I am glad to be home and it is very nice to see a relatively clear calendar for the next couple months. I will have some time to actually heel and get some light training in. I was told yesterday that i am bullet resistant and should be bullet proof in 2 weeks but should be careful with dynamic movement. Below is my x-ray from yesterday. it doesn’t look like much but apparently the little fuzzy part around the break is a very god thing and show improvement. I can at least move and use my arm so that is positive.

Hopefully i can make up for my absence with some kick ass content. I will start off with a small commentary on the OPT Assessment module of the OPT certification that i attended in Calgary where it was -10 degrees… If you want more details on it, you gotta go! I highly recommend it.

I am also working on trying to figure out how to get my training programs out to you. I have been slowly developing some programs that have been absolutely killer and my people are loving the results so i figure it may be time to share. I will be working on developing some way to make this available to you so you know what goes on inside my head on a daily basis. I am also taking clients for online training so if you are interested in stepping up your game, just need a little guidance, or have a specific goal in mind (pullups, squat more…) let me know. Dutch@crossfitatm.com.  Check out what people are saying about these programs here.

The Black Box Summit is quickly approaching and there have been some serious changes to the format. Not only will there be more opportunity to interact with the presenters but there will also be some hands on coaching sessions, as well as exclusive content from most of the presenters. Attendees will also be available to win “prizes” such as DVD’s and books to one on one consults with many of the presenters. An opportunity in itself worth hundreds of dollars. Don’t miss it! Sign up here: www.blackboxsummit.net We also have some cool opportunities for families and gyms interested in bringing more than 1 person. Email me for details on that. Dutch@crossfitatm.com

Lastly, i have had the pleasure of working with a couple guys up in VA on a very cool new technology called the Athletes Forum. It is a very cool platform for getting great coaching and athletic information. I will be posting more on this later so check it out for yourself here: www.athleteforum.net

I wanted to update everyone really quickly on my whereabouts for the coming weeks.
I am currently In Phoenix AZ at the World Intercollegiate Handball Championships. Play starts tomorrow night and will go on all weekend. There are players from all over the US, Mexico, Canada and Ireland so it is sure to be fun to watch.

I will be heading to Calgary on Thursday for the first OPT assessment seminar. I am really pumped about this. besides getting the chance to just hang with one of the best in the business, i am excited to be able to dig into the mind of a genius. More to come on that for sure.

I will have a short week then be in Nevada for a week helping some local FD and emergency rescue departments effectively implement a high intensity, functional movement program into their current training.

Then i am back to TX and a short drive to OK for the sectionals in Tulsa where i am going to watch Jeff crush everyone!!
I can’t wait!

I hope everyone is doing well and keep an eye out for some cool stuff coming your way right here!

Dutch

Issue nº 217

Understanding the enemy

The enemy without

My reader Murali from India tells the story of a girl who decided to climb a mountain to visit her grandmother. It was pouring with rain, a cold wind was blowing, and thunder rolled at each second.

When she was almost reaching her destination, she felt something brushing against her feet. Looking down, she saw that it was a snake.

“I’m almost dying,” said the snake. “It’s very cold and there’s no food up here on this mountain, please protect me! Put me under your coat, save my life, and I will be your best friend.”

Despite the storm, the girl stopped and began to reflect. She saw the snake’s green and gold skin and told herself that she had never seen anything so beautiful. She thought how her classmates would envy her if she showed up with a snake to defend her from everything. Finally she said:

“All right. I am going to save you because all living beings deserve care and affection.”

The snake became the girl’s friend, served to scare aggressive people at school, and kept her company on lonely days. Until one night when she was doing her homework and she felt a sharp pain in her right foot. On looking down, she saw that the snake had bitten her.

“You’re poisonous!” she cried. “I’m going to die!”

The snake said nothing.

“How could you do this to me? I saved your life!”

“On that day, when you bent down to save me, you knew I was a snake, didn’t you?”

And he slithered slowly away.

The enemy within

Nasrudin saw a man sitting at the side of a road looking utterly desolated.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked.

“My brother, there is nothing interesting in my life. I have enough money not to need to work, and I was traveling to see if there was anything curious in the world. But everyone I have met has nothing new to say to me, all they do is make me more bored.

“In a word, I can tell you without any fear of doubt that despite all that I have done, I haven’t managed to find the peace I sought. I have turned into my own worst enemy.”

At that very moment, Nasrudin grabbed the man’s bag and ran off down the road. Since he knew the region well, he quickly managed to set a considerable distance from the man by taking shortcuts through the fields and over the hills.

When he was far enough away, he put the bag down in the middle of the road where the traveler was bound to pass, and hid behind a rock. The man appeared half an hour later, feeling more miserable than ever because of the thief he had come across.

As soon as he caught sight of the bag, he ran to open it, breathless. Upon seeing that everything was intact, he looked up to the sky full of joy and thanked the Lord for life.

“Certain people only realize the taste of happiness when they manage to lose it,” thought Nasrudin, looking at the scene before his eyes.

Don’t forget to get signed up for the Black Box Summit. April 24-25 at Catalyst Athletcis in Sunnyvale CA.

Also, Do you want to attend one of my last Performance Development seminars?!? Sign up here.

Oh yea, you think these guys have coaches, and do you think they would be decent competitive Crossfiters??

I also want to highlight this post for those of you with weak hamstrings/posterior chains.
http://www.defrancostraining.com/index.php

Don’t forget to get signed up for the Black Box Summit. April 24-25 at Catalyst Athletcis in Sunnyvale CA.

My advice to them and to anyone wanting to improve their fitness specifically but quite honestly this applies to just about everything you can think of was to just work HARDER! Not work More or differently (provided you have decent programming) but harder. Put more weight on the barbell, rest less in a conditioning workout and keep your mind focused.
This can actually go past just the workouts and creep into recovery. I know many of you (you know who you are) show up at the gym on your “rest” day and end up working on “skills” and wonder why the next couple workouts are shitty, i mean after all you took a rest day right?
Rest means more than not starting a clock. It means sleeping, eating and not doing anything. Maybe a little bit of stretching and soft tissue work but with some of you, allowing even that will end up being pretty stressful. So, work harder at resting as well. Be smart and focus on your effort not the balance of saturated vs unsaturated fat in your diet…

Don’t forget to get signed up for the Black Box Summit. April 24-25 at Catalyst Athletcis in Sunnyvale CA.

Note:
It is important to understand that all bodies are different and all injuries are different. My reason for these posts is to possibly open you eyes to alternative ideas for therapy. It is NOT to diagnose YOUR injuries. If you have similar pains, you should talk to a professional to verify that there is not further damage and you will not be causing permanent injury by treating it in some way.
Crossfit has a huge potential for injury, as it does for amazing results. Be smart with your training and you will last longer as an athlete and a human.

The problem:

I have not had any issues personally but just like the other injuries i have seen this come up over and over.  I have seen it mainly come up from massive amounts of pullups.  I think it is a factor of the constant downward jolt you get from doing butterfly (not a good idea unless competing) and the same jolt that a newbie gets when learning he kipping pullup.  I think this ends up being a purely tendonitis (overuse) issue.

The fix:

Along with ice and ice massage which i forgot to mention in the knee post.  Ice massage is helpful for just about any injury you can think of so don’t forget about it.  I think take a couple weeks off pullups can heal this.  Also try massage and trigger point work.  After 2 weeks off be smart about reintegrating pullups into your program.  Sorry for the lack of details here but i think it is a pretty simple injury to fix so don’t over think it.

Sunday is the second shot at it and you are lucky to have Brian of Potomac Crossfit to discuss how he got over 300 clients and 14 coaches involved in his affiliate in just over 1 year. Well worth the investment in my opinion.

www.blackboxsummit.net

i don’t think you have softened mentally. i think your focus has changed and you have developed a new set of mental skills. kind of the way that the development of strength and metcon compete with each other in the physical domain, the challenge of remaining calm and focused in the face of a potentially crushing situation (o-lifting) and pushing yourself past the pain (cf) compete with each other in the mental domain.  they are two different sets of mental skills.

most sports can be broken into one of two categories: skill or effort.  performance in gymnastics is almost entirely reliant on skill. performance in running/powerlifting is mainly effort–who wants it more on a given day. a few sports blend the two–o-lifting, wrestling come to mind.  cf is also a blend but once you have the stable of basic skills under your belt (of which o-lifting is probably the most complex), it is basically who can and will suck it up and deal with the most pain.  that was especially noticable at the games this past year.

personally, i think there is enough stuff in life that we just have to “deal with” and “get through” and a workout/situation that mimics that does not build mental toughness, it is just a beat down (my opinion).  sometimes you might need to do it just to prove to yourself that you can, but generally…not so much.  on the other hand i see real value in establishing the mental qualities of consistency, equanimity, relaxed focused and skillful conduct in the face of huge odds and intimidating tasks that oly’s and other skill related endeavor’s require.  the question becomes not “can you try harder?”, but ”can you behave well/perform complex tasks under intense pressure?”  so bottom line is, i don’t see your issue as a lack of toughness, i see it as a change of focus and an enhanced set of mental skills in a new arena.  if you have lost some “toughness”, is that really a bad thing in light of what you have gained in other areas? is that a trade off you are willing to make?

Side not:
I wrote this before my current injury but i think it still has tons of value, so enjoy and spend a bit of time reflecting on yourself and your training.

The next Black Box Summit will be April 24-25th at Catalyst Athletics.  You can find more information and details on speakers and topics at the above BBS website.

This is exciting because its real.  The event will include some of the best coaches and athletes in and around the Crossfit Community.  Among them are:

James Fitzgerald

Robb Wolf

Greg Everett

Michael Rutherford

Aimee Anaya

Nicki Violetti

Jeremy Thiel

Cary Kepler

and Me.

The event is largely driven by the Strength and Conditioning and Crossfit affiliates.  We are here to give you what you want in a format that is fun and inspiring.  There is going to a lot of interaction between attendees and presenters.  This allows attendees to dig into the subjects they are interested in.  The experts cover everything from business to coaching to training.  It is an event not to be missed!

See ya there,

Dutch