I often get asked what the best form of general physical preparedness (GPP) for kettlebell sport is. Most people would like a quick “silver bullet” solution and get frustrated by my answer: it depends.
The truth is, the variables of exercise selection, intensity, and duration are many. Each athlete is a unique and beautifully complex individual. There isn't a golden programme that will sort everything out for everyone, and this holds true in kettlebell sport as much as any other discipline.
I often get asked what the best form of general physical preparedness (GPP) for kettlebell sport is. Most people would like a quick “silver bullet” solution and get frustrated by my answer: it depends.
The truth is, the variables of exercise selection, intensity, and duration are many. Each athlete is a unique and beautifully complex individual. There isn't a golden programme that will sort everything out for everyone, and this holds true in kettlebell sport as much as any other discipline.
When drop-ins arrive at your gym, coaches recommend a friendly, inquisitive approach for best results.
Ask questions. Lots of questions. When it comes to coaching strangers, that's the advice from affiliate owners in some of the country's most visited spots.
Inquire about such things as medical conditions, how long the athlete has been doing CrossFit, his or her home gym, among other things, advised Charlotte Psaila, owner of CrossFit Kapaa on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. In the winter and summer months, the 800-square-foot affiliate sees at least two drop-ins a day, she said.
“Pretend like they are newbies 'cause to us they are newbies,” Psaila explained. “We've never seen them do anything.”
Zach Forrest echoed those sentiments. If the workout that day involves snatching, then the drop-in athlete will perform the same warm-up as everyone else, said the owner of CrossFit Max Effort in Las Vegas, Nevada. There, coaches interact with 10 to 20 drop-ins on weekdays, he said.
“We'll still review basic pull mechanics from the ground, basic squat positioning and receiving position. We're still going to treat them as though they're learning for the first time just to ensure they're on the same page as us.”
But before coaches even arrive at the point of teaching movement and providing cues, first things first: Be welcoming.
“The most important thing ... when it comes to their receptiveness to coaching is to be as friendly as possible,” Forrest said.
When drop-ins arrive at your gym, coaches recommend a friendly, inquisitive approach for best results.
Ask questions. Lots of questions. When it comes to coaching strangers, that's the advice from affiliate owners in some of the country's most visited spots.
Inquire about such things as medical conditions, how long the athlete has been doing CrossFit, his or her home gym, among other things, advised Charlotte Psaila, owner of CrossFit Kapaa on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. In the winter and summer months, the 800-square-foot affiliate sees at least two drop-ins a day, she said.
“Pretend like they are newbies 'cause to us they are newbies,” Psaila explained. “We've never seen them do anything.”
Zach Forrest echoed those sentiments. If the workout that day involves snatching, then the drop-in athlete will perform the same warm-up as everyone else, said the owner of CrossFit Max Effort in Las Vegas, Nevada. There, coaches interact with 10 to 20 drop-ins on weekdays, he said.
“We'll still review basic pull mechanics from the ground, basic squat positioning and receiving position. We're still going to treat them as though they're learning for the first time just to ensure they're on the same page as us.”
But before coaches even arrive at the point of teaching movement and providing cues, first things first: Be welcoming.
“The most important thing ... when it comes to their receptiveness to coaching is to be as friendly as possible,” Forrest said.
As strength coaches, the athlete's health should be our top priority. The role of a strength coach is to prepare athletes to play their sport and compete through strength and conditioning programs that are developed to elevate their athleticism.
As strength coaches, the athlete's health should be our top priority. The role of a strength coach is to prepare athletes to play their sport and compete through strength and conditioning programs that are developed to elevate their athleticism.
This time on The CrossFit Kitchen, Nick Massie of PaleoNick.com figures out the only way to make pizza better: using crispy bacon as the crust. This breakfast pizza takes bacon and eggs to a whole new level, and a side of broccoli brings balance to the dish.
Massie's first step is to toss the veggies with a drizzle of olive oil and his own Veggie Victory spice blend. The broccoli florets then go on a sheet pan to roast in the oven while he builds the pizza. The next step is to fry up a thick layer of bacon in a heavy cast-iron skillet and crack 12 eggs on top.
“Now as a culinary ninja, you'll be able to crack all of them without breaking the yolk,” Massie says.
Once the bacon crisps and the eggs set, he chops the pizza into eight slices and serves with a side of roasted broccoli.
Massie is now the instructor for the CrossFit Specialty Course Culinary Ninja, which is designed to give you confidence in the kitchen while you learn the basics of balanced recipe development as informed by CrossFit's nutrition principles.
To download the recipe for bacon-crusted breakfast pizza, click here.
Video by Nick Massie.
4min 25sec
Additional reading: “Breakfast Cupcakes” by Shirley Brown and Alyssa Dazet, published March 12, 2013.
This time on The CrossFit Kitchen, Nick Massie of PaleoNick.com figures out the only way to make pizza better: using crispy bacon as the crust. This breakfast pizza takes bacon and eggs to a whole new level, and a side of broccoli brings balance to the dish.
Massie's first step is to toss the veggies with a drizzle of olive oil and his own Veggie Victory spice blend. The broccoli florets then go on a sheet pan to roast in the oven while he builds the pizza. The next step is to fry up a thick layer of bacon in a heavy cast-iron skillet and crack 12 eggs on top.
“Now as a culinary ninja, you'll be able to crack all of them without breaking the yolk,” Massie says.
Once the bacon crisps and the eggs set, he chops the pizza into eight slices and serves with a side of roasted broccoli.
Massie is now the instructor for the CrossFit Specialty Course Culinary Ninja, which is designed to give you confidence in the kitchen while you learn the basics of balanced recipe development as informed by CrossFit's nutrition principles.
To download the recipe for bacon-crusted breakfast pizza, click here.
Video by Nick Massie.
4min 25sec
Additional reading: “Breakfast Cupcakes” by Shirley Brown and Alyssa Dazet, published March 12, 2013.
So you want to be a strength coach, eh? Turns out it’s not as easy as sitting through a weekend certification and getting a few letters after your name. In fact, even if you got a four-year degree from an accredited university, you still might not get the job of your dreams after school.
So you want to be a strength coach, eh? Turns out it’s not as easy as sitting through a weekend certification and getting a few letters after your name. In fact, even if you got a four-year degree from an accredited university, you still might not get the job of your dreams after school.
The “energy balance” is a myth. You can’t outwork a bad diet.
Jason Mathews almost lost his pull-up.
Though Mathews has trained at CrossFit Armoury for the past three years, a desk job in sales convenience trumped cleanliness when it came to nutrition, and his 30 unbroken pull-ups soon dwindled to less than a handful.
“Now to get one or two (pull-ups) in a row is tough,” he said.
Despite his commitment to training, a diet dotted with pastries and ice cream—a Dairy Queen is just down the road from the gym—has held him steady at nearly 30 percent body fat.
“I know it’s horrible for me,” he said. “I’ll always (plan to) start eating healthy again tomorrow … but there’s not enough tomorrows to make up for the amount of bad I’m doing to myself.”
Though Mathews reports that 75 percent of his diet is clean, “Just one or two (sugary) meals seems to sabotage me,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many times I work out. It seems like those calories are a lot harder to push out.”
The soda industry would have you believe otherwise.
Welcome to our brand new weekend roundup, Three of the Best! Every Sunday, we'll post up Breaking Muscle's top three articles of the week. These pieces have caught your attention throughout the last seven days. So here they are in one place for you to consume, digest, and enjoy.
Us humans are creatures of habit, and the postural positions you practice habitually have a huge influence on your running efficiency. You know you should be tall and not hunched over through your shoulders. You know your butt shouldn't stick so far out behind you it’s still at mile 11 as you approach mile 12. Many runners avidly read, view, or are instructed on strong running posture.
Failed by their schools, kids rely on parents and coaches to teach them about proper nutrition.
Toward the end of our cross-country flight from San Diego, California, to the Northeast, the first-class flight attendant appeared in coach holding a tray of fresh-baked cookies. The sweet, warm smell filled the cabin as she passed over the adults and stopped at every row with kids, carefully handing cookies to all the children. A few minutes later the drink cart rolled down the aisle.
“Orange juice? Apple juice?” the flight attendant asked my kids, ages 7 and 10.
Once we reached our final destination for holidays with family, the treats continued, including after-breakfast lollipops the kids found in the basement, multiple trips to the doughnut shop and sugary Vitaminwater for hydration following a spirited game of driveway basketball.
Each cookie or doughnut was given with love and a sense of celebration. None of the treats on its own was terrible, but day after day the kids exceeded the six-teaspoon added-sugar daily limit recommended by the World Health Organization.
As a health-conscious parent, I had two choices: smile and say nothing or speak up and make everyone feel bad.
I usually picked the first option, knowing our daily healthy eating habits matter more than a few days of holiday excess. But when is it time to choose the second option?
And how do you get through to kids when sugar is available everywhere and they’re told eating it is OK?
In my previous videos for Breaking Muscle UK, we’ve covered how to effectively engage your lats and your elbows to give you a more powerful and stronger deadlift. But for some, that isn’t always the barrier to successful lifts.
The NCAA says its regulation for strength coaches is aimed at benefiting and protecting athletes. Others say the motives aren’t so noble.
When the National Collegiate Athletic Association passed legislation in 2014 tightening requirements for Division 1 strength-and-conditioning coaches, it drew suspicion.
The regulation requires all Division 1 strength-and-conditioning coaches to hold a nationally accredited certification, with athlete safety and a desire to meet athletes’ performance needs cited as the impetus behind the rule change. But not just any nationally accredited certification is acceptable. The NCAA wants the certification from one accrediting body in particular: the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
One of the certifications the NCCA recognizes is the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) credential offered by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)—the same organization that, according to documents obtained by the CrossFit Journal, spearheaded efforts to institute the regulation that went into effect Aug. 1, 2015.
“This is a way for the NSCA to look good by saying, ‘All Division 1 strength-and-conditioning coaches have their CSCS,’ and it’s a way for the NCAA to say, ‘We care about athlete safety,’” said Colin Farrell, a strength-and-conditioning coach with the swim team at Marymount University, a Division 3 school in Arlington, Virginia. He also works part-time at Potomac CrossFit in Arlington.
He added: “Instead of (the NSCA) upping their game and providing a better service … they have tried to regulate themselves into relevance to (increase) their revenue.”
Running a successful CrossFit event is not a cake walk. It requires a ton of coordination and planning. Once you’ve put in the countless hours of thought, wrangled great volunteers, and written solid programming, the key is being able to adjust to the random things that come up. And believe me, there is always something, and it’s never small. In the 25+ events I have run, I have had everything from equipment not showing up to having to move an entire rig from one location to another in less than thirty minutes.
This week’s recipe is amazing for a post-workout protein hit. The mackerel, olive oil, spices, and cruciferous vegetables in the form of cauliflower mash offer a winning combination of anti-inflammatory nutrients, healthy fats, and antioxidants.
It’s easy to knock together in just 30 minutes and tastes quite simply awesome.
CrossFit Founder Greg Glassman: “Nobody’s doin’ enough with dumbbells.”
It makes workouts both easier and harder, movements better and worse, and Fran times go down and up.
It is the dumbbell—the paradox of workout implements.
“(It’s) a different effect. There’s no wiggle room. You can’t be off balance. You gotta keep your head steady. You have to have pretty good form to do stuff with a dumbbell,” explained Jason David, owner of St. Clair Shores CrossFit, roughly 15 miles northeast of Detroit, Michigan.
Dumbbells are vastly underused in most CrossFit affiliates the world over, as recently noted by CrossFit Inc. Founder and CEO Greg Glassman.
“Nobody’s doin’ enough with dumbbells. They’re amazing, amazing tools,” he said in January.
They’re also “hyper friendly” for every CrossFit movement there is, Glassman noted, and yet have the power to make some exercises all the more horrible.
Coaches are inundated with more videos of cool-looking, “sport-specific” exercises than they can possibly process. However, they are never given a good procedure by which to interpret, categorize, and organize their training. Randomly assorting training modalities together may make you feel like you’re working hard, but in reality, this way of training constantly wrestles against itself.
Welcome to our brand new weekend roundup, Three of the Best! Every Sunday, we'll post up Breaking Muscle's top three articles of the week. These pieces have caught your attention throughout the last seven days. So here they are in one place for you to consume, digest, and enjoy.
In “Potential,” Patrick Cummings presents his poetic meditations on how women in CrossFit are transforming the definitions of strength and femininity, opening up new possibilities for women in general.
As women push their limits during workouts, he suggests, they become role models for other women seeking to discover what they can do.
“We can discover evidence of our own potential inside the actions of another,” he says.
He further underscores the intertwining of femininity and strength as he explains that the barbell “stands for everything a boy is taught to chase—power and bravery—but … in thousands of chalk-filled gyms, women are killing the preconceived conception of their own frailty.”
In the poem’s refrain, Cummings makes an assertion proven daily in CrossFit gyms around the world: “Toughness knows not gender.”
Video by Patrick Cummings.
4min 31sec
Additional reading: “Frailty, Thy Name Is Woman?” by Hilary Achauer, published Oct. 19, 2015.
Let me tell you a story that will surprise you. It’s about a performance athlete, whose rehab after a calf injury was targeted in a bizarre way and demonstrated extraordinary results. I say this rehab was “bizarre”, because it wasn’t mainstream. The athlete in question was a footballer who had injured his calf and came to me for treatment and rehab. He had a tremendous capacity to run, jump and play in one of the toughest games on the planet – Australian football.
Here are my observations about the general population when it comes to fitness.
More isn’t always better: James Hobart explains how certain experienced athletes can add training volume to increase work capacity.
CrossFit programming thrives upon intensity, not volume.
This focus on intensity is a cornerstone of the CrossFit Level 1 and Level 2 curricula, and it is also one of the reasons many like CrossFit: fitness in an hour or less. Intensity is also a foundational piece of CrossFit Founder and CEO Greg Glassman’s “World Class Fitness in 100 Words”: “Keep workouts short and intense.”
For years we’ve trusted in and consistently witnessed the benefits of less-is-more high-intensity workouts. Any affiliate owner will tell you athletes of all ages and abilities reap fitness benefits from 60 minutes of training that include a warm-up, one workout and a cool-down.
Glassman has also said, “Be impressed by intensity, not volume,” and, “Past one hour, more is not better.”
If all that’s true, why do we see so many athletes adding training volume to gain a competitive edge, and how do they do it appropriately to maximize fitness? We aren’t recommending more training volume, but we do believe some approaches are better than others when athletes are ready for additional work.
Russell Berger attends Exercise Is Medicine credential workshop and discovers gaping holes in methodology.
There are two distinct fronts in the war between CrossFit and chronic disease. The first—and most important—is the battle being waged every day in our affiliates across the world. While CrossFit trainers aren’t selling a cure for chronic disease, increased work capacity appears to be diametrically opposite to metabolic derangement, heart disease and obesity. It is no longer surprising to hear that CrossFit athletes who signed up to improve their fitness have also been cured of chronic disease.
But another battle is going on, this one between CrossFit Inc. and those who are working to make what our affiliates are doing illegal. At the forefront of this effort are the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and partner The Coca-Cola Co. In 2007, these organizations co-founded the program Exercise Is Medicine (EIM). The EIM program aims to “encourage primary care physicians and other health care providers to include physical activity when designing treatment plans for patients.” These patients would then be funneled to EIM credential holders for training.
From our first exposure to EIM, we knew that behind the veil of health-care buzzwords the program represented a strategic business opportunity for both the ACSM and Coca-Cola. Further research painted a disturbing picture of EIM. Should it be successful, EIM would make the ACSM a gatekeeper for anyone hoping to train unhealthy clients and assure Coca-Cola that these trainers were sterilized of any influence that might harm soda sales. If we were correct in our reasoning, EIM represented an enemy not only to CrossFit trainers but also to the health and wellbeing of our entire nation.
We needed to know more, so on Feb. 20, Russ Greene and I attended the two-day EIM credential workshop in Atlanta, Georgia—which is also home to the headquarters of Coca-Cola.
