Science Friday – Olympic Lifting Makes You a Better Athlete - By Jeff Pruitt

By Jeff Pruitt - Originally posted at CrossFit 316

We’ve discussed the idea of power training before  - namely that improving power output creates better athletes. Increasing power output  improves the athlete’s strength, jumping ability, acceleration, etc. Clearly these attributes are desirable in nearly every athletic endeavor. So the question becomes – what is the optimal strength and conditioning program to increase these attributes?

Many coaches and exercise scientists agree that Olympic weightlifting movements are good at improving rate of force development (RFD) but also believe that the movements are difficult to learn and thus the negatives of this learning curve outweigh any potential benefits when compared to other strength and conditioning approaches. This comparison is the focus of a Brazilian paper I want to discuss today entitled “Short-Term Effects on Lower-Body Functional Power Development: Weightlifting vs Vertical Jump Training Programs“. In this paper athletes were put into 1 of 3 groups for an 8 week training period.

• Weightlifting Group (WL) – Half Squat, High Pull, Power Clean, Clean & Jerk
• Vertical Jump Group (VJ) – Half Squat, Hurdle Hops – double leg and alternated single led, 40cm Drop Jump
• Control Group – No Training, only pre and post tests

Participants in each group performed the following tests prior and following their 8 weeks of training: Squat Jump (SJ), Counter Movement Jump (CMJ), 10m and 30m sprint speed, agility test and half-squat 1RM. The results of these tests are quite interesting.

The WL group significantly improved their SJ, CMJ, 10m sprint speed and half-squat 1RM, while the VJ group only improved the CMJ and half-squat 1RM. The VJ training group out performed the WL group only in the 1RM squat. And while strength is certainly correlated to power, the slight improvement in strength for the VJ group did NOT carry over to other tests of power when compared to the WL group.

So only given 8 weeks and using subjects who had never been exposed to olympic weightlifting, the WL group outperformed the VJ training group in nearly every measure of power performance. I think this week’s conclusion is best summarized by the authors themselves:

Conclusion: “Even though Olympic lifting exercises require more time for the learning of specific skills, the short-term training effects seem to be more beneficial for improvement in the performance tests used than in traditional jump training in physically active subjects. The greater skill complexity required for the Olympic lifting exercises facilitates the development of a broader physical abilities spectrum, which seems to be better transferred to performance.”

Greg Glassman talks CrossFit

Greg Glassman, the founder and owner of CrossFit talks at the Illinois Policy Institute in March of 2013. While I'm not a huge fan of the mullet, the one hour and twelve minute (!!) talk is pretty good. It is definitely telling of the early days of CrossFit and how his model for business came to be.

There is also some discussion on the split between him and his wife - and how CrossFit was almost fed to the investment wolves at Goldman/Sachs.

Check it out in chunks...it's a lot to take in one sitting.

Heavy Deadlift Fitness Workout #117

Day 45/58

INTENSITY:
9-6-3 Reps of:
Deadlift (285/225)
2-for-1 Wall Balls (20/14)
Turkish Get-Up (1.5p/1p)

RESET:
3 Minute AMRAP
Wall Walk-Ups

2 Minute AMRAP
Box Jumps (24/20)

1 Minute AMRAP
Calorie Row

Rest up to 60s between AMRAPs

Crazy CrossFit #1 - Stupid Shit gives the community a bad name

WTF are you doing?? THIS is fitness?

Let me preface this short article with the fact that I love CrossFit programming - I love the constant variation and combination of lifting, body weight and non-standard exercises (kettlebells, HSPU, sled pulls, etc). I wanted to get that in there because, while I love the idea of CrossFit, sometimes the community of CrossFit is bat-shit crazy. 

Whether it's on high from CFHQ or is just percolated by a need for "one-up-manship", some of the crap that goes on out there by CrossFit trainers is pretty flipping horrendous.

It's not that I dislike the programming style; it's that people take it too far. Da fak is this guy doing? Hula hoop for time? CrossFit circa 2009 was at the top of its game - they had people like Robb Wolf, Greg Everett, John Sheaffer, Mark Rippetoe, CrossFit Football (Power Athlete HQ), Gym Jones (Twight) and a number of other highly skilled, highly educated (former) supporters of the movement. Today they have Reebok and Dave Castro.

Keep it up, Dave. Your spine is not yet splattered across that back wall.

Meaningful, thought provoking advice from the people who bring you shoes:

I don't intend for these posts to be as controversial as, say Beast Modal Domains or anything like that. I interview CrossFitters, I support the methodology and even incorporate CrossFit into my training - but I do not believe for a second it's the only thing keeping me and my followers in shape. 

Technique and skill trumps high rep, low weight every time. Efficacy in moving the weight around should come first and foremost - and that is a message that many CF trainers and MOST new CrossFitters fail to grasp. The newest CrossFitters today are coming into the programming through crap like this:

Or from having watched the CF Games (which I generally watch as well, mind you). The problem with these is they place NO emphasis on the training required to successfully and realistically accomplish these movements.

On top of that, we have people with literally no fitness background "training" other people to focus on speed or weight over function! How beneficial is it going to be to a client if they get that "Rx" by hurting themselves and then being out of training for three weeks???

The bottom line is: the "community" has exploded in the last few years with little or no controls over how the methodology is interpreted by the average box owner. If I were "king for a day" at CFHQ, I would re-assess how affiliates are established by creating a "Level 2" program that required some educational background in the area of physiology, exercise science, sports science (or the like). Make this level 2 a requirement for establishing an affiliate and allow level 1s to be the trainers there. Build foundations, not a house of cards.

That, of course, would severely curtail the $3,000 affiliate fee revenue stream for HQ.

The methodology is effective, but the community continually does stupid shit that undermines any legitimacy the program hopes to find.

Finally - if you're reading this and you feel like I'm slamming you, read it again. I'm not. The community is the basis for WHY CrossFit is a successfully marketed enterprise. It's not unique in the sense that the "snatch" or kettlebell work are new and epic elements of fitness. It's foundation is the community....and right now that community is a little bit out of control.

If you're saying to yourself "Hey, I fall into that category!", you probably should re-assess what you're doing at your box. Take a little bit of time to educate yourself on the physiology of the human body; learn a little about the functions of fitness and the effects of exercise on the body. Don't take your CF cert and think it's the end-all, be-all of your fitness education. It SHOULD BE used as a doorway to further your knowledge and awareness.

Parting Shot: if you have to spend a good portion of your time defending your fitness program, you're either doing it wrong, or there's some room for change and improvement. Which do you think it is?

Sprints and Thruster Fitness Workout #116

Day 44/58

INTENSITY:
5 Rounds for Time of:
100m Sprint
9 Snatch (95/65)

RESET:
2 Rounds of:
15 GHD Sit-Ups
50' Spiderman Lunge
15 Around the World (45/25)

Bear Complex Fitness Workout #115

Day 43/58

INTENSITY:
The Bear Complex
7 Sets of the Sequence:
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push Press

Complete 5 Rounds (no time component)
Do NOT set the bar down during the 7-set sequence.
Rest no more than 3 minutes between rounds

Penalty: 5 burpees for each time you have to drop the bar during any 7-set sequence.

RESET:
30 Reps in any order of each of the following:
Barbell Roll-Out
Push-Up
Barbell Good Mornings (45/35)
Samson Lunge

Paleo Bang-Bang Shrimp

Ingredients
Originally posted at Our Paleo Life

• 1 lb frozen Shrimp (thawed, peeled, deveined)
• ¾ cup Paleo Lime Mayo (Link)
• 3 Tbsp Tapatio Hot Sauce
• ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• ½ tsp Garlic Powder
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Put the shrimp in a bowl and add garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mix around to evenly coat the shrimp.
• Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• While you’re waiting for the oil to heat up, combine the mayo, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes in a medium sized bowl.
• Once the oil is hot, add the shrimp, stirring frequently.
• When the shrimp are opaque and done (about 3-5 minutes) add them to the sauce in the bowl bowl and stir until coated.
• Serve over some Zucchini Noodles (Link) and enjoy!

Double Unders Chipper Fitness Workout #114

Day 42/58

INTENSITY:
For Time:
100 Double Unders
90 Push-ups
80 Sit-ups
70 Air Squats
60 Broad Jumps (6'/4')
50 Walking Lunges
40 Pull-Ups
30 Ring Rows
20 Toes to Bar
10 Burpees

RESET:
10 Minutes: Shoulder Work
4-Way Shoulder Stretch w/ Band
PVC Pass Through
PVC Flag Poles

Run, Deadlift and HSPU Fitness Workout #113

Day 41/58

INTENSITY:
3 Rounds for Time of:
800m Run
21 Deadlift (185/135)
12 HSPU

RESET:
2 Rounds of:
15 GHD Sit-Ups
10 Air Squats
5 Man Makers

Endurance Series - Week 6

Phase Length: 8 Weeks
Week 6 of 8

Monday:5x100m Sprints, EMOM
Tuesday:Max Distance, 20min
Wednesday:INTENSITY ONLY
Thursday:200m Walking Lunge
Friday:5x100m Kareoke, rest 60s
Saturday:400m Bear Crawl
Sunday:Rest
TTC - Time to Complete; usually Rest TTC or rest the amount of time it took you to complete the exercise.

Rest no less than 4 and no more than 8 minutes between the Endurance and the Intensity WOD.

For additional information on CrossFit Endurance, check out http://crossfitendurance.com