Comments on: Better is Better

By: Pat McElhone

Pat McElhone — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:32:59 +0000

I like the learn from your local community. In Chicago, we have a great, though underground O-lifting community. There is a gym, a real olifting gym, with a team, that is $31/session to join (a session is a few months). We also have the coach of the olympic team here and another coach, who coached an American to a gold medal in lifting. While all of these are not affiliated with CrossFit, they all welcome anyone wanting to learn the olifts, they have all welcomed me.

It is nice to see some CFers using these resources, but it a bit odd that others are not using/finding them. Sooner or later, you have to tap into resources outside of CrossFit, to get better at CrossFit.

By: Steven Low

Steven Low — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:36:19 +0000

Hey Dutch,

Maybe you can suggest some of the blogs or articles that you read in your next blog post.

It’s always good to hear difference sources or articles from other people as we may have not encountered some before.

Steve

By: Aush

Aush — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:40:55 +0000

good stuff here Dutch…Better is Better takes a while to get a grasp of because of our culture in the U.S.A.

Wanted to let you know your seminar was great man, I immediately implemented some of your ideas to great success, and you validated some of the work I’ve already been doing with clients…thanks for taking the time to put that information together in a logical pattern. I think the Level 2 prep stuff was valuable as well…

By: David Nichols

David Nichols — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:09:37 +0000

Great stuff Dutch. I get really irritated when people think they know everything and live their lives that way. Esp, when trainers think what they think and teach is the ONLY way. We all need humility and margin (room for error) in our lives.

I like the CF community, because for the most part, the “experts” verbalize this at the certs they host.

By: Russ Greene

Russ Greene — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:12:44 +0000

Dutch,

I think an important point is that no matter how good of a coach you are, CrossFit is way too broad for you to be an expert in all of it.

Nobody is an expert gymnastics coach, oly coach, slow lift coach, nutritionist, run technician, psychologist, etc., all at once.

Therefore, as you said, trainers should “learn from their local community or clients.”

CrossFit Monterey sent a group up to CrossFit Marin this Saturday for a gymnastics seminar, for example.

Let’s never grow complacent.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:32:45 +0000

Dutch,

Thank you for this humbling post.

Strength + Speed = Power
Power is the secret ingredient to athletic performance and CrossFit is trying to maximize performance.

Knowledge = Power
Knowledge is also power, whether it is derived from CrossFit or different sources.

By: Jay Ashman

Jay Ashman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:57:54 +0000

Well, I don’t spend too much time looking at other’s programming. I follow a select group of affiliates and program my own for myself and my clients but I do agree. It seems that a lot of people don’t know about lifting principles, recovery days, deload days, etc. or they program long chippers, bodyweight workouts or neglect the strength component too often. Thankfully they are in the minority.

Educating yourself is the key. If a person had minimal training experience outside of CrossFit they would be best served learning about westside principles, sports performance principles, teaching activation of muscles, learning how to avoid quad dominance and mobility.

All of those together can make for a more knowledgeable coach.