Dutch Lowy

This weekend blew me away! Not only did the presenters (Robb Wolf, Nicki Violetti, Greg Everett, Aimee Anaya, James Fitzgerald, Michael Rutherford, Jeremy Thiel and Carey Kepler) prove that they are at the forefront of their respective field but they also did a great job at motivating the attendees to pursue excellence.

The Black Box Summit is about seeking out great information and making it available to everyone. You can count on subsequent Summits being packed full of amazing information as well as being a platform to bring affiliates together for their greater good. We are about making experts available in every facet of health and Fitness with the sole purpose of supporting you.

Check out SicFit.com for the actual content. Again, i cannot say how inspired i am about this weekend. If you were there, let me know what you liked and disliked. If you weren’t, tell me what you would like to hear or see at future events.

I just wanted to give everyone that couldn’t make it to the Black Box Summit a portal to see what is going on. We will be posting live updates on SicFit.com

Keep an eye on it, there are some really cool things coming in the near future!!

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that the Black Box Summit is coming up this weekend. In my opinion this is the best gathering of training information and knowledge i have ever been a part of. I can honestly say that if i was not a part of organizing it i would pay whatever it took to be able to attend.
Thank you to all of you that will be in Austin this weekend. For those of you that were unable to make it, we will be doing more summits. Details will follow.

This weekend is sure to reveal some very cool new things coming up for our community. Keep an ear to the ground, you will hear the rumble!

Dutch

I don’t like to judge people, but i will. I will judge them on their squat.

The squat is touted as the most fundamental movement on earth and about as functional as it gets. So why is it that people A) don’t know how to do it, and B) don’t place the emphasis that it deserves.

Now, don’t worry i am judging everyone when i watch them squat. I can tell how advanced an athlete is by their squat depth and mechanics as well as their potential. I can judge a coaches understanding of the squat by watching them teach it, and i can judge the knowledge the coach by watching how his clients or athletes squat. If you peak into a CF gym and see people making an effort to fix their squat with both hands on training from the coach and feedback from others in a class then you know that gym is legit. I like it when responsibility is placed in the hands of others for their progress.
Conversely i can tell a poor coach by the unwillingness to work on fundamentals on a daily basis till they are perfect. The consistently poor movement patterns will not only decrease athletic potential but also lead to more serious injuries.
Its worth it to work the squat. If you are a good coach, you should be able to convince your clients that its worth it as well. Everything else gets better as the squat improves.

To answer the questions above, A) In my opinion, ignorance. I am not saying this to be mean as i know you don’t mean to be ignorant and you sometimes feel that you might get bored with the squat, but take it as encouragement to gain a better understanding of it. Show people that it is important to you and work diligently to make yours perfect. Like i said, everything else will get better as your squat mechanics improve. If you read alot about powerlifting you will know that they place a huge focus on technique as any slight deviation from perfect will affect the weight you can lift. I would say that it is up to you which type of squat you want to use but i believe for a Crossfitter the upright torso, deep squat is best for the development of an athlete. Thats just my opinion and i don’t want to argue that. I have my reasons, if you want to know them come to a seminar.

B)In Crossfit, there is so much that we have to practice and get better at that it is maddening to think about spending 6-8 weeks focused on something as simple as the squat. Don’t be stupid! Its time well spent. Do it and you will see the results immediately.

This applies to many things.
Fortunately we will be talking about training and Crossfit related betterness.

Surfing the web and visiting random Crossfit blogs i am always amazed at the lack of understand of high QUALITY training. I have said it before and truly believe that Crossfit done wrong is better than any program out there. My argument is more to question why you would be content being at the bottom of the barrel. Why be ok with doing something wrong.
If crossfit is so potent, why wouldn’t you want to harness its power and maximize your results or our clients results? This post is not to describe the ins and outs of quality training but to encourage you to seek out the best you can find whether it is Crossfit ordained or not.

Shame on those of you that have not attended a seminar recently or read a training related article. Shame on those that feel they can’t learn from their local community or clients. Everyone has something to teach if you are willing to listen. Open your ears and listen to the people around you.
You’ve been told… Now get to work!!

Watch live video from California Weightlifting Fund on Justin.tv

A quick shout out to Jade Anaya and everyone that lifted in their first meet recently. How do you not smile when you watch this?
I love how she sprints off the platform, and mom in the background. I used to hate when my mom was louder than everyone else…

To continue my previous post about MEBB i will take a look at the newest advanced template. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here.

Also if you are looking for a more in depth discussion you can talk to the Rutman himself at one of his MEBB seminars now traveling the country.

Let me start out by saying that this is an advanced template and thus designed for the advanced athlete. Most beginners to CF type programming will benefit from a basic linear progression so don’t make this shit more complicated than is necessary. having said that, Rut has come up with a highly effective program that i think will hugely benefit the more advanced Crossfitter.

Like any template it is flexible so you can make it work for your specific goals. The advanced template is designed as a 3 on 1 off 2 on 1 off. It has an alternating structure in that one week you are doing 3 lifting days and 2 conditioning days with the next week opposite. I like this because i think it helps you control your volume in the Crossfit workouts. lets be honest, sometimes the volume gets out of control.

The strength work is much more complete with this template. Rut takes a different approach this time. He is still including his Max effort lifts but more importantly he is also including a couple volume sets for muscle endurance as well as some speed sets at a decreased weight for speed and power development. This whoudl be a huge help to those of you that lack solid technique in the olympic lifts. This will allow you to be explosive with weights that will be significant enough to produce some adaptation. I find that many people lacking in technique just don’t put the effort into the olympic lifts because of a lack of confidence therefore decreasing its effectiveness. If you are a 185lb male snatching 60kg for a max, at least do it with some authority!!

Overall i dig this program and think it is fantastic. I like that he split days with conditioning from strength. I used to find myself preoccupied with the days conditioning and therefore slacking on the strength work so i think this is good.

One last note, even though it is at the bottom of the page it is important for people to be foam rolling and stretching after each session and on rest days. If you don’t treat your body well, it won’t treat you very well…