Crossfit Level One Certification Weekend = Phenomenal
If the post title wasn’t a dead giveaway, I recently had the pleasure of attending a Crossfit level one certification. It was phenomenal. After hearing about it for about a few years, sneaking in an occasional Crossfit workout, and then dabbling in it for the first half of this year I was ready to take the plunge. Here’s how it all went down.
Defining ‘Crossfit’ & Laying The Groundwork
Crossfit’s philosophy is that when it comes to fitness, the generalist is greater than the specialist. Your average weightlifter may be stronger than the average joe, but make them run a 800m dash and their heart will be beating through their chest. That’s not good. Conversely, a Tae-bo allstar may have great aerobic capacities but also might be able to count their vertical with their fingers or pop a lat attempting a pull-up. That’s not good either.
The main goal of Crossfit is to optimize performance across ten different attributes of fitness: Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy. The first four are seen through physical changes, the last four seen through neurological changes, with power and speed being a combination of both. It’s human nature to do only what you’re good at. Crossfit is all about getting people out of their comfort zones because that’s where all the great results are seen. The most tangible explanation of Crossfit fitness would involve an old lady pulling random fitness objectives out of a rotating bingo thingamajig (Sprint up a hill holding a heavy med ball, row 500m then deadlift 185 lbs 15 times, et cetera & the other infinite combinations) As the speed and number of exercises from the bingo machine that one is able to clobber increases, so does their overall fitness level.
The official straightforward definition of Crossfit is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. Another way of looking at it is performing natural movements while generating the most power with new stimuli each workout. The root of it all is obtaining the highest quality of life for the longest period of time. There’s a wonderful simplicity in that statement and a breath of fresh air from all the ubiquitous acai-fat-burning, ab-master-blasters, and eight-week-rex-kwon do infomercials that are floating around the internets.
Everyone I explain a Crossfit workout to thinks “That sounds like too much for me to handle!” but Crossfit is universally scalable and therefore built for everyone. It’s all about being as intense as possible relative to the abilities of the person performing the workout. For example, the Crossfit Workout “Chelsea” consists of five pullups, ten pushups, and fifteen squats performed every minute, on the minute, for thirty minutes. So where Mr. Muscles would do the workout as it is prescribed, someone not as fit might go for fifteen minutes or knock the reps down to 3-6-9. Grandma Moses could substitute ring or high inverted rows, push-ups on knees or a bench, and step-ups or squats while holding on to something stable. These workouts are built to kick some ass but this is a great thing in a fitness world where currently comfort reigns supreme. I always love hearing someone say “I could go for hours on the elliptical!” and then seeing that same person be completely juiced after slamming a ten pound medicine ball on the ground for twenty seconds. This is where Crossfit comes in. Plus the workouts are available for free at the main site with a 3 days on/1 off rotation.
Crossfit’s World Class Fitness in 100 Words breaks all this info down into something easily digestible (taken from windycitycrossfit.com):
* Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
* Practice and train major lifts: deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstands, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast.
* Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. ROUTINE IS THE ENEMY. Keep workouts short and intense.
* Regularly learn and play new sports!
For those craving a more in depth look at Crossfit’s definition of fitness and fun graphics check out this free article from the Crossfit journal
Learning The Ropes & Super High Quality Trainers
The trainer quality at the certification was amazing. Our lunch break looked like they were about to start filming the sequel to ‘300′ along with Jillian Michael’s younger sister on hand. The information they were presenting was light years ahead of traditional fitness ideology. My fitness training for the “Globo gym” I worked at consisted of two fifty-something ex-bodybuilders talking about proper machine technique, fiber intake recommendations, and how to sell a heart rate monitor for over a week. Vomit…
The foundational movements focused on were the squat, deadlift, and overhead press; all of which goes back to the original natural human movement basis. Everyone sits down, stands up (squats), picks up and carries items (deadlift and press) on a daily basis. The group started with a PVC pipe for the movements which was surprisingly effective and taxing after several repetitions and static holds. These were then progressed into two more complex movements for each original one – the front and overhead squat, the sumo deadlift high pull and medicine ball clean, and the push press and jerk. After all these movements were practiced we watched demos of hip extensions, back extensions, and sit-ups on the glute ham developer (GHD). Crossfit is a big fan of the GHD as well as midline stabilization and posterior chain engagement since they know that’s where the fitness magic happens. Later we practiced snatching with the PVC, kipping pull-ups, and the muscle-up – a pullup going into a dip on the gymnastic rings – some serious strength and stabilization needed for those guys…
‘Fun’ Workouts & Eye-Opening Efforts
At the end of day one the first workout we did was a slight tweak on Crossfit’s “Fight Gone Bad”. Fight Gone Bad consists of three rounds of:
Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
Box jump: 20″ box (Reps)
Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
Row: calories (Calories)
Each for one minute, clock doesn’t stop between exercises, and you get a one minute break before restarting the circuit. Add up your reps from all exercises and calories from rowing for your final number score. Unfortunately they were short two rowing machines, which I’m fond of, so burpees were substituted in, which no one is fond of. Incredible workout even though my shoulders were completely shot everytime I got to the wall-ball station since I began at the push press.
Day two we got to business early and did a workout called Apollo 13. Simple yet brutally effective requiring only a partner, 35 pound kettlebell, 20 pound med ball, and a roughly 100-yard oval. One person starts swinging the kettlebell all the way up, arms slightly past the ear while the other person runs the circle while carrying the deceivingly heavy med ball with partners trading the bell for the ball everytime around the circle. The catch is every minute, on the minute the group had to shout “Hell Yeah!” then drop down and do five chest to ground pushups otherwise potential future penalties would be enforced. This went on for ten minutes. When time was called and the volume of our Hell Yeah’s were deemed satisfactory.
After experiencing my first two legitimate crossfit workouts I realized I needed to crank it up to 11 when Crossfitting on my own. The Neuroendocrinological responses (Hormonal & Nervous System Changes for those who aren’t fans of 21 letter words) that elicit rapid results are correlated with these intense bouts of exercise. I was also convinced of Crossfit’s competitive atmosphere and recording every workout as means to continuous motivation. I vaguely remember running a 6:35 mile in high school and being happy when I did eight reps while working in with a smug rugby player’s squat max in college. Pleasant memories but not very relevant or motivating. Having a hundred and ten pound competitor of the fairer sex with workout scores nipping at your own was also very effective for keeping one’s butt in gear.
The level one weekend was an incredible experience, very exciting and humbling at the same time. When a former navy seal says he had to check his ego at the door and reassess his range of motion chances are there’s a lot of work to be done. I have to thank all the trainers for helping me shrug off just about all the remaining meathead philosophies I had left in my noggin. Swapping these two days for every high school students semester of ‘Health Class’ would probably make the world a little more pleasant to live in. Try a few of the workouts on your own or better yet find a Crossfit gym and stop in for a freebie workout. & if you didn’t recognize me from my twitter I’m the guy in the group photo with the fashionable scalene sweat triangle, blinking like a champion, smack in the middle.
