Dutch Lowy

After a couple weeks of pushing and prodding my good friend Spencer Nix of Crossfit Dallas central finally put some words down for me. This is not all we are gonna hear from Spencer so let me know if you like it.

At our little box we have an acronym that we attach to everything: FTW, For The Win. You like that WOD? FTW. You dig that fresh almond butter? FTW. The question I have is what is the win for your training? 

Does it speak in positive terms? 
FTW: “I will execute every rep with perfect mechanics”
FTL: “I’m just gonna try not to suck today”
Does it constantly compare with others?
FTW: “I will do Fran unbroken today”
FTL: “I just want to beat Bobby’s ass”
Is it realistic?
FTW: “I know C&J takes time. By the end of the year, with constant practice, I should be_______”
FTL: “I can C&J 225#, so I think I’ll try 295 today”

Think about what it is you want. Is that to compete in the games/ qualifiers? To compete as a Mom? Well…are your actions aligning to achieve that win? It’s not just gutting it out, it’s having a plan. Pull back from whatever that win is for you and figure out what steps you need to take to get there.

The group from Kaizen Crossfit In Las Vegas. Thank you James for an excellent set up.

I get to meet tons of cool people across the country every weekend. Sometimes they have something to say that resonates with me. I got to spend 2 weekends in May with a young lady from Crossfit OKC. She is a wife and a mother and has been doing Crossfit for 2 years with Jason Boag (CFG qualifier!) of CF OKC. She attended my seminar and has been reading my blog a bit. She has a little different perspective on performance which i think is good for all of us to reflect on. Enjoy!

“OH–By the way–I read through most of your blog this morning. Very interesting take on a variety of subjects. I have a little different impression of performance than you do. You are YOUNG and still in the competitive athlete world, so I guess thinking of perfomance in terms training for your sport is natural. For me, however, perfomance is how my training affects my LIFE. My training allows me to feel confident that I can take on about anything physical that could come up for me, a 48 year old, mostly stay-at-home mom from the suburbs. That is performance to me, but maybe I am misusing the word or concept because you and I have a different view. I guess it is a matter of perspective. I wrote this article for my blog.”

Where: Front Range Crossfit – Denver, CO When: June 14, 2009 (Sunday)

Hey everyone!
Sorry for the lack of content this week. I am doing alot of traveling this week.

The only thing i have to say, and its urgent is: Go work on your snatch. When you finish that, Clean and Jerk. When thats perfect i will watch you on TV in the olympics.
Seriously its time to start practicing. If you don’t put time in on the olympic lifts and gymnastics skills you have already failed as a Crossfitter.

Luckily for ya’ll CF Football has taken their show on the road. In case you missed my recap of the first cert you can check it here. I highly recommend this cert. To be honest i think it is something you should do before you worry about your level 2, or gymnastics cert.
You will get the opportunity to learn from guys that know their shit and have been there done that.

The first public cert is at Tennessee Tech’s facility. They are hosting it in ther weightroom and will have access to their football field and track. You are sure to get the royal treatment from their allstar cast.

If you are really smart you can take the Football model and learn what they did to make it specifically for football and shift that to any sport specific training.
Bottom line… GO!!

Sign Up Now!

When we give thought to what we are trying to say before we express ourselves, we can more easily convey complex and challenging ideas. Our words not only carry more weight when articulately communicated, they also stand less of a chance of being misunderstood.
-Dailyom.com-

This is one of my favorite sites for daily words of wisdom. Recently they talked about communication. How does this relate to crossfit and training?
Great question!

It is important to understand that there are many way to communicate. When you are coaching someone you need two way communication. If there is not a constant dialogue between the coach and the client then there is no way to know what response you are getting. A good trainer or coach will be able to tell how their athlete is feeling as soon as they walk in the door and be able to dose them accordingly.

By watching closely how the athlete warms up a good coach can also know the right questions to ask. Many times people, usually your type A’s, will try to tough it out and not tell you about aches and pains. It is important to get this info out of them in order to maximize training. People like me have no qualms complaining about what hurts so be ready to wade through the BS from some people.

When you are actually coaching the importance of being able to articulate exactly what you want an athlete to do is of the utmost importance. The more precise you are with your language the easier it will be for your athlete to understand and adjust accordingly. This is important for me especially when i am training my girlfriend. Simple verbal cues don’t work from me because i don’t think she listens to me. I have to give tactile and visual cues so she doesn’t have to stop the workout and shout at me…

It is important to understand what works for one set of people may not work for another. Keep a couple cues for each movement in your back pocket in case someone just doesn’t get it. You will build your ability to work with many differnt people this way and only become a better trainer.
Remember this: Say more by saying less.

Many times i hear about people being disappointed by not getting a PR everytime they train. The only time you should consistently get PR’s is when you have either taken time off benchmarks workouts or your first time to ever do a workout.

If you take your fitness and look at it as a journey rather than a destination you will be much more pleased with your progress. Crossfitters tend to want instant gratification. The minute you can come to terms with the journey of fitness the more comfortable you will be with the process of fitness.

Think about elite level performers like Olympic lifters. They work for 4 years for less than 10 seconds of total work. What if it doesn’t go as planned? They don’t scrap everything and quit, they go back and develop themselves and work on their weaknesses.

For all of you who are bummed about not getting into the CF games this year, don’t worry. There will be plenty of time to develop yourself in the next year, two years or five years. Have patience with yourself and your progress and you will both enjoy and benefit more from your training.

Join me in Vegas this weekend!!

Where: Kaizen Crossfit – Las Vegas, NV When: June 6, 2009