A common observation I’ve heard many times from more seasoned athletes (read: older) at the gym is a recognition that getting back into shape or generally maintaining their strength, fitness, and physique seems to be much more challenging than it used to be when they were younger. As the saying in professional sports goes, “father time is undefeated.” While it would be great to have the recovery capacity and boundless energy of our early 20’s, we can still maintain very high levels of fitness and capacity as we age, it just takes a more thoughtful and consistent approach.  

Here’s a simple analogy – think of aging as an athlete like walking up a hill. When you’re younger, it’s essentially a flat road – easy going, minimal friction or effort required to get better. As you get older, the hill begins to get steeper with time. The marginal effort to accomplish your task or maintain your physical qualities (strength, mobility, cardiovascular endurance, etc.) goes up considerably. Staying fit simply requires more effort with each passing year. With that in mind, we’ll cover the significance of making fitness and movement a daily priority to ensure we can both age gracefully and kick ass for as long as possible along the way.

As we age, our bodies undergo natural changes that can impede our physical abilities. Muscle loss, hormonal fluctuations, and decreased mobility become common occurrences. However, the old saying "use it or lose it" holds true. A sedentary lifestyle can have severe consequences, including an increased risk of chronic diseases, loss of independence, and reduced overall quality of life. Thankfully, if we never stop practicing our hobbies – lifting weights, yoga, cycling, golf, swimming, etc., we can likely continue doing them indefinitely provided we adjust volume and intensity appropriately and can manage to minimize the chance of injury.

Making fitness and movement a daily habit is the cornerstone of aging gracefully. Regular exercise offers numerous benefits for everyone as they age. It improves strength, cardiovascular health, flexibility, cognitive function, energy levels, stress reduction, and mood. By committing to a daily fitness routine, we enhance our physical well-being and maintain our vitality for years to come. Lean into activities that you find enjoyable and therefore are more likely to be sustained over the long term. Similarly, bodies in motion tend to stay in motion, so the best solution to lifelong fitness is to never let yourself get out of shape.

I came across a profile of Don Wildman several years ago after reading a blog post by legendary big wave surfer Laird Hamilton. Don was a lifetime athlete and embraced hard training and broad ranging adventure sports well into his 80’s. In the profile about Don, he provides valuable insights into defying the feeling of getting old that we can all benefit from. He trains with (much) younger athletes, showing that age doesn't have to limit us. He also took up new physical pursuits well into his 60’s and beyond, not letting his age be a deterrent to doing hard and novel activities. By embracing new and novel sports, we expand our horizons and keep our bodies and minds agile. Find people to work out with that can safely push you and make you forget your age, and don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.

The two most important qualities that will determine the quality of how you age are your ability to maintain muscle mass and joint mobility. Strength training with a focus on compound, basic movement patterns, and incorporating daily mobility exercises to keep your hips, shoulder, and spine limber will keep you feeling young and capable. Getting strong is a gradual process, but the benefits are both wide ranging and long lasting. Similarly, actively working on improving your ability to squat deep, hip hinge, rotate, press overhead and more ensure your body will have access to everything you may ask of it. This means we need to prioritize lifting weights to be strong and muscular, while also moving through full ranges of motion as much as possible.

Embracing the uphill battle of aging is essential for our overall well-being. Remember, it's never too late to start; take inspiration from Don Wildman's fearless approach and apply that to your own goals and pursuits. By taking a smart approach, prioritizing long term consistency over short term intensity, we can age gracefully and thrive in the face of challenges. Commit to daily exercise and movement, explore new physical activities, and cultivate a mindset of growth. The hill may be steep, but with determination and commitment, we can continue to stay in the game for a very long time. There are few things with greater upside or more worthwhile to pursue, so what are you waiting for?

“We are the sum of our actions, and therefore our habits make all the difference.” - Aristotle

When it comes to sustainable, long-term success in the realm of fitness, fat loss, and health there are certain behaviors top performers typically have in common. Keep in mind, nobody is perfect nor should 100% discipline and adherence to our habits be the mark we strive for. Rather, we should aim to check as many important “boxes” as we can, as often as we can. In doing so, we will likely continue to make progress in pursuit of our goals both in the gym and outside of it. Here’s the list, for reference:

Successful Athletes:

• Keep a training log and know their personal bests

• Are consistent in their training and don’t make excuses (either do or don’t, there is no “try”)

• Are willing to prioritize and make sacrifices to accommodate their workouts as needed

• Focus on cultivating a healthly, well-rounded lifestyle to empower their performance (sleep, diet, stress management, recovery practices)

• Have things they are working on outside of class – movement, mobility, aerobic endurance, specific weaknesses, etc.

• Are “coachable” and want to be coached

• Are good listeners, and aren’t afraid to ask questions for clarity or about how to get better

• Have other physical pursuits outside of CrossFit. What’s the point of being fit if you never use your fitness in real life?

• Recognize that the details matter. Small refinements compound over time to create large change

• Tend to focus internally (in your control) vs. compare themselves to others (external focus; out of your control)

• Work hard and are competitive! There’s no shortcuts or elevators to the top and you’ve got to always find new ways to challenge and push yourself

• Have good attitudes! Whining and complaining are a choice and make nobody better

• Show up prepared and ready to workout. They’ve eaten and hydrated and are mentally and physically ready to go

• Show up on time (if not early) and typically stay late. Same rules that apply in the real world

• Are willing to trust the process, presuming the process works & makes sense

• Have a long-term vision of where they want to be, and are willing to be patient to achieve that vision

This is by no means a complete list of habits and behaviors to emulate, but rather a collection of best practices exhibited by consistently successful athletes here at SSTC. Let this serve as a guide to help you figure out where you can make improvements and adjustments to consistently look, feel, and perform better! As a reminder, if you identify areas where you’d like to improve, but are unsure how best to go about it, just ask a coach for advice!
 

Originally published 6 June ‘19

Walking is a simple yet potent activity that can work wonders for our overall health and well-being. With its numerous benefits for cardiovascular health, mental well-being, weight management, and longevity, daily walking is a cornerstone health habit worth embracing.

Regular walking plays a vital role in enhancing cardiovascular health. By elevating our heart rate and improving blood flow, walking lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular health related conditions. It’s helpful to consider walking as an essential form of daily activity that needs to be performed independent of your exercise routine. Strenuous exercise is great but won’t provide all the health benefits of frequent walking and vice versa; the key is performing both. Do yout best to walk with good posture, maintaining an open chest while striding to maximize the benefits.

When it comes to improving mental health, walking can be a game-changer. Engaging in this low-impact exercise releases endorphins, the "feel-good" hormones, leading to improved mood and a sense of happiness that can also reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Engaging in nature walks allows our bodies and minds to recharge and rejuvenate. The restorative effect of being in nature can lead to improved cognitive function, increased creativity, and overall mental well-being. Bottom line – get your walks to help clear your mind, bonus points if you can do it in the wilderness (sans electronics!).

Walking is also a sneaky and underrated weight management tool. Regular walking burns calories and enhances metabolism while also being low impact and low intensity. Walking also helps regulate appetite, support digestion, reduce cravings, and prevent overeating, contributing to maintaining a healthy weight and body composition. A simple and effective trick to try out is incorporating a 10 minute walk after each meal, which helps with blood sugar management and stimulates the digestion process.

When it comes to essential activities for longevity, walking has long been associated with increased lifespan. Studies have shown that incorporating daily walks can lead to a longer, healthier existence by reducing the risk of chronic diseases. By embracing this simple and enjoyable habit, you are making an investment in both your short and long term quality of life and longevity. If you want to live a long and robustly healthy life, staying as active as possible is a major key.

To optimize the benefits of daily walking, it can be helpful to aim for a specific step count. According to Dr. Kelly Starrett, setting a baseline target of 8,000 steps per day is an excellent goal to strive for. It is important to note that the actual number may vary based on individual fitness levels and daily routines. The key is to gradually increase your steps, starting where you are and progressing at your own pace. Remember, that number is simply a baseline or “daily minimum effective dose”; if you can do more, even better.

If you're wondering how to incorporate more steps into your day, there are plenty of simple and practical strategies to consider. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator, park your car a bit further away, or schedule regular walking breaks during your workday. Throw in a walk post-meal, post-workout, or when taking a phone call. Get a dog, or borrow someone else’s dog, or simply remind yourself that the more time you spend on your feet while awake, the more likely you are to sleep well at night. These small changes can add up to a significant increase in your daily step count while also making the number feel less daunting.

Daily walking is a powerful tool to improve your physical health, mental well-being, longevity, and overall quality of life. By embracing this daily movement practice, you're taking positive steps (get it?) toward a healthier and happier life. Did we mention its free and you can do it anywhere, at any time? Remember to aim for 8,000 steps per day (use your phone or any fitness wearable to track), gradually increasing your step count over time. When it comes to enjoyable, sustainable, health enhancing and weight loss promoting habits, you’re not going to find a better one than regular daily walks. Start prioritizing it today and see the benefits for yourself!

Training frequency is a topic we’ve covered on the blog several times in the past, and for good reason: how we structure our workout routine can have a significant impact on the progress we make (or don’t make) both in out of the in the gym. The importance of being thoughtful in the scheduling our workouts, rest days, and relative intensity levels in the gym shouldn’t be overlooked, especially for those of us with a bit more mileage on the life/athlete odometer. Protocols such as “3 days On / 1 day Off” or “3 on 1 / 1 off / 2 on / 1 off” for example, tend to work well for those who train most days of the week. As a general rule, any training structure that provides at least 1-2 rest days per week and aligns well with your daily schedule are likely to be effective and sustainable over time.  

Training with sufficient intensity, frequency, and consistency are all key to making progress in the gym. However, the better you get at CrossFit, the more taxing the workouts can become – not simply in the moment suffering, but also residual soreness, and on-going mental/physical fatigue just to name a few challenges. Taking rest days here and there can absolutely help to mitigate the effects of working out hard. However, simply taking a few rest days a week while also getting after it day after day, week after week, can prove to be inadequate recovery for most athletes. Enter: the de-load week. 

De-load weeks are an extremely common, time-tested programming practice in lifting programs for any strength sport, such as Weightlifting or Powerlifting, as well in endurance programs for sports such as track and field, triathlon, and cycling. A De-load week is essentially a week where we significantly reduce one or more of the following variables: volume (total sets / reps / workout time), intensity (perceived exertion / weigh lifted as % of your max), and total workout frequency. De-load weeks or “back-off” weeks are opportunities to do just that – back off from what you’ve been doing the last weeks and allow your body the time to heal, recover, and ultimately get stronger, fitter, and faster. The beauty of the de-load week is that you aren’t taking a full week off from the gym, rather you are still showing up, breaking a sweat, and working on your technique – just at a much lower intensity and easier level of complexity.

Fatigue accumulates gradually over the course of a workout, but also over the course of days, weeks, and months of workouts. It’s rarely one workout that does you in with regards to feeling exhausted, beat up, or lacking the motivation to train. The effects of our workout routines manifest slowly, and when left unchecked, can eventually lead to sluggishness in the gym, minor nagging discomfort/issues, or even injury. Taking a bigger picture view we see that improvement for everyone (besides beginners) is non-linear. At first, we steadily improve, then plateau or slightly regress, followed by a period of steady improvement again because of either rest, adjusting our training, or some combination of both. 

Now that we’ve established what the de-load week is and why its important, let’s take a second to discuss how to implement it. When it comes to strength sports, de-load weeks are commonly programmed every 3-6 weeks depending on the program and athlete. For example, 3 weeks of pushing your workouts in the form of increasingly heavier weights or higher volume lifting followed by a week of significantly reduced weights, sets/reps, and likely movement complexity.

We can apply the same idea to regular CrossFit training just like we do our Weightlifters. For an athlete who regularly does L2 WODs, this may mean doing L1 for a few (or all) days one week, or performing the L2 workout at scaled weights and much easier paces. How frequently you need to perform these intensity back-off weeks depends on how well you generally recover from training (ah to be young again!), how often you workout, how heavy / hard you train, as well as external factors in your life that contribute to your stress and fatigue levels. This same concept applies to athletes doing L1 with higher frequency (>3x / week). Have days  or weeks where you keep the lifting lighter and intentionally work at easier to maintain paces such that you feel good once the workout is over.

How often you should program a de-load week to let your body heal will change throughout the year based on your training output and various lifestyle inputs. You should experiment with various time increments to find what works best for you. Fundamentally, this approach to working out is a proactive one, and requires you to be disciplined enough to stick to the de-load week plan even if you want to keep pushing yourself harder in the pursuit of quicker results.

Remember, long term consistency always trumps short term intensity; the effects of hard training tend to lag behind how we feel, so by the time we realize we need to take it easy for a stretch, it’s often too late and unintended consequences can enter the picture. With that in mind, let’s strive to stay ahead of the curve by smartly managing our workloads in order to stay healthy and able to perform when it counts! 

When it comes to our “big 4” lifestyle factors (diet, sleep, stress management, and exercise),  nutrition is easily the most confusing and misunderstood. There are endless and oftentimes conflicting articles, studies, diets, etc. purporting to be the optimal or best way to eat. Much of this advice lacks context (what’s your situation & goals?) and is rife with bias towards a particular viewpoint or clear economic interest. Ultimately, our nutrition strategies should serve the following purposes: optimize how we look, feel, and perform. This means carrying low(er) levels of bodyfat and more muscle mass, improving our bloodwork and biomarkers of health, and generally feeling good and having high levels of energy to be able to enjoy our lives.  

With looking good, feeling good, and performing well in mind, how should we go about eating and improving our diets? The CrossFit Journal provided the following prescription in its seminal article, “What is Fitness?”: “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.” Read that again, then commit it to memory. That prescription is both incredibly simple and powerful. Our primary dietary intervention should always be qualitative in nature. Before you ask about quantity, meal timing, macronutrient ratios, etc. first turn your focus towards what you are eating. 

Within this framework, you can eat whatever meat/seafood, veggies, fruits, etc. that you personally prefer, have access to, and can afford. If you don’t like broccoli, don’t eat it. But do try to eat a broad array of foods within these various categories, being mindful of your denser sources of carbohydrates (fruits, starches, etc.). Notice what is omitted – sugar, processed foods, cereal grains, legumes, and dairy among other things. Dairy and legumes are a bit more of a gray area – consume what you can tolerate, while recognizing some people do well with these foods, and others do not. If you prefer to consume more fruits & vegetables and less animal products, that’s perfectly fine. Again, our primary focus is qualitative – first eliminate or at least minimize all the crappy, processed, fake foods you consume. Once we’ve done that, we can consider next steps. 

After we’ve successfully implemented these dietary changes on a consistent basis, we can discuss concepts such as macronutrient ratios (protein / fat / carbs) and meal timing (intermittent fasting, for example). Most people want to immediately jump to advanced strategies like weighing and measuring their food, or fasting, before they’ve taken care of the low hanging fruit. To be clear: you don’t need to restrict your eating window or count your almonds and weight your chicken breast in order to be healthy, lean, and fit. 

Generally speaking, if our goal is to lose bodyfat then prioritizing protein and fat, and keeping carbohydrates at levels that match our activity level tends to work well. If you are already lean, and tolerate carbs well, then you can consume them in higher levels if you so choose. When it comes to quantity, eating 3-4 meals per day that satiate your appetite works well. This means eating until you are comfortably full, then stopping. Similarly, we can use bodyfat as an indicator – are my consumption levels making me more, less, or the same level of leanness? Adjust your approach based on your observations. 

Lastly, fasting can be an effective strategy to help normalize blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity, hormonal appetite signaling, and general limit our window of time for food consumption. Simply put, it’s harder to overeat when you cannot mindlessly eat all day long. Intermittent fasting involves establishing a window of time in which you can eat (typically 8 hours), and a time in which you do not (typically 16 hours). Within your feeding window, you are still trying to get in your ~3 meals and nutritional requirements. Many people do well with this structure and find the parameters minimally restrictive. 

When it comes to forging new nutrition habits, change can be difficult. If you want to increase your chances for success, the sequence of what you change matters. Focus first and primarily on what you are eating – we need to eat as much real, unprocessed foods as possible. If we’re able to accomplish that, we can shift our focus to when we consume these foods and in what specific quantities. There are few decisions that have as profound an impact on our health, mood, appearance, and general wellbeing as the foods we choose to consume – prioritize it accordingly!

By: Josh Dempsey

“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

A common pitfall we routinely observe athletes falling into is the belief that there is something inherently magical about the barbell as a tool for getting stronger, as compared to the kettlebell, dumbbell, sandbag, etc. The logic goes roughly as such- I’ll spend a few weeks getting the basics down with these simpler tools so that I can prove I’m ready to graduate to the mythical barbell like all the rest of cool kids in the gym who have been training longer than me. Sound familiar? It should, because if you’ve spent any significant amount of time in the weight room, you’ve probably had these exact thoughts at one point or another. Maybe you are still currently trapped in this thought paradigm.

There is nothing magical about a barbell. Nor is there anything magical about a kettlebell, dumbbell, sandbag, medicine ball, or any other piece of equipment in our gym. They are all tools with varying benefits, drawbacks, and degrees of utility. What’s crucial to understand as an athlete is that tools are always subordinate to movement patterns and training principles. Our express goal is to train all of the major human movement patters as frequently as possible, ideally with as much movement variety and diversity of stimulus as possible. If we accept this premise that squatting is important, we will then recognize that air squats, barbell front squats, kettlebell goblet squats, single leg squats, etc., are all equally valid and necessary means to help us accomplish our goal of squatting frequently.

Unless you are a strength athlete who competes in barbell based sports (weightlifting, powerlifting, strongman), there is no need to obsess over the barbell when it comes to performing strength work. The barbell will certainly allow for the greatest amount of weight to be lifted. However, we do not need massive weights, and the associated stress on our joints and connective tissues in order to get very strong. Look at gymnasts for example – they hardly lift, if at all, and possess some of the strongest upper bodies and midlines imaginable. Additionally, absolute strength doesn’t correlate 1:1 with athleticism. If the strongest athlete in a given contest were always the best athlete, the NBA, MLB, NFL, etc. would be dominated by recreational powerlifters and weightlifters. The reality is that you need to be strong enough for your given sport or athletic pursuit in order to perform at a high level without getting hurt. Strong enough doesn’t equal as strong as possible.

Understand that every tool has a purpose, a role to play in our quest to help you build yourself into a more robust, resilient, well-rounded athlete. We choose the tools we use based on what will best help the athlete improve given their build, experience level, goals, limitations, and several other factors. If you’re >6’3”, chances are you’re probably going to deadlift with a trap bar or off blocks and not from the floor. If you’ve got a significant shoulder mobility asymmetry or strength imbalance, get ready for a steady diet of single arm presses until we resolve the issue. The tools are a means to help us move better and accomplish our goals; think of the tools as interchangeable and unimportant. A well-rounded athlete has mastery of all the tools in the weight room, not just the barbell. They routinely spend time building and maintaining skill and capacity on the various implements we utilize. A resilient athlete isn’t one heavy back squat away from a knee injury, or a max-effort deadlift away from 3 months of physical therapy, etc.

When a coach tells you to perform a lift with one tool instead of another, it’s neither a punishment nor a regression, simply a better alternative for you at this time. The right to lift with a barbell is earned, not given. Once it is earned, however, always remind yourself that it is simply one of many tools in the arsenal to aid us in the path to getting better, fitter, and stronger.

Originally Published 19 June 2017

Training frequency is a topic we’ve covered on the blog several times in the past, and for good reason: how we structure our workout routine can have a significant impact on the progress we make (or don’t make) both in out of the in the gym. The importance of being thoughtful in the scheduling our workouts, rest days, and relative intensity levels in the gym shouldn’t be overlooked, and is increasingly relevant with the recent advent of Sunday classes last month. Protocols such as “3 days on / 1 day off” or “3 on 1 / 1 off / 2 on / 1 off” for example, tend to work well. As a general rule, any training structure that provides at least 1-2 rest days per week and aligns well with your daily schedule are likely to be effective and sustainable over time. 

Training with sufficient intensity and regularity are both key to making progress in the gym. However, the better you get at CrossFit, the more taxing the workouts can become – not simply in the moment suffering, but also residual soreness, and on-going mental/physical fatigue just to name a few challenges. Taking rest days here and there can absolutely help to mitigate the effects of working out hard. However, simply taking a few rest days a week while also getting after it day after day, week after week, can prove to be inadequate recovery for most athletes. Enter: the de-load week.

De-load weeks are an extremely common, time-tested programming practice in lifting programs for any strength sport, such as Weightlifting, Powerlifting, and Strongman. A De-load week is basically a week where we significantly reduce one or more of the following variables: volume (total sets / reps / workout time), intensity (perceived exertion / weigh lifted as % of your max), and exercise selection. De-load weeks or “back-off” weeks are opportunities to do just that – back off from what you’ve been doing the last weeks and allow your body the time to heal, recover, and ultimately get stronger. The beauty of the de-load week is that you aren’t taking a full week off from the gym, rather you are still showing up, breaking a sweat, and working on your technique – just at a much lower intensity and easier level of complexity.

Fatigue accumulates gradually over the course of a workout, but also over the course of days, weeks, and months of workouts. It’s rarely one workout that does you in with regards to feeling exhausted, beat up, or lacking the motivation to train. The effects of our workout routines manifest slowly, and when left unchecked, can eventually lead to sluggishness in the gym, minor nagging issues, or even injury. Taking a bigger picture view we see that improvement for everyone besides beginners is non-linear. At first, we steadily improve, then plateau or slightly regress, followed by a period of steady improvement again as a result of either rest, making adjustments to our training, or some combination of both. 

Now that we’ve established what the de-load week is and why its important, let’s take a second to discuss how to implement it. When it comes to strength sports, de-load weeks are commonly programmed every 3-6 weeks depending on the program and athlete. For example, 3 weeks of pushing your workouts in the form of increasingly heavier weights or higher volume lifting followed by a week of significantly reduced weights, sets/reps, and likely movement complexity. We can apply the same idea to regular CrossFit training just like we do our weightlifters. For an athlete who regularly does L2 WODs, this may mean doing L1 for a few (or all) days one week, or performing the L2 workout at scaled weights and much easier paces. How frequently you need to perform these intensity back-off weeks depends on how well you generally recover from training (ah to be young again!), how often you workout, how heavy / hard you train, as well as external factors in your life that contribute to your stress and fatigue levels. How often you should program a de-load week to let your body heal will change throughout the year based on your training output and various lifestyle inputs. You should experiment with various time increments to find what works best for you. Fundamentally, this approach to working out is a proactive one, and requires you to be disciplined enough to stick to the de-load week plan even if you want to keep pushing yourself harder in the pursuit of quicker results.

Remember, long term consistency always trumps short term intensity; the effects of hard training tend to lag behind how we feel, so by the time we realize we need to take it easy for a stretch, it’s often too late and unintended consequences can enter the picture. With that in mind, let’s strive to stay ahead of the curve by smartly managing our workloads in order to stay healthy and able to perform when it counts! 

By: Josh Dempsey 

Back in middle school, I had a math teacher that would constantly harp on the importance of using our calculators as a tool for a specific purpose, and not as a crutch we were dependent upon. In hindsight this was clearly smart advice, but at the time it was much more convenient to become expert at using the calculator to outsource any long form problem solving needs or critical thought. 

Let’s apply this same “tool, not a crutch” concept to some of the most commonly utilized pieces of workout gear in the gym: gymnastics grips, lifting belts, wrist wraps, and knee sleeves. Each one of these items has a specific intended purpose and benefits when used correctly. However, when used incorrectly or too frequently, an undesirable dependency can arise which can mask our weaknesses or limitations and also hold back long term progress.  

Gymnastics Grips: These are great for both practicing higher volumes of hanging gymnastics movements or in “grippy” WODs that feature lots of reps of pull ups, toes to bar, etc. Gymnastics grips create a buffer between the bar and your hand, which can help minimize or prevent callus tears. Many grips also provide a stickier gripping surface, improving your connection with the pull up bar. The problems arise when athletes start using grips any time their hands come into contact with the pull up bar, regardless of the workout or rep scheme. In order to have a truly strong and resilient grip, we need to condition our hands gradually over time. This is done by spending lots of time on the pull up bar sans grips doing hanging work, pull up variations, gymnastics swings, hanging ab-work, etc. Use the minimum amount of chalk to get the job done, and no more. Recognize when you simply need to take a little longer rest versus reaching for more chalk. Lastly, lets distinguish between using grips because our hands are beat up or the workout has high volume and when we are compensating for a weak grip that needs developing. Takeaway: you don’t need grips to touch a pull up bar; wear them occasionally, but develop comfort and capacity without them as well.

Weightlifting Belts: The primary purpose of a weightlifting belt is to help stabilize our spines during lifting by helping us create higher amounts of intra-abdominal pressure. Essentially we inflate our diaphragm like a balloon, which presses outwards in all directions against our belt. This facilitates tension and bracing in your core, which supports more powerful squatting, deadlifting, and more. The belt is useful when appropriately tightened (not too tight!), and the athlete understands how to breathe and brace to maximum effect. My general advice is to avoid using a belt unless we are lifting heavy (>80% of 1RM) or performing rep max tests (3RM, 5RM, etc.). Even still, it is helpful to understand and use the breathing techniques performed using a belt without a belt on. Wearing a belt too frequently and at inappropriate weights can mask a weak core or poor bracing strategies. Takeaway: breathe deep and brace hard on your warm up sets, and use the belt for that extra boost on your heaviest lifts. 

Wrist wraps & knee sleeves: These items have similar uses and functions – knee sleeves provide mild compression, aid in stability, as well as warmth for the joint; wrist wraps primarily provide compression, which stabilizes the joint and limits unwanted end range extension. Similar to a weightlifting belt, you should consider using either of these tools only on specific movements (heavy or high rep overhead lifts & squats, handstands, return from injury, etc.). We recommend wearing compression tights or sweatpants to keep your knees warm (especially in the cold weather months), as warm joints are happy joints. Save the knee sleeves for your heavy squats, deadlifts, and lunges. With that in mind, don’t wear knee sleeves to mask or mitigate knee pain. If you can’t squat without them, you probably shouldn’t be squatting at all, or at least until you can do it pain free. 

The same goes for the wrist wraps – make sure you are spending time performing regular wrist mobility (circles & rocking/stretching on the floor) before lifting while also keeping them off during your warm up sets to strengthen the muscles and connective tissue. Takeaway: don’t use a sleeve or wrap to mask a mobility / warm-up / warmth deficiency; take the time to loosen up, and keep your problem joints warm for better function. 

Remember: the durable, resilient athlete is always ready to perform and unlikely to miss time in the game or the gym. Why? Because they work on their weak points, listen to their bodies, and know how to use a tool for a task without letting it become a crutch or necessity. Challenge yourself as an athlete, even if it means taking a few steps back in the short term, to cultivate broader and more robust capability in the future. 

By: Josh Dempsey

“If you want an easy to remember way to measure your food…count it in pounds. ‘How many pounds of meat did I eat today?’. Simple.” – John Welbourn 

One of the common issues people typically face when switching over to a Paleo / Primal diet is the issue of satiety. Namely, in changing your diet, you’ve likely eliminated a lot of your normal calorie sources, and also drastically reduced your carbohydrate intake. As a result, you’re probably noticeably hungrier after meals or generally find it more difficult to feel “full” throughout the day. 

We need to first understand that the notion of “satiety” is in fact a hormonal and neurological signal that comes from the brain via the gut and surrounding organs. This process is fairly complex and multifactorial, and also typically operates on a time delay. For example, if you've ever gone on an ice cream or pizza bender, you are familiar with the feeling of going from hungry to uncomfortably stuffed with seemingly little notice in between.  

If you find yourself constantly hungry throughout the day, here are some tips to help combat your insatiable appetite. First, start by increasing your protein intake. For athletes, especially those looking to gain strength and build muscle mass (read: everybody), aim for .8-1 gram of protein / lb. of bodyweight as a daily target. Your next line of defense is increasing your fat intake. Think more eggs (eat the dang yolk!), cooking with butter & coconut oil, snacking on nuts and seeds, eating fattier cuts of meat, and throwing avocado on everything as a few easy suggestions. Lastly, look at increasing your starchy (roots and tubers) carbohydrate intake- think potatoes of all varieties, squash, yams, and white rice as ideal options. If body composition is the primary target, be mindful of your total quantities of starchy foods consumed, as carbs are the least satiating macronutrient. However, if you are training hard and body comp is solid, you need your high quality carbs, and potentially lots of them. Eat ‘em up to fuel your performance! 

Here’s the last thing to keep in mind: if body composition is good, performance is good, and you feel good, don’t worry about how much food you are eating. Some people have big appetites, and that's just fine. If you are eating a ton of food, but things are going well for you and you aren’t piling on weight/body fat, then don't fret over calories or portion sizes. Focus instead on continuing to improve progress in the gym, how you look, and how you feel. 

Originally Published 15 December 2015

By: Josh Dempsey

As you may have noticed over the past several weeks, we’ve been incorporating more unscored workouts into our regular weekly programming. This concept may seem a bit foreign since the leaderboard and scoring workouts is such a common feature in CrossFit classes. To be clear, we do value the principle of pursuing results that are observable, measurable, and repeatable. However, the leaderboard is simply a tool that provides a snapshot of one’s daily output that has both benefits and drawbacks. The goal of this post is to hopefully provide some insights as to why we are making this subtle shift in focus, and the rationale behind why we think this is worthwhile.  

Our 3 primary drivers of improved fitness are 1) functional (i.e. practical) movements 2) lots of variety and 3) intensity. If you want broad, capable, robust fitness the first 2 are a must, and the 3rd(intensity) is also necessary, but must be used judiciously to avoid burnout, excessive soreness, injury, and other undesirable outcomes. Additionally, longevity in CrossFit (or any sport) is closely connected with an ability to regulate intensity on workouts (i.e. easy days and hard days) based on how you feel on a particular day, and also taking into account relevant external factors. In short, long term consistency trumps short term intensity.  

The leaderboard is a quantitative measure of output – L1 or L2?; how many rounds?; how fast?; how heavy?; etc. While all of these are useful measures, of equal or greater importance is movement quality and execution, which can’t be easily quantified in a score. From experience, we know that once the clock and scoring gets involved, things can get a bit weird. In the pursuit of a better score, athletes will cut reps short, “miscount”, shorten rest intervals, try movements or loads they aren’t ready for, and generally try to find any way possible to eke out a slightly better score than the athlete next to them. By occasionally removing the pressure of the whiteboard and stopwatch, the goal is to shift the emphasis to better movement quality, learning proper pacing strategies, and generally increase our internal vs. external  focus while working out. 

CrossFit provides a daily competitive outlet, which can be highly motivating. With that being said, it is beneficial to not always be nervous before a workout because of a need to push yourself as hard as possible. Pressure to compete all the time isn’t sustainable and can easily take the fun and enjoyment out of training. Ultimately, your score really only matters relative to your past performance (on a benchmark, for example) and the goals & expectations you have of yourself. Simplifying even further, the best question to ask yourself after a workout is the following: “did I give my best effort today relative to what I was able to give?” 

Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of workouts we perform are unique and unlikely to be repeated in their exact form. Knowing the specifics of how you did on a workout you probably won’t do again isn’t that important. However, knowing your numbers on commonly repeated benchmarks is much more useful to measuring progress and/or the effectiveness of your current routine. As such, we are making an effort to ensure we perform benchmark workouts with consistent frequency and regularity so we are able to accurately track improvement. We are by no means looking to discourage performance or getting after it on a regular basis. We know that many of you love CrossFit because of the opportunities it provides to challenge yourselves and compete, which we are happy to facilitate. Similarly, just because we aren't scoring a particular workout on the whiteboard doesn't mean you should stop tracking for yourselves, recording your scores in your training logs. 

Lastly, for athletes that are new to CrossFit, we want to gradually introduce intensity into the mix as it takes the body time to acclimate to our style of training. We’re also looking to build a foundation of correct and repeatable technique, which shouldn’t be rushed. Mechanics, consistency, then intensity is a winning formula regardless of your ability level. Also, not every workout structure or movement is ideally suited to traditional programming (EMOMs, AMRAPs, etc.); the unscored workout provides opportunities to broaden the scope of our programming, try new ideas, and therefore provide valuable variety and new challenges in classes. 

Hopefully this provides a bit more clarity as to why we’re embracing the unscored workout. Let’s continue to aim high and gradually improve, while also reducing the pressure to always “perform” and therefore make training a bit less stressful and hopefully more fun and enjoyable over the long haul. 

Additional resources: 

• Catalyst Athletics | Eliminating The Stopwatch: Timing Workouts

• Business Of Fitness Podcast #80: Should You Score Workouts?

By: Josh Dempsey

“Repetition is the mother of all learning” 

Deliberate practice is one of the primary keys to improving the quality and efficiency of your movement. Every rep of every set you perform is an opportunity to ingrain and reinforce proper mechanics. When we do careless or sloppy reps, we are subconsciously learning bad habits, which in turn can hold back progress and also lead to potential injury. 

With these concepts in mind, I want you to reconsider how you approach your next 5-rep set of deadlifts. Don’t think of it as a set of 5, instead think of it as 5 sets of 1, or 5 singles performed consecutively. 

Often when people perform 5 reps in a row, the first rep looks great, and at some point during the next 4 reps the technique devolves or looks fundamentally different than the first rep. This change in technique could be due to fatigue, lack of focus, loss of position during the lift, etc. The bottom line is that the athlete’s efficiency and execution were sub-optimal (you were able to do 3 good reps and 2 low quality reps in a set of 5). From a simplistic, outcome only viewpoint, were you able to lift the weight, yes or no? The answer is yes. However, in all sports, especially strength sports, the difference between a made and missed lift at maximal weights is razor thin. The goal isn’t simply lifting the weight, it’s lifting the weight with precision and control. 

In powerlifting and weightlifting competition, there are no do overs when you make a mistake on a lift and fail. You are only performing a single repetition at a time and that rep must be excellent to maximize your chances for success. Note – you can have textbook technique and still miss your lift if the weight is too heavy or your effort is inadequate; conversely, you can still make a lift with poor technique, but this is a rarity in high level competition and you are at a heightened risk of injury. By looking at 1x5 reps as 5x1 rep, we are getting better at the most important skill in lifting: doing a single repetition really well.  

Applied to the deadlift, whether you reset on the floor each rep, or perform a controlled touch and go technique, you remove any bouncing of the bumper plates off the floor and thus strengthen you ability to pull off the floor from a dead stop. Experienced lifters are capable of smoothly lowering the bar to the floor and immediately continuing into their next rep without the benefit of any momentum or rebound. However, we prefer all novice lifters to slow things down and take the time to breathe and re-establish tension between reps when doing a set of 5 to ensure proper technique and to reinforce better habits. 

Originally Published 6 May 2016

Fried Eggs, Roasted Potatoes (re-heated), Avocado, Smoked Salmon

“Honestly, seriously, you don’t know what to do about food? Here is an idea: Eat like anadult. Stop eating fast food, stop eating kid’s cereal, knock it off with all the sweets andcomfort foods whenever your favorite show is not on when you want it on, ease up onthe snacking and— don’t act like you don’t know this— eat vegetables and fruits more.Really, how difficult is this? Stop with the whining. Stop with the excuses. Act like anadult and stop eating like a television commercial. Grow up.” – Dan John

The amount of information published daily on nutrition and different dietary options can make eating healthy feel like a daunting task. The number of choices is overwhelming, and oftentimes conflicting in their prescriptions. How do we sort through the noise and find an effective approach to eating that is both nourishing and sustainable? Here’s a starting point, in the words of Dan John: Eat like an adult!  

What does eating like an adult look like you ask? Meat and seafood, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some starch, little to no sugar. Foods from these categories should make up the bulk of your meals throughout the week, in whatever combinations and quantities you prefer. While we have unlimited options and the autonomy to eat whatever we please, it’s important that we have the discipline to not do just that. We need to establish our own personal “diet” that meets our needs and goals. Diet in this case does not refer to the modern connotation of a trendy short term plan/cleanse/detox that will help you “get ripped in 30 days”, which works wonders until the moment you stop doing it. Instead, we’re referring to the actual root of the word, which means “way of living.” If your “diet” is simply a series of unrelated short term solutions, it’s inherently not a diet. What we need instead is a logical framework that can be used as a lens through which we can evaluate food choices to better determine whether or not they align with our principles, and make  decisions from there. 

Let’s take a look at breakfast for example. Do you consistently eat it? If so, what do you typically eat? If your breakfast involves cereal or some other product whose spokesperson is a cartoon character or target consumer audience is a 6 year old, we’ve got some room for improvement. If you regularly rush out the door and skip breakfast or grab something convenient en route, the same goes for you. Breakfast doesn’t need to be time consuming nor complicated to make, and in many case can be prepared the night before and simple reheated or taken to go in the morning. Think protein shakes, overnight oats, leftovers, etc. However, when we start the day with sugary cereal, a bagel, etc., we’re putting ourselves at an immediate disadvantage. Good blood sugar maintenance (specifically not constantly spiking it) is a marker for both long term health, and short term wellness. When we eat foods that are satiating (protein, fat, low GI carbs), we tend to stay comfortably full longer and more easily avoid the pitfalls of snacking that often result from rapid blood sugar drops and the resultant food cravings for quick calories. Additionally, what we eat either empowers of hinders our performance in the gym. Viewing food as fuel can be a helpful filter to prioritize various food choices, namely asking ourselves if a particular item will positively or negatively effect the quality of our workout that day. Fortunately, there is significant overlap in food choices and decision making whether we are eating for better body composition, general wellness, or improved performance. 

When we regularly eat sugar or refined grains to start the day, the cumulative effects of these choices will very likely be reflected in both our cognitive and physical energy levels as well as our waistbands. Instead, let’s strive to regularly fuel up in the morning with protein, fat, and carbs from convenient and enjoyable sources so that we can thrive daily in all areas that matter.  

As any frequent traveller will attest, maintaining your normal workout routine while on the road can be challenging. Long flights, disrupted sleep patterns, busy days, social events, unpredictable meals, and more can all conspire to sabotage the progress you’ve made in the gym in short order. When you’re travelling, the key to maintaining a sense of normalcy and not feeling totally wrecked upon your return is focusing on what you can control and making the most of your situation.

 Depending on the length of your trip and the structure of your days, here’s some tips and strategies to optimize your time away from home. 

First, take into consideration the length of your trip. If we’re talking a short, mid-week business trip for example, I recommend keeping it simple. Your best options here are going for a run / long walk / bike ride (almost all major cities have public bike share services as do many hotel chains, or a quick hotel gym workout. If you opt to workout outside, shoot for 30-60 minutes, ideally first thing in the morning. Take 5-10 minutes to loosen up, get in a good sweat, and get on with your day. For hotel gym workouts, your options are largely going to be dictated by the gear & layout of the facility. I’ve seen great and terrible hotel gyms, but you can always get in a good workout if you’re able to be creative. Generally speaking, I’d shoot for 20-45 minutes, placing a premium on higher rep free weight and bodyweight movements, maybe some cardio elements (bike / treadmill / elliptical), performed in a circuit with the goal of elevating the heart rate and getting your sweat on. On shorter trips, I’d recommend working out daily as a way to jump start your day, loosen up, and energize your mind and body. Here’s some great resources for workout ideas that can be done with minimal equipment and time: 

• Concept2 Rowing Workout of the Day

• CrossFit Out of Town / At Home Bodyweight Workouts

Next up is the longer business trip / vacation. In this example, you may have a bit more time and flexibility to workout and as such have more options to take advantage of. In addition to the aforementioned hotel gym or outdoor workout, also consider dropping in to a local CrossFit affiliate or taking a class at a local studio.  

First, you should still strive to get your workout in first thing in the morning. This is typically the only time of day you have full agency over, time can easily get away from you on vacation, and if you put off exercise, there’s no guarantee you’ll have time to do it later. Not wanting to get up early is an easy excuse to make, but you’ll thank yourself later for following through. 

I always try to drop in to local CrossFit gyms when I’m travelling and encourage you to as well. You’re guaranteed to meet some cool people and get in a great workout in a familiar setting, albeit with strangers. First, use the CrossFit Affiliate Map (or Google, obviously) to see what gyms are closest to you. Check their website to see their drop in policy and schedule, and always try to call or email ahead to inquire about dropping in for class. Get there early to sign the waiver & pay, then get after it and go about the rest of your day. Option 2 is taking a class at another local fitness studio. Same rules apply to taking a CF class; check the website, reach out in advance, and get there early. Personally, I’d opt for a hot yoga class if I wasn’t doing CrossFit since I always seem to feel much more tight and stiff from sitting on planes and sleeping in unfamiliar beds. Sweating and stretching seem to get me back to baseline, but if you prefer spin or something else, that works too! You may consider using a service like Class Pass if you travel frequently, as you can choose from a wide array of classes & studios in your local area and register online in advance from the convenience of your phone. Many studios and CF gyms cap their classes, so this can help you ensure a spot in the class.  

Lastly, a note on planning and preparation. Do your homework in advance of your trip – figure out your workout options, nearby studios, etc. before you fly. Once you know your options, you can pack accordingly. If you’re going to CrossFit for example, bring your gym shoes, tape, wrist wraps, etc. so you’re ready for whatever the workout may hold. I’d also be sure to pack a good water bottle and some portable, healthy snacks to have pre- or post-workout for some quick energy. I find that I am much more likely to workout when I register for a class or schedule the time and location of my workout in advance, rather than haphazardly hoping I find time at some point to squeeze something in.  

Don’t let a little travel stop you from keeping up with your workout routine. Remember, some movement is always better than none, and maintaining your workout habit matters way more than the workout itself. With some advanced thought and planning, you can successfully mitigate the effects of both short and long term travel. Adapt, improvise, and keep moving forward! 

By: Josh Dempsey

“Last time I checked no one cares if the workout isn’t in your wheelhouse. Get to work.” – Chris Spealler 

There’s two schools of thought when it comes to checking the blog prior to coming to the gym to workout. Some people avoid looking at the upcoming workout entirely as it may give them anxiety knowing what they’ve got coming, or they may use it as an excuse to skip the gym that day because a workout looks too hard / too easy / isn’t something they enjoy or are good at. On the other hand are people that have to check the blog because knowing the workout and having time to process that information is way less stressful than being unprepared. 

Neither of these approaches are right or wrong as we all have our preferences. However, the issue that arises is when advanced knowledge of a workout affects our behavior and decision whether or not to come to class. The primary deterrent to your attendance on any given day should be external schedule conflicts and things generally out of your control, not your feelings towards a particular WOD. 

If our goal is to truly get fitter and more well rounded as athletes, we can’t simply show up on heavy, barbell strength oriented days and be conspicuously absent on interval rowing or longer, bodyweight and running intensive days. You’re doing yourself a disservice both mentally and physically by avoiding putting ourselves in situations where we are going to struggle and be challenged. To think of it another way – how can you possibly hope to improve at a particular movement or type of workout if you never allow yourself the time to practice at it? It’s okay to have things you enjoy and things you don’t, but having preferences is very different than having limitations and gaps in your abilities. 

Lastly, I’ll remind you that some of the best, most strenuous workouts are deceptively “simple” on paper. It’s easy to misjudge or dismiss a workout before you do it when it might be exactly what you needed that day. Be sure to also avoid the trap of “I could do that at home, so I’ll skip today” in reference to an interval running or bodyweight intensive workout, for example. From my experience, I’ll almost guarantee you won’t workout at home, and if you do, it certainly won’t be to the same standard or intensity level you can achieve here at the gym. If you want to adopt a growth mindset, tell yourself the following and stick with it: I’ll do whatever is thrown my way to the best of my ability, no complaints, because that’s what it takes to continue to improve over the long haul.  

“We are the sum of our actions, and therefore our habits make all the difference.”

When it comes to sustainable, long-term success in the realm of fitness, fat loss, and health there are certain behaviors top performers typically have in common. Keep in mind, nobody is perfect nor should 100% discipline and adherence to our habits be the mark we strive for. Rather, we should aim to check as many important “boxes” as we can, as often as we can. In doing so, we will likely continue to make progress in pursuit of our goals both in the gym and outside of it. Here’s the list, for reference:
 
Successful Athletes:

• Keep a training log and know their personal bests

• Are consistent in their training and don’t make excuses (either do or don’t, there is no “try”)

• Are willing to prioritize and make sacrifices to accommodate their workouts as needed

• Focus on cultivating a healthly, well-rounded lifestyle to empower their performance (sleep, diet, stress management)

• Have things they are working on outside of class – movement, mobility, aerobic endurance, specific weaknesses, etc.

• Are “coachable” and want to be coached

• Are good listeners, and aren’t afraid to ask questions for clarity or about how to get better

• Have other physical pursuits outside of CrossFit. What’s the point of being fit if you never use your fitness in real life?

• Recognize that the details matter. Small refinements compound over time to create large change

• Tend to focus internally (in your control) vs. compare themselves to others (external focus; out of your control)

• Work hard and are competitive! There’s no shortcuts or elevators to the top and you’ve got to always find new ways to challenge and push yourself

• Have good attitudes! Whining and complaining are a choice and make nobody better

• Show up prepared and ready to workout. They’ve eaten and hydrated and are mentally and physically ready to go

• Show up on time (if not early) and typically stay late. Same rules that apply in the real world

• Are willing to trust the process, presuming the process works & makes sense

• Have a long term vision of where they want to be, and are willing to be patient to achieve that vision

This is by no means a complete list of habits and behaviors to emulate, but rather a collection of best practices exhibited by consistently successful athletes here at CFSS. Let this serve as a guide to help you figure out where you can make improvements and adjustments to consistently look, feel, and perform better! As a reminder, if you identify areas where you’d like to improve, but are unsure how best to go about it, just ask a coach for advice!

“Most of life is showing up. You do the best you can, which varies from day to day.” - Regina Brett

What’s the secret to long term, sustainable progress in the gym? If I had to provide one simple, actionable piece of advice, it would be this: show up! We’ve all heard it before, but the saying really does hold true, especially in the realm of fitness, health, and longevity. When it comes to improving physical capacity, strength, technique, flexibility, etc. frequency of exposure is a critical variable for success. What we see here at the gym is that there is a direct through line from class attendance to improvement in all the meaningful ways we measure progress and success (better performance, body composition, technical skill, recovery capacity, etc.). Simply put, there are no shortcuts or replacements for doing the work, week in and week out. You can give maximum effort two days a week, but you’re not going to see the same progress as someone who is also working hard and training 4-5 days per week. There are a few caveats here of course: we’ve all got different schedules, goals, and recovery capacities. Let’s look at each of these individually:
 
Schedules: Your schedule might be such that you can’t train every day, even if you’d like to. You don’t need to train everyday to get better, but you do need to be consistent. We recommend 3x / week as a minimum effective dose to aim for. This might mean coming in at 6am if you’re busy in the evening, later at night after a long day at work, or on Saturday morning before your weekend plans kick in. Recognize we all have the same 24 hours in the day and plan your workouts accordingly, even if that means setting the alarm a little earlier than you’d like. Progress or excuses, the choice is yours!
 
Goals: What are your goals? What are you training for? How do you measure success? Taking time to answer these questions will help us mold and adapt our programs to best meet your needs as an athlete. Most people are simply training for the rigors of daily life and don’t have a particular sport, event, or competition on their calendar. If you do play a sport, are training for a race, or have some other specific pursuit in mind, CrossFit should serve as your general preparatory training that supports all those activities. CrossFit should enhance, not detract, from your other physical pursuits, so there is likely a need to be mindful of both weekly volume and intensity, especially when in-season or near competition. If you’ve got specific goals, talk to a coach about a smart plan to achieve them and how to best incorporate CrossFit with any outside physical pursuits you may have.
 
Recovery Capacity / Experience Level: CrossFit is hard. There’s a learning curve when it comes to getting better, and progress can be slow and difficult at times. Rarely does someone come in with the baseline level of fitness and skills required to train 4-6 days / week, nor do they need to. With that being said, the body is amazing at adapting to the stresses placed upon it. Train 3 days per week until your body acclimates, then consider adding another day. After doing that for a few months, maybe you consider adding another day to your weekly routine. Taking the incremental approach is the best way to avoid burnout and injury. Gradually increase the demands you place on your body so that your capacity to recover from training can keep pace. Allow yourself plenty of runway for steady development and sustained results.
 
We must remind ourselves that daily movement is both restorative and essential to our health, fitness, and wellbeing. In order to maintain vital physical traits such as flexibility, strength, and work capacity, we need to practice and train the fundamental human movements that we focus on daily in CrossFit (push, pull, hinge, squat, carry etc.). The other side of the coin when it comes to increasing your training frequency is the need to manage intensity appropriately. Here’s the motto to live by: long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity. Not only is it okay to take an easy day or leave something in the tank for next time, we encourage it! Priority number one is showing up and moving; let your coaches help you navigate the other relevant variables that drive progress.

“Counting Macros” is a growingly popular approach to dieting that involves hitting predetermined daily calorie numbers via specific macronutrient ratios (carbohydrate, protein, fat). This growth in popularity has been aided and accelerated by the proliferation of apps such as MyFitnessPal and other quantified-self technologies that allow people to easily track their food intake, activity, sleep levels, etc. This method is largely a quantitative approach to nutrition and diet, wherein the individual is exclusively concerned with their calories and specific macro goals (carb, fat, protein). One figures out a few baseline parameters – activity level, current weight, goals (lose body-fat, gain weight, maintain, etc.), and then utilizes a calculator that analyzes these variables and spits out your daily macro “prescription” of X calories, carbs, protein, and fat. From there, one would need to determine how to spread out the daily macro intake across various meals and snacks.
 
First, let’s establish that there are many effective ways to tackle the questions of how, what, and when should I eat to optimize my health, body composition, and performance. Many people find success with the counting macros approach and thrive off the inherent structure it requires. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the pro’s and con’s of adopting this approach.
 
Advantages:
• Structure – you’ve got a specific macro prescription to hit and it’s up to you to do that in the most effective manner possible
 
• Everything Counts – every snack and meal counts and must be accounted for. You are now accountable to the app and your daily goals, and must adjust your intake based on your choices throughout the day
 
• Better Understanding of Portion Sizes – presuming you are largely tackling this approach via meal prepping your own food, you should gain a much better appreciation for carb / protein / fat portion sizes and how they differ from your old or normal consumption patterns
 
• More Mindful Eating – How much of your current eating rituals are deliberate, conscious acts and how many of them are just mindless habits? Eating a quality breakfast before work is a deliberate act. Eating a muffin or donut at the office because they are there is mindless eating, simply done out of habit or impulse. When everything counts, you tend to be a little more selective about when and where you use your finite calories.
 
Pitfalls:
• Lack of emphasis on quality – despite what you may have heard to the contrary, all calories are not created equal. Hitting your macro targets with wild caught seafood, fresh produce, and avocado versus fast food and energy drinks will not yield the same results in the short or long term. Highly processed, low nutrient density foods are unhealthy regardless of the ratio you consume them in.
 
As a general rule, focus on eating as much high quality food as often as possible before trying higher order nutrition strategies such as counting macros. You aren’t going to track for the rest of your life; make sure you know how to eat correctly and adequately without the use of a smartphone app
 
• Tendency to Binge Eat – extremely commonplace with folks that track their macros is a self-imposed cheat meal / cheat day / cheat weekend to provide relief from the rigidity of their regular eating. The basic premise is follow a super strict approach during the week, then go completely off the rails at some point over the weekend and consume everything you’ve been avoiding. Eating tasty, unhealthy food from time to time is normal; going on food benders is a clear sign of a disordered eating behavior with long-term pitfalls if left unaddressed
 
• Prescription Accuracy – who is determining your caloric needs? What about your macro ratios? Are your ratios regularly being reviewed and adjusted to reflect both the relevant variables in your life and your progress or lack thereof on your current ratios?
 
• Inherent inflexibility – Your macros are fixed and unfazed by your appetite, social calendar, daily workout volume, travel plans, etc. Regardless of whatever complicating variables at play, you still have to hit your numbers
 
• Impractical – weighing, measuring, and meal prepping work great when your schedule and life are routine and largely unchanging. However, if you travel regularly or have a highly unpredictable job, you will likely struggle with such a regimented approach to eating
 
• Smart Phone Dependence – Macro tracking only practically works via smartphone applications, allowing us to see updated numbers in real time as well as a database of common foods, preparation methods, and portion sizes. Most people are already overly reliant on their smart phones as it is, and this will absolutely add another significant time reliance to the docket. Every meal will need to be tracked, and typically in real time, to maintain accuracy and up to date numbers. This means more screen time, which none of us needs.
 
Ultimately, the best diet is the one you can successfully adhere to. It has to be a way of life that resonates with you, which is built to last. Macro tracking can be an effective tool in the long-term pursuit of better health, performance, and graceful ageing. However, it is important to understand both the benefits and the shortcomings before going all in on an approach that may or may not be ideal for you and your goals.

How you behave in the weight room speaks volumes about your character as a person and experience level as a lifter. As is the case in many other settings, gym etiquette amounts to accepted customs and practices, dos and don'ts, and general guidelines one would be wise to follow in order to engender themselves to their fellow athletes and coaches. Here’s a list to get you acquainted with the ways of the weight room.
 
1) Always re-rack your weights and clean up after yourself. The same thing you were probably taught in kindergarten equally applies in the gym. If you take it out, put it back. If you cover something in chalk, sweat, or DNA, wipe it down and get it back to the state you found it. This also applies to mini whiteboards used to count your rounds.
 
2) Show up on time (if not early). Lateness disrupts the class, is rude to the coach, and negatively affects the quality of your workout. “Stuff” happens, just don’t make it a habit.
 
3) Respect the equipment. Most of it is extremely durable, but everything has an intended use, and will breakdown quickly if used incorrectly. Bumper plates are intended to be dropped, dumbbells are not. Boxes are designed to be jumped on, not dragged or kicked across the floor. Treat the gear as if you had to pay to replace it yourself if it broke.
 
4) Be mindful where you walk and stand. Just like in golf, it’s poor form to walk in someone’s line. In the gym, this means don’t walk directly in front of someone in the middle of a focused lift as this is an unwanted distraction that can impede their focus. Same goes for standing directly in front of your lifting partner; don’t do it. Instead, stand on the side or somewhere out of the way.
 
5) Load your barbell correctly. Don’t keep adding small bumpers or change plates when there is a larger plate available. Small plates are flimsy, make it harder to calculate the weight being used, and limit the supply for everyone else. Don’t be that guy/gal with 4 10’s on each side when you could simply throw on some 45’s instead.
 
6) Don’t attempt to spot someone who didn’t ask for assistance / doesn’t know you are trying to spot them. Conversely, don’t spot someone on a lift if you don’t know how to spot them correctly. If you are spotting someone, you better pay close attention and not be a spectator.
 
7) Don’t ever drop an empty barbell on the ground. Just don’t.
 
8) Don’t make everyone else wait for you in order to start the WOD. You didn’t just suddenly have the need to go to the bathroom. You’ve also known what shoes you should be wearing and what gear you need since the start of class. Plan accordingly. Asking “wait, what are we doing?” when the coach is about to start the timer also applies here.
 
9) Don’t even think about leaving until everyone else finishes the workout. Show some support and cheer your classmates on!
 
10) Don’t use equipment you didn’t get out yourself. Don’t ask “is someone using this rower?” It obviously didn’t pull itself down, so go get your own.
 
11) Chalk: in the bucket, on your hands, on the bar (from your hands). In reasonable quantities. Clean it up when you finish.
 
12) Always strive to keep your lifting:talking ratio properly balanced (less talky, more lifty). Respect that many people come to the gym for a reprieve from work, home, etc. and simply want a chance to blow off some steam in peace. Don't’ be a distraction to everyone else!

“You don’t need harder workouts. You need to go harder in your workouts.” – Tom Hackenbruck

 As coaches, a common refrain we hear from clients goes something like this, “I feel like I’m not getting pushed enough in class / I’m not improving as fast as I’d like to / I feel like I need a harder workout.” These are of course valid concerns, as seeing progress is one of the most appealing aspects of doing CrossFit. With so many different movements and workout types, it’s not to continually see improvement by simple virtue of showing up. However, there inevitably comes a time when all those newbie gains grind to a halt, and PR’s are harder to come by. When this happens, how do we continue to improve?
 
All things being equal, intensity is the independent variable that determines your rate of progress in the gym. With that in mind, in order to continue to progress towards your fitness goals, you should aim to gradually ratchet up how hard you are pushing yourself in a given workout or workouts in general. Another, seemingly contradictory, fitness truism is the concept that long-term consistency will always trump short intensity. While this is accurate, it’s worth noting that this concept only works when applied to appropriate training methods done with quality technique and effort. If you are consistently doing pointless exercises with mediocre effort, your results will reflect that. Ultimately, we are looking for a combination of these two principles to see long-term improvement. Yes, you need to regularly push yourself hard, especially on days you are feeling good. You also need to take a wider view and recognize that minimum exercise volumes and loads must be met in order to maintain and build your fitness.
 
Broadly speaking, folks fall short in one of the following two areas: either they aren’t training hard enough when they come to the gym, or they aren’t training frequently enough to take their fitness up a notch. With that in mind, your lack of intensity has nothing to do with whether or not you are doing the L1 or L2 workout that day. In general, L1 features less technical movements than L2, and is geared more towards challenging your work capacity than your ability to execute higher order movements when fatigued. An L1 “AMRAP”, for example, places no upper limits on your ability to get out of your comfort zone and exhaust yourself. The movements may be “simple”, but the workout certainly isn’t “easy”. In fact, it’s extremely common to see people who have marginal ability on an L2 movement, say pull-ups, perform the L2 workout and perform poorly as a result. They wanted to do the “harder” workout, despite the fact that L1 would have been a much more appropriate and challenging workout given their abilities. The distinction between L1 & L2 becomes much easier to comprehend if you view them on a continuum from less to more technical instead of easier and harder. Instead of attempting to simply survive the L2 workout, strive to dominate the L1 on a consistent basis. Remember, the difficultly of a workout is almost entirely a factor of the effort you put into it.
 
How do we consistently push ourselves harder? First, keep a training log. If we deadlift every week, and you don’t know what you did last time we deadlifted, how can we possibly improve upon our past performances? Top performers know their numbers and keep training logs. Strive to increase the weights you are lifting in WODs, reduce the amount of rest you allow yourself between movements in a circuit, and raise your level of expectations regarding your performance of a particular workout. If you think a workout is too easy, the more likely culprit is your weight selection, pacing, and effort. Before you come complaining to us coaches, make sure you’ve taken care of those variables first.
 

CrossFit, like all worthwhile pursuits, takes time and sustained effort to improve at. The athletic pedigree, injury history, genetics, and training background you bring to the table will certainly play a large role in the trajectory of your learning curve as well. No matter where you fall on the continuum of these parameters, the master key to long-term success is “coachability”. Why is coachability so important? Because of the impact it has on so many other attributes impacting your athletic development.
 
Coachability is the willingness to listen, be corrected, learn, and to act on that correction. The 2 variables that most determine your coachability as an athlete are effort and attitude. In any situation, you are always in control of these two things, and should strive to optimize them. Effort isn’t about the leaderboard or your score; it’s about working hard, embracing discomfort, and genuinely giving your best effort. Coaches notice and will always reward hard work and sweat equity in the weight room. Attitude is about staying positive, being open-minded when it comes to feedback, and willing to adjust your technique and approach in the pursuit of improved execution and performance. Being a coachable athlete ultimately is a choice you make that is determined by your mindset. In order to make the most of your time in the gym, you need to trust in the advice and judgment of your coaches, stay present and engaged, and work hard.
 
Inherent in the coach-athlete relationship is a division of labor: the coaches job is to coach, the athletes job is be an athlete and train. As coaches, we are concerned with the long-term development of the individual, from novice to seasoned CrossFit athlete. Getting good at CrossFit and all the various disciplines involved takes months and years, not days and weeks. There are no shortcuts to learning the nuances of kettlebell exercises, basic gymnastics, barbell lifts, etc., only countless repetitions. It is easy to fall prey to the idea that we are unique and able to skip the fundamentals, jump from the boring “basics” to the more novel complex lifts that they see more experienced athletes perform. The flaw in logic here is that they didn’t see the countless number of workouts the advanced athlete performed in order to earn the privilege to tackle the more advanced movements.
 
With all this in mind, it is essential that you play an active role in your pursuit of improved fitness, health, and development. As the Danish proverb goes, “he who is afraid to ask is ashamed of learning.” Ask questions, be inquisitive, experiment, and rely on the advice and guidance of individuals that are more experienced and accomplished than yourself in the areas you seek to improve upon. If you do that, and are willing to put in the work, success will take care of itself!