Before I go any further I would like to once again point out that these are my own personal opinions, and they do not in any way shape or form represent any kind of official opinion on the matter from CrossFit! This is a personal blog, and these are my personal opinions..
The last week or so I have been asked by a couple of people to comment on the article that John Sheaffer of (former) CrossFit Greyskull has written, on why he has chosen to resign his affiliation from CrossFit.
At first I wrote e-mails to the people who wondered what I thought about the matter, and his reasoning for stepping out of the CrossFit community. Now however there are now so many to answer that I have decided to answer where I stand in the matter on my blog.
For those of you who have not read the article, please google CrossFit Greyskull, and you should find the article right away! So as of now I will assume that you have read the article or at east know what the matter is all about!
The first thing that seems to be bothering mr Sheaffer, is that anyone who has attended a level 1 cert can become an affiliate. This does not in any way ensure that these people are "good enough" at programming, to ensure a good training enviroment, where the needs of every individual client is met! They will preach the same kind of mindless met-com bad ass WoD's to anyone who walks through the door!
To be honest I don't think I understand mr Sheaffers problem? I don't know of any other gym that requires that you become certified in order to be able to open up for business! I know of lots of olympic weight lifting clubs that have begun because of peoples burning intrest in the sport, but no license was required! The same for gyms that cater to body builders.. the story continues, I think you get my drift!
At CrossFit you are provided with an introduction to the standards we live by, and train by before you are allowed to start your CrossFit gym!
The fact that not everyone is molded in the same mold is a part of the success behind CrossFit! You are introduced to the standards and given a permit to venture into the world of training to make your own experiences within a given set of parameters! Had everyone been molded in the same mold and guided in what to do and when, we would have never evolved to the place we are today. Needles to say mistakes have been made by affiliates all over the world! The question is what they have done with these experiences?
The ones that learn from it and grow will eventually become infinately successful, and the others will soon disappear from the CrossFit scene!
To bitch and moan about the affiliates that do mind-less WoD's and preach a uniform training regimen for everyone- is just down right stupid! With CrossFit we scale loads and intensity and in that way we make sure that everyone gets exactly what they need. If mr Sheaffer has forgotten that already, then maybe he should have been paying more attention to what is being said at the certs!
The affiliates who do not scale to meet individual needs- will very soon run out of business...... hmmmmm!
Mr Shaeffer is upset that there is no test at the end of a level 1 cert, so that we can ensure that the participants who have completed a level 1 cert, are actually worth calling themselves level 1 trainers!
I could argue that he has a point, and the arguments are easy to find! However..
The way it is schemed today- the person who has attended a level 1 has been introduced to the standards that we live by, and if you want to continue developing as a trainer you immiately begin striving towards improving your skills so that you will eventually pass your level 2.. For expert expertise you attend the specialist certs, but the level 1 is merely an introduction!
Much like a driving license is a confirmation that you have the skills to venture into traffic, but you are by no means an expert driver yet!
Mr sheaffer is also very upset that PVC pipe is being used instead of real barbells at the certs, and his argument is that you can't teach the proper technique with a piece of PVC!
I comletely disagree! The fantastic thing about PVC is that it allows everyone work the same movements under no load! Issues like flexibility become obvious at once.. There is no hiding inflexibility in ie. your lats,triceps and forearms when you are working with a piece of PVC.
The argument is kind of like saying that pro MMA fighters should always do all their boxing with MMA gloves, and never go lighter with boxing gloves in order to get the technique right! Let's see how many MMA fighters stay at your gym with a policy like that- now lets see how many actually become successful fighters?
The PVC provides a very safe enviroment to introduce he olympic lifts, to people who may not have done them before!
If you want the hard core lifting practice, all you have to do is attend the olympic lifting certs!
The Zone diet gets a kick in the head from mr Sheaffer as well!
Had he taken the time to read the book with no pictures, he would have known that the Zone is all about tweaking the diet until you get the block compilation you are most comfortable with and that gives you the best results... But I guess you only know that if you actually read the book!
One of the things that I have always enjoyed about CrossFit and the community in general, is that it allows anyone to speak, and it allows anyone to test their theories. Coach has always called himself a fitness whore, always seeking new ways to shorten the way to athletic epiphany!
Whenever you can come up with something that is better than what I do, and you can prove your results, I will begin doing it in an instant- because we share the same goal for improved fitness! But if we do not allow the affiliates, that are not brought up the same way we are or can show us miles and miles of certificates to prove their excellence, to make these experiences, then we will never develop! There has to be room under the CrossFit umbrella to do really stupid any-asshole WoD's every once in a while!
Just a thought- What would mr Sheaffer say to Mikko Salo who won the Games this year? What he does and his approach to training is so far from what we do, and what mr Sheaffer advocates that he would have fallen into the idiot box created by mr Sheaffer! Sometimes you need someone who will stir it all up!
I have read the article a bunch of times the last couple of days, and a couple of things just bug me!
1- If you are better and have a better product than the box down the street, then you have nothing to fear! It will be obvious to everyone. Don't underestimate the intelligence of people!
2- When is it bad programming? When mr Sheaffer does not like what he sees, or when people do not reach their goals? If they do not reach their goals- please see point 1!
3- A well respected member of the community, near and dear to HQ said this and that! If that person can't say this openly then I cant be bothered caring what they think. And when they decide to come forth- let them do so themselves! I don't think mr Sheaffer has to speak for that one person!
This is why Rip left HQ! Let Rip talk for himself, until Rip says this is what happened, you are just running with rumors!
4- If a guy cant press this and that then he has no say? Since when does physical ability build a basis for your right to an opinion?
5- They wore this and that shirt, that said this and that about someones mother! mr Sheaffer has fun at the expense of Dutch Lowy, and later Michael Jackson- but wen someone wears a shirt with a text like that it automatically gives him the right to discard the humor! mr Sheaffer you are the humor magistrate as well?
Altogether mr Sheaffer comes across as a very bitter guy, and I am sorry that he felt he had to resign his affiliation instead of staying and working for a change! But that is the fantastic part having no backbone whatsoever! You don't have to stay and stand up for your opinions, all you do is throw the bag of crap, then turn your back and run, leaving it to everyone else to do the cleaning up!
This whole thing about hybarnation is just not working out all that well for me!
Much love
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Share the joy!
I guess I was supposed to be in hypernation i my cave. playing with evil schemes for the Scandinavian Challenge! I honestly had plans made to do just that, only to come out to share some grunts of discontent whenever something outrageous caught my attention!
Well, plans are made to be broken, and today I would like to share a fantastic feat with you!
I have had the pleassure of working with a very determined client for a while now. When we met, he had all the 9 basic moves to legit standards in his "toolbox", and he was determinaed that the sky was the limit of where he could go! He is in his late 40's and he has no prior history of athletic performance!
This gentleman now does 15 kipping pull ups, a "fran" as rxd in 11 min, and yesterday he did strings of 3 rep deadlifts at 100kg! The man is a beast:-)
What I am trying to say is that it is never to late to make a commitment to where you want to take your physical fitness, and the sky truly is the limit.
It would have been fantastic if I could have claimed that these success were all because of the fantastic coaching I had provided him with, but the truth is that anyone could have coached this man to success! He decided where he wanted to go, and with the determination he put into his training he has now reached goals- he could have only dreamed about a year ago!
I look forward to seing where this athlete will go from here, and hope to be a part of the journey for a long time to come!
Stellar effort bro!
One again no names are mentioned- you know who you are!
back to the bat-cave!
Much love
Well, plans are made to be broken, and today I would like to share a fantastic feat with you!
I have had the pleassure of working with a very determined client for a while now. When we met, he had all the 9 basic moves to legit standards in his "toolbox", and he was determinaed that the sky was the limit of where he could go! He is in his late 40's and he has no prior history of athletic performance!
This gentleman now does 15 kipping pull ups, a "fran" as rxd in 11 min, and yesterday he did strings of 3 rep deadlifts at 100kg! The man is a beast:-)
What I am trying to say is that it is never to late to make a commitment to where you want to take your physical fitness, and the sky truly is the limit.
It would have been fantastic if I could have claimed that these success were all because of the fantastic coaching I had provided him with, but the truth is that anyone could have coached this man to success! He decided where he wanted to go, and with the determination he put into his training he has now reached goals- he could have only dreamed about a year ago!
I look forward to seing where this athlete will go from here, and hope to be a part of the journey for a long time to come!
Stellar effort bro!
One again no names are mentioned- you know who you are!
back to the bat-cave!
Much love
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Back in charge!
I'd love to think that I am back in charge, however there is a slight chance that I a still a couple of yards behind the game, even if I am now the confused owner of an IMac... If nothing else this means that I now should have unlimited access to the internet!
Today I finally got the rings installed at Metropolis Gym in Kungliga tennis hallen. This meant that I could actually do a WoD I have been avoiding lately, manly because I have had nowhere to do it.. Needless to say the WoD is 30 muscle ups fort time.
I a still a bit heavy for this WoD but I feel like I am getting progressibly better at it, and today was no exception... 8.04 was the result of todays effort.
I am pretty happy with this, and feel like there is actually a chance I might actually get to he level of muscle up madness that has been displayed by the Uppsala mob and the body weight monster David... Just give me a few years!
I often get the question of what to do with a client who can not get to the bottom of the squat? I know that I have touched on this a couple of times before, but it simply cannot be done enough!
The answer is as simple as it is hard- you continue to work on the airsquat until your client can achieve full depth with good form, and do not relent! You may even go as far as t moderatly load the squat- but still work towards perfection of the squat! The only way to get better at the squat, is to practice the squat, and as a consequence your client will also achieve the flexibility to actually get to the bottom of the squat!
The problem is often that you have to get your client to understand the need to do somewhere in the neighborhood of a trillion squats before you can begin to actually really load the squat!
Well- I have to get back to learning how to operate a Mac, after a life spent with PC..
Much love
Mads
Today I finally got the rings installed at Metropolis Gym in Kungliga tennis hallen. This meant that I could actually do a WoD I have been avoiding lately, manly because I have had nowhere to do it.. Needless to say the WoD is 30 muscle ups fort time.
I a still a bit heavy for this WoD but I feel like I am getting progressibly better at it, and today was no exception... 8.04 was the result of todays effort.
I am pretty happy with this, and feel like there is actually a chance I might actually get to he level of muscle up madness that has been displayed by the Uppsala mob and the body weight monster David... Just give me a few years!
I often get the question of what to do with a client who can not get to the bottom of the squat? I know that I have touched on this a couple of times before, but it simply cannot be done enough!
The answer is as simple as it is hard- you continue to work on the airsquat until your client can achieve full depth with good form, and do not relent! You may even go as far as t moderatly load the squat- but still work towards perfection of the squat! The only way to get better at the squat, is to practice the squat, and as a consequence your client will also achieve the flexibility to actually get to the bottom of the squat!
The problem is often that you have to get your client to understand the need to do somewhere in the neighborhood of a trillion squats before you can begin to actually really load the squat!
Well- I have to get back to learning how to operate a Mac, after a life spent with PC..
Much love
Mads
Monday, October 5, 2009
Metropolis medley!
My computer is still acting up, letting me know who is really in charge, so I have to keep me entries short, before it all crashes again..
Today I was at Metropolis, and the got the briliant idea that I should come up with my own little WoD just for the fun of it, and as you all know that is usually a bad idea! Since I am old and have a tendency to forget how these fantastic ideas usually pan out, I went for the following:
800m run as fast as possible just to get the pulse up
Dead hang "cindy" 10 min amrap
800m run as fast as possible
You only count the rounds on the dead hang cindy! result 9 rounds!
As most of you know I am as over the hil as you can possible get when it comes to a very distant MMA career, but it has left me with some fantastic friends who still compete and do ery well in cages all over the world- what I would like to share with you is a bad ass knock out by my friend Nicholas Musoke from Sthlm Shoot.. check this out!
Today I was at Metropolis, and the got the briliant idea that I should come up with my own little WoD just for the fun of it, and as you all know that is usually a bad idea! Since I am old and have a tendency to forget how these fantastic ideas usually pan out, I went for the following:
800m run as fast as possible just to get the pulse up
Dead hang "cindy" 10 min amrap
800m run as fast as possible
You only count the rounds on the dead hang cindy! result 9 rounds!
As most of you know I am as over the hil as you can possible get when it comes to a very distant MMA career, but it has left me with some fantastic friends who still compete and do ery well in cages all over the world- what I would like to share with you is a bad ass knock out by my friend Nicholas Musoke from Sthlm Shoot.. check this out!
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