as a coach you will have to keep loads light while focusing on technique.

It is important to think about most crossfitters as beginning weightlifters. For most of us a linear progression will give us huge benefits. There is no need, especially in the beginning of your career as a crossfitter , to geek out about strength training. Make an effort to lift something heavy almost everyday and you will get stronger and fast!

Where: Crossfit Invictus – San Diego, CA When: June 27, 2009

A great crew at Front Range Crossfit! Thank you to everyone that came out on Sunday. For those of you still interested in attending a seminar you better get in soon! I am taking the month of July off and only doing 2 a month after that.

The way i see it, in Crossfit, there are two kinds of weaknesses. You are either too weak or too “out of shape.” Or both.
How do you know which one you are? Think about Fran or Grace or anything else that is loaded. Do you finish the workout with the feeling that you could have gone faster if only the weight had been lighter, or do you feel like the weight was light, you just couldn’t breathe?

I’ll wait while you visualize yourself mid Fran.

Lets now take this knowledge and apply it to your training. This may be obvious to some of you but if the weight feels heavy we need to get stronger. Yes lift Heavy, in dedicated strength work and in conditioning. Overload yourself for a couple weeks and see what happens to that 95lbs. I bet it gets lighter.

If the weight is easy but you just can’t breathe lets attack your conditioning. Lets be aggressive about it. I would take the workouts that gas you quick and play with those movements. ex: Thrusters, burpees, clean and jerk etc.
Punish yourself with high intensity and see where your conditioning improves. Because you are strong you probably like lifting so i wouldn’t take that out but your focus should be on conditioning.

If you are weak in both. See both answers above and combine.