BJJ

FROM THE ARCHIVES

I get a variety of good and bad questions at the gym, most forgotten except one: "Do you really think this is enough?" He was referring to the wods. My response is: "Enough for what?" It is important to remember that physical attributes, i.e. cuts, size, mass, or whatever else are nothing more than correlates or byproducts of what we do. They aren't the primary or even secondary focus. Performance is our primary concern just as it is with Olympic athletes. Winning is the bottom line not what they look like when losing. Most of the athletes who practice the same skills like marathon runners or weightlifters (above or below a certain weight class) have very similar bodies. It is an age old principle that says that if you sow the same seeds then you reap the same rewards. So to answer the question "yes it is enough!" As good trainers we pretty much try everything out on ourselves first. We don't simply follow the hq web site or pull a few standard exercises from a hat and say go. You don't have to be a good trainer to do that yet it will produce better than average fitness results but marginal crossfit results when compared to what is truly possible. For those of us who are nailed down to the programming, i.e. doing at least four out of the five days of the week, we are setting personal records on nearly every benchmark movement or combination thereof. If you only come once per week or twice per week you aren't on the same program and probably won't get the same results that you could. In this case, for superior performance (which is our goal) it isn't enough. You have to ask yourself what you want out of this and how far you are willing to push the experiment. Yesterday's session was as far outside the box that we have ever been. Frankly, I am impressed that everyone (especially lighter weight classes) tried this as rx'd. If this doesn't make you stronger then nothing will. There wasn't a movement/attribute that we didn't train. Additionally, we have tapped into anotherattribute by virtue of our programming, i.e. diligence. It is the painstaking dedication to utilizing good form while caught in the crossfire of muscular fatigue and cardiovascular distress. It is the time when you want to roll over, look up at the sky, and welcome the grim reaper to your little tea party. It is a place that can't be found in daily life and most people will never experience it. By revisiting this place we train ourselves to survive any situation that life throws at us. We ride you guys hard about form because if you lose it under pressure then you aren't being diligent and the training is for naught. Your form should be uncompromising. The weight should fail before the form does. If it happens the other way you are opening up yourself to injury and decreasing your probability of survival. Without good and bad questions, poor form, bad manners, and goofy shenanigans we as trainers would become complacent. Difficult clients can make good trainers or angry trainers (or both). I can't reiterate enough that you get as much out of this as you put into it. Do your homework so that your gym experience is more effort and performance than learning. Ask questions. If we don't have the answer we will find it. This is our job. 
Until next time...