Have we lost focus or have we found it?

I heard an interesting comment today, from a swedish naprapat who has had the pleassure of treating a fair number of CrossFit athletes from their "battle scars" from encounters with various WoD's! I happen to know a bunch of the people this guy has helped, and they are a mixed lot, representing everyting from the top tier competitors to the complete novices- you could say that the only thing these people have in common is that they have drunk to Kool Aid!

Anyways, this guy was not too impressed with CrossFit! He thought that we had all forgotten to strengthen and condition ourselves for the WoD's we do, before we dwelve into the insanity of high reps and high intensity! The consequence being that we had to compensate for our shortcomings by developing areas that were already strong, while increasing the gap to the muscles that were weak from the beginning? The result being a never ending line of injuries that would just continue to resurface?

What do you think? Is this guy just another hater, or is he actually on to something?



I know that I have had my fair share of injuries, and I bet I still have a lot more to come! However I happen to think that the problems I have had to deal with were more or less my own fault, and caused by pure breed stupidity- how convenient it would have been to be able to blame it on something else:-)

I would like to think that the weaker parts automatically catch up with the rest of the body when you spend a fair amount of time on doing functional movements, and I think that I have seen a couple of briliant examples of that were phenomenon, or have I just been dreaming?

Much love

Programming genius!

Most folks who do CrossFit get to a point where the brilliant idea of doing their own programming pops up on their radar! Usually they will press it to the back of their minds, but then after a while it just becomes too tempting, and they get on with it!
I for one love it when this happens, because it is like watching a child get into puberty! The world is at their feet and with all their wisdom and the revolutionary programming they are about to unleash on themselves they will be the fathers and mothers of a new world order!
When I have the opportunity to watch this process from a front row seat, I usually just lean back and watch the blend of complete disaster with pure genius, and blatant disregard of the experience so freely shared in the CrossFit Journal and online from thousands and thousands who have walked this path before, and maybe there is even one or two brights lights who actually paid attention at the level 1 cert, and remember what was said in the programming lecture! I love and thoroughly enjoy this enhusiastic disregard of knowledge gained, and the courage to dwelve into virtually anything they can come up with! Some really fantastic programming has actually come from this very process- I have nothing whatsoever against people who do this and try it on themselves! More power to you!

What I do have something to say about is the person who begins to program for others! Once you begin to program for someone other than yourself, you have actively taken responsibility for the success of that persons fitness regimen! This is a pretty big responsibility, and if you have not had some seroius thoughts about the depth of your commitment, then you should respectfully decline the opportunity to program for someone else...... If you feel fine about it and feel that you can fill these shoes without problems, then please do program for others!

One thing that I often see that really bothers me, is when the person who does the programming lets his/her own goals poison the programming of others! If you are a oly lifting freak, and find yourself programming for someone else, who ends up doing some sort of oly lift at least 4 days a week, but have never gone unbroken, or had to do a hero WoD! Then something is definately wrong and chances are pretty big that the athletes following this genius programming will never see the shaddow of their goals! The same can be said if your poison is kettlebells, running, gymnastics etc. You get the point!

Another one of the things that really gets me up in a knot is when the programming genius becomes convinved of his/her own genius, and falls into the trap of routine. When the athlete following this bright lights programming, wonders what is in the cards for the day, but already knows what the structure of the WoD will be like. They may not know what the specific details of the WoD but they know more or less what the workout is going to look like! When this happens, you know for a fact that the programming has become more routine than thought!

Author of the any ashole workout? This is the guy who just wants to knock the S%#T out of you and adds up all the worst exercises he can think of, and comes up with an insane rep scheme.... all designed to put you on your ass! There is no rhyme or reason behind the WoD other than making the author feel like a bigger man?? What do you think this ego massage is going to do for your overall fitness??




The list is long, so if you have been programming for others for a while, my advice to you is to seek help!
Let others program for the athlete/athletes you have been programming for, and follow that programming yourself!
Cruise other CrossFit boxes websites and become inspired! Look at other sites and see what they are doing!
Read the CrossFit Journal, and what it has to say on programming!
Do another Level 1 cert and pay attention to the programming lecture! Especially if Karl Steadman is the man in charge of it!
Never think that you have all the answers!

What advice do you have for people who program? What is your experience of people programming you? When programming for yourself, please knock yourself out my friends! When programming for someone else you need to take the responsibility that comes along with it!

Much love

Let there be light!

Lately I have been having all kinds of problems with my lower back, and as a result I have not been able to work out with the intensity that I would like to. This has forced me to spend more time on improving my weaknesses, and since the are a bunch of them, the process of choosing what to spend time on was actually easy! I could choose whatever!

The interesting part was that I had to actually sit down and make a list of things that I suck at and then prioritize! I decided that my mobility or lack thereof was probably the root of all the back pain. So after consulting some of the best sources I could possibly imagine, I ended up with a long list of exercises that would help me on my way to improved mobility! I have been doing these exercises for a while now and my mobility has gotten better... a lot better..... who would have thought that persistance pays of?
My back however is still giving me trouble, granted that it is not the same kind of trouble that I was experiencing before, but I am still inhibited by my lower back! So what could the problem be??
I was in complete darkness until a dear friend and collegue solved the riddle today!

I have spent countless hours on improving my posture, arching my lower back in the squats, maintaining the stabile midline through virtually every lift you can imagine. I have worked hard to be able to do this, and complemented with various exercises such as back extentions, hip extentions, box squats, good mornings and the list goes on and on! But how often have I actually spend time on my abs? The answer is never!
I have never spent any significant time on my abs, compared to how much time I have spent on my lower back! The truth is that if there was not an ab exercise in the WoD of the day I did'nt do ab work!
I did one single workout today with focus on midline stability, primarily through the abs, and tonight I am pain free... completely pain free for the first time in weeks!

So I am sitting at home wondering if I am the only one who has made the mistake of never putting the same amount of emphasis on my abs as I have done on my lower back, and as a consequence gotten far stronger in my lower back than in my abs?
I am not saying that I just found the holy grail to cure all back pain! But continuing on yesterdays topic, I think it is fair to claim that I had not found the best possible balance in my workout regimen, and as a result I have been having all kinds of trouble and have had to modify my training and cancel teaching at certs (one of my favorite things in the world).... Are you on your way to ending up in the same dead end, or have you been there?

I am thinking this guy does'nt have my problems due to weak abs!


Supremely happy that I am better, and may have found a way back into the light!

Much love

Oly lifting.. the bane of CrossFit?

I know it has been a while since I last felt like I had something to share with anybody on this blog, and so I have been quit for a while.. Someone taught me the lesson the hard way that silence is golden, and for once I guess I decided to listen!

But hey, guess what? I guess I'll just never learn! So here I go again!

Lately I have met a bunch of people who have all decided that the way to become better CrossFit athletes, is to spend more time, a lot more time, on oly lifling!
These are without exception all athletes who already have some capacity in oly lifting! However these are also athletes who will tell you that they still do not master pistols, buterfly pull ups, or a substantional amount of regular kipping pull ups, HSPU, front levers, MU and the list goes on. They are also athletes who will without blinking tell you that they still have a long way to go before they would even begin to consider themselves and their mobility to be up to par!

Those of you who were raised on the early CrossFit videos from the old Santa Cruz HQ, and the early CrossFit Journal articles. Those of you who read everything you could get your hands on, because the articles were still so few and far between, may just remember that there were 10 basic skills, that we were all attempting to improve! Do you also remember that the theory was that you were only as strong as your weakest link, and so we should always try to improve the things we dreaded the most and were least capable in! The theory was that raising the lowest markers would do more for our overall fitness, then becomming marginally better at the things we already good at!
Those of you who have done a level 1 cert should be nodding now, remembering that your flowmaster drilled this point pretty hard..... right!?


So if we have bought into the CrossFit theory, and truly believe that what we are being taught at the certs is more than just words to fill in the time before the group photo and the WoD- then why have we not embraced this fact? Why is it that more and more athletes are spending more and more time on the bar, and less and less time on making simple exercises a part of their exercise base?
What do you think would benifit these athletes more? Adding 5kg to their Squat clean, or snatch, or actually being able to do pistols?? I know where I'd put my money.. Where would you put yours?


Much love

Why do a level 1 cert?

It actually does happen that I get online, not to share some crazy rant about things that seem more or less obvious to the rest of the world, or to share some of my medioker traning results, but because I have something I just want to get of my chest! Today is one of those rare instances, so please bare with me.-)

If you are new to CrossFit the reasons to do a level 1 cert are more or less obvious- you want to learn more about the new love of your life, and you want to find out how to speed up the results that are already flowing like a river! You are learning new skills, and improving the ones you already have, at the same time as a sensation is dawning on you- With constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity, you are actually coming closer to your goals, at the same time as you are having fun with your workouts- all you want now is a thumbs up that you are actually doing things the right way! So attending a cert feels like the best way to do so!

The challenge however is to get the ones who have done CrossFit for a longer period of time, and feel like everything is going according to plan, to attend a level 1 cert! I often hear these people say that they dont feel like they need the cert, what could they possibly get out of a level 1 cert? They are already more than proficient at CrossFit and dont need to spend a large amount of money, and time on going over the basics they already master!
I will not pass any kind of judgement on these people, but I will share why I think everybody should do at least one cert!

What is CrossFit?
This could be one of the best lectures at a CrossFit cert! How often have you gotten the question: " Dude, what is CrossFit?" "Why do you do what you do?"
This is where you get the answer to the question! After you have had the pleassure of hearing for example Pat Sherwood dissect what CrossFit really is, this question will be a pleassure to answer!

Technique vs intensity!
How often have you heard that crossfitters dont care about technique, and that all we do is rush through our workouts, with no concern whatsoever to the execution of the movements we perform? It is like banging your head against the wall trying to explain that this is not the case at all, unless you have had a very thorough breakdown of the issue, by someone like Adrian Bosman. After having had the plaassure of listening to a bunch of these lectures I just love that question! I cant wait to get to explain just why it is that we try to press to the very borders of our capacity at all times, in pursuit of optimized athletic capacity

Programming!
Who does not want to know about the programming of CrossFit? At some point of your CrossFit career you will begin to program for yourself or for others. When you do so, it is a great idea to know how to avoid being the one who came up with WoD's that effectively broke down yourself and the athletes you programmed for, instead of taking them one step closer to becomming better athletes! If the above is not enough, then just wait until you have the pleassure of listening to Karl Steadman go through the basics of programming, and you will also be a believer!

The movements!
The more you talk to the superstars of CrossFit and the complete beginners, you find that they all have one thing in comon- the quest to master the basic moves!
No matter where you are at, there is still something to improve on your air squat, your push press, your med ball clean, your deadlift etc. No matter who you are these basic techniques are just never mastered!
Going over these movements at a cert will not just cast light on what you need to work on, but also give you some tools to work with when you begin to work with others!

The community!
If none of the above has gotten you hooked, this should be reason enough to do a least one cert!
When you go do a cert you will meet a bunch of other people from all over the world, and you will have no shortage of topics to discuss! we all share the same passion, and have the same intrest in CrossFit. So when you are done with the cert you will have found new friend from all over the world! I know it sounds corny and lame, but it is just the way it works! You exchange mail adresses, add each other on facebook, and suddenly the world just go a little smaller- so the next time you go to Iceland you wont just look at vulcanos and warm springs, you will go meet up with your new friends and get a couple of WoD's in..

we all have our own reasons for attending certs, or not atending certs, but if you have the chance to do a cert, dont hesitate- you will never regret it!

Why did you d a cert? Why have you not done a cert? Please do share!

Until next time

Much love

Regionals and Power Walks?

So a little more than a week has passed since the European Regional Qualifier in Halmstad, and I feel like it is time to give props to the ones who truly deserve it, and to share some thoughts about the event! I am aware that this may sound like the Oscars but please take a second to read about the reasons why this all went as smoothly as it did, and give props to the people who made i possible!

It is also time to give air to another one of these crazy rants that have become the signature mark for blog.-)

Props first!

Eleiko!
I would like to thank Eleiko for letting us use their facility, and their equipment for the event. It is a blessing to be able to provide the absolute best equipment in the world, to the athletes who compete in an event that will eventually send the top european athletes to what is essentially the Crossfit World Championships. Eleiko were kind enough to let us man-handle their equipment in ways I am not entirely sure they thought possible, at the same time as they made us all feel at home at the Eleiko Sport Center! I hope Eleiko were as pleased to have us there as we were to be there, and I hope that the future will hold a close friendship between CrossFit and Eleiko.

Athletes!
It is not often that I have had the pleassure of meeting as many fantastic athletes as I did during the weekend in Halmstad! There was a possitive air about every single athlete that I met during the weekend, that I dont think I have ever encountered outside the CrossFit community! Everyone gave their absolute best at every single challenge, and once they had finished their challenge, they immidiately began cheering for the other athletes, making sure that everyone felt equally important, and that no effort was ignored, or concieved as less important! Those of you who saw the place go crazy when Erla fought it out on the last challenge, or when Jane struggled with the double unders, or when Sam busted out the clean and jerks, or when Blair stepped on the gas in the 3rd challenge, the list goes on- but those of you who saw that know exactly what I mean! Every single athlete gave their all, and everyone cheered for their nearest competitors and for every effort they saw!
It is a pleassure to witness this kind of sportmanship, and this kind of caring- I would like to thank every single one of you for this- from the bottom of my heart - Thank you!

Judges/officials!
I have had the pleassure of browsing on the internet after the event, and even recieved a couple of emails from participants, and spectators, who all thought the event was fantastic! My name has been mentioned on a couple of occations, and I am thankful for that. The truth however is that the success of the event lies entirely with the judges and the officials who made the event possible. Without these firebreathers who stood out in the rain, who kept the standards high, and spent every second of the entire weekend on making everything go as smoothly as possible, this would not have been possible! They were focused and did a tremendous job! They are the true heroes behind the success of the Qualifier!
It is easy to make all the best plans in the world but to take these plans from paper to reality is the true challenge! Without you, that simply would not have been possible.
I would like to give a special thank you to Martin Altemark who was the man behind making sure the whole thing went according to CrossFit standards at the same time as making sure that the schedule behind every single heat was kept. I would also like to give special thanks to Erik, Rickard and Einar who were the on site judges responsible for the organization in every heat, making sure that the right equipment was in the right spots, and that the judges were where they were supposed to be- thank you!

All in all!
The event was a success and we will see if we will get the chance to do it all over again? I truly hope so, but only time will tell! I honestly think that the athletes who will be going to the Games to represent Europe are the best athletes we had at the qualifier! The athletes who made it to the podium are well rounded athletes capable of performing well no matter what the challenge put in front of them will be. I honestly look forward to seeing how they do at the Games, and promise to keep my fingers crossed for them every step of the way, as I am sure everyone else on this side of the pond will:-)

Now for the promised rant- it is a lighter version of whay you may have read in the past, but I guess I am getting soft!

The sun has come out in Stockholm, and reminded us all that summer is just around the cornor! For some of us, all this means is that we can begin to do our runs outdoors, and that we now have spectators following athletes into the box after they return from the run on "Helen" or "Murph" etc.
To others this means that it is time to go to their favorite sports apparel supplier and stock up on some very expensive running shoes, skins, wristbands, camel backs, etc. and begin to power walk!
I see these people every day walking around looking like they are on their way to the olympics, super focused and a constant eye on the pluse clock (that is a must to the power walker) at speeds that are virtually non existant! I am baffeled at this complete lack of understanding of intensity, and complete waste of time! The energy spend on hours worth of power walking is easily less than what is expended during the warm-up at our box! So what is it these people want to achieve? fat loss? increased cardio vascular capacity? you tell me!
The truth is that all the god stuff comes with intensity (thank you mr Sherwood/Coach) and since intensity is nowhere to be found in a power walk, what is it these people think they are going to get?

A point could be made that is is better that they power walk than do nothing at all, and I agree with that to some degree. I mean if you have decided to care for your health and take active meassures towards increassing your quality of life and health, is this really the best you could come up with? Why not immidiately go for an activity that will actually work and pay dividends within a foreseeable future?
What would you say to a doctor who decided to give you a medication that was going to stop the illness, when you knew that the cure was lying in his other pocket and all you had to to was reach for it?

I dont know, I may be wrong, it has happened before- but please do share your thoughts!

Until next time

Much love

Northern European Sectional in Stockholm!

So a couple of days have past since the Northern European Sectional in Stockholm, and it is time to gather thoughts and impressions from the event! So here we go!

Programming:
This had me wondering at first! Where were the chest to bar pull ups for women? They were right there for the taking from the mens WoDs? Why were there less HSPU for the women than for the men? There were a couple of questions like that, but they were put shame once the event got on the way!
The programming was briliant, and everyone had to fight to get through the WoDs! Noone got an easy day at the office in any WoD, or were presented a task virtually impossible to overcome! In the cases where where athletes fell at the hands of the time limit- I feel sure the reasons have to be found somewhere else than in the programming!
Double unders combined with Kettlebell thrusters and HSPU- I bet that one just creeped up under the skin of the athletes! Target burpees after box jumps and lunges- I bet that one just bit you in the proverbial ass:-)
All together very happy with the programming!

The event:
You just have to love the spectators at these events! They gave their all cheering on every single athlet outthere! Whether he/she was from their box or not. Whether he/she was goiong to make it or not? Whether they were winning or not? Nothing like that seemed to matter to the spectators who show up at these events! Everyone was cheered on from the begining to the very end with the same enthusiasm and deep felt respect! It warms my heart to see this and I just hope that it will always be like this at CrossFit events!
The event itself was as always very well organized, and went down like I would imagine CrossFit Sthlm wanted it to. It is often forgotten how hard it is to make these things work-and when you dont think about it, then that is because everything went the way it was supposed to!
Fighter Centre and CrossFit Sthlm have hosted certs, workshops, tournaments etc for years, and the experience gained from these events was displayed in all its might this weekend- everything went like clockwork.......swiss clockwork!

The athletes:
You have to love an event that is won by a swedish judoka- chased by some seriously dangerous danes, followed by a finish athlete who used to compete in aerobics, and competes in Superman briefs!
I wish I could tell you that the crowd that competed at the sectional were all hard core crossfitters, but the truth is that they came from all walks of life, and the only thing they shared was their love for CrossFit, and their desire to compete! They did a fantastic job displaying their athleticism and what CrossFit truly is- fighting hard, and cheering on their closest competitors! I have a feeling that even the ones that bet the dust felt like they had succeded!

Impressions:
Where did they ever find the Danish crowd? Fantastic Athletes and some of the most devoted crossfitters I have ever met! They cheered one everyone and made everyone feel equally wellcome- thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Where does "Sasha" get his stubbornes and power from! Any and every regular spine should have broken from the reps he performed this weekend- still he tossed the weight around like it was paper wheights! He got a "no go" on probably a million reps, but still just kept going until victory was his... It is like looking at robocop! WOW!

What is the substance in the water in Finland? Somewhere outhere in the woods there is a source of -never say die attitude- and athletic ability, that I would just love to find! Every athlete from Finland had it in abundance this weekend!

I know I am not the neutral observer I pretend to be- but where does Jenny Jacobsen get it from? She was truly impressive during the entire event! Not only did she win in a very convincing fashion in every event- she is graceful in doing so! Immidiately after finishing her WoD she is cheering on her competitors. Not once did I hear her complain about a decision made by a judge, or a score calculation.. She embodies what this is all about, and I hope she makes it to the Games- CrossFit needs more people like her!
Be sure to buy her T-shirt coming out in April, and support her way to the Games:-)





All in all it was a great event with some very impressive feats from the athletes... I look forward to seeing as lot of these faces in Halmstad at the regionals:-)

Much love

Mads