Therefore, kinesiologists typically measure strength by these primary factors and neglect individual variations of strength as a subjective concept. Whether one can lift X number of pounds overhead is meaningless in the overall definition of functional strength.

Functional strength is the strength that gets us through life and daily survival.

How is strength defined and who defines it? Kinesiologists study muscles and have various ways to gauge muscle contraction, length, tension, and force.

Therefore, kinesiologists typically measure strength by these primary factors and neglect individual variations of strength as a subjective concept. Whether one can lift X number of pounds overhead is meaningless in the overall definition of functional strength.

Functional strength is the strength that gets us through life and daily survival.

Lifting a heavy load overhead is a fantastic measure for Hercules or the competitive weightlifter but the history of manual labor has consisted of something very different.

Manual labor typically involved walking, running, pushing, pulling, and grasping.

Take a minute to think back to your history books and those photos of the grueling pushing and pulling of primitive mechanical devices and the relentless building of the pyramids, to name just a couple.

What is wrong with “strength” as defined by Olympic weightlifting?

Absolutely nothing. I love it. I train with it, I teach it, and I encourage it. There is no better feeling than watching my athletes hit personal records of lifting heavy loads.

Weight lifting (Olympic or not) has military value and athletic value. It increases stamina and power output. The technical skill that goes with the training behind it (Olympic lifting in particular) is second to none.

For the sake of this article, however, I am not referring to this definition of strength, but rather I am talking about daily functional strength and the movement involved with everyday people living their natural lives.

So what is this definition of strength? It is not very exciting unfortunately, but equally as important as load-lifting strength.

What is Functional Strength?

Functional strength is the ability to run your load-joints (shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles) through a full range of motion without pain, stiffness, or restriction. This is also known as load-joint articulation.

What is the goal of functional strength?

Load-joints must be able to open and close in a full range of pain-free motion. How does this work in a couch-potato environment where we are no longer pushing primitive machines around? It comes through movement.

In today’s undemanding environment, we get stuck in a “box” of doing the same motions over and over again.

We are no longer spontaneously stimulated by our environment, as we once were. More and more people are replacing the days’ motions with “work” (computers and typing, talking on the phone, and driving) or “recreation” (watching TV or playing video games), so we need to find ways to alter our environment in order to keep our load-bearing structure active and healthy.

How do we create movement in a “box?”

Unleash your restrictive movement. Put your body through a range of motion that requires an opening and closing of joints into all the planes of motion. Get outside of the gym, get inside the gym, get on the track, and get out on the trail.

Do things that you once did as a kid. Play on a playground with the rings and the monkey bars.

Practice handstands, somersaults, bear crawls, frog jumps, and lateral hops. Grab an agility ladder and play hopscotch with it. Stimulate your mind and your body’s response to it. Sit less and refuse to be bound by a box, restricted territory, or a terrain.

Is “stronger” better?

Let me give you an example of a great test. Let’s consider the bulky, muscularly defined “strong” man and the functional “weak” woman. If we were to put them both on a climbing stair test (a specialized, limited, and repetitive process) with ascents and descents, the weaker female would far surpass the strong man. Why is this?

It all boils down to their varying degrees of musculoskeletal system function.

Is there anything wrong with being strong and muscular in the sense of this man? Absolutely not, but at the same time he is limited in his ability to respond to spontaneous environments.

The female in this example however, has a more varied (and pain-free) degree of function. She is agile and unrestricted to a box.

Degrees of Functional Movement

It is a rare thing to see an athlete of one sport move flawlessly to another (Michael Jordan for example as he attempted to move from basketball into baseball). It is even difficult for an athlete to change positions within the same sport (like moving from pitcher to first base for example).

Why? Repetition of the same limited sequence of motion over and over again. Do not let yourself be confined to a box of limitations. Play multiple sports and do not get stuck just playing first base.

Degree of function varies between each individual. This is why having your own personal program is essential to fitness, strength, and functionality.

Function is the key to success in sports, the military, and all other necessary skills, like speed and agility. All of these demands rely on the ability of the individual to run load-joints through motions.

We do have the ability to adapt to various mind-body combinations and the key is stimulation, not age. No matter how old you are, movement is vitally important and becoming functionally strong boils down to your desire to go out into the world and not wait for it to come to you.

For Functinal Strength – Personalize Workout Programs

Find a recipe that works for you – to do that you first need the right ingredients. What you put into the pot is what you get out of the pot.

Seek out programmers who take your goals and custom-tailor your workouts to you.

Run, bike, and swim. Add resistance training, weightlifting, and kettlebells to your training. Hop on some monkey bars and play around with gymnastic elements. Do some hot yoga and stretch well.

If you have never done any or even just some of those things listed, learn them and have fun with them.

Form is always the priority so do not rush any of these elements. Remember that strength is not always defined by how much the load is but rather is most often defined by load-bearing functionality.

Best advice? Have fun and do not be confined by the box. Eat well. Train well. Have some fun (just a little bit is okay!).

The post What is Functional Strength Training appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

A common adage among the batch of men who prioritize a jacked upper body over the quads, hamstrings, and ass.

(Considering the number of men I come across with chicken legs to go along with their massive pecs and biceps, clearly, there’s something to that training style.)

Then along came CrossFit, or functional fitness, or whatever we’re calling it now—a crowd of posterior chain enthusiasts who have never once neglected the legs. I remember going on my first date with a CrossFit man and his first compliment to me was: “You have a good hamstring line.”

Certainly not what the “f%$& the legs, let’s bench dude” would have told me.

All of this posterior chain work, however, meant that the functional fitness folk, especially in the earlier CrossFit days, pretty much neglected the bench press entirely. Meanwhile, bicep curls were the laughing stock of the community.

But why?

Biceps matter, and not just for aesthetics. They matter for real, functional movements. Like pull-ups and muscle-ups. There’s a reason the 2013 CrossFit Games Champion Sam Briggs’ (known for her pulling strength) IG handle is BicepsLikeBriggs.

When I worked with gymnastics coach Louise Eberts (@louiseebertsgymnastics) to improve my muscle-ups a couple of years ago, she added bicep curls to my program and they made all the difference. Muscle-ups were never my strong suit, but they got a whole lot better once I started working on my biceps.

Alas, if you’re looking to build your biceps, here are five exercises beyond just traditional bicep curls that will translate to more than just looking great on the beach.

1. The Zottman Curl

This is kind of like a bicep curl, but with a twist. It involves doing a bicep curl as usual with a supine grip but then rotating your palms downward by flipping your hands 180 degrees at the top of the curl and slowly lowering the DB with a prone grip. This is great for not just the biceps, but also for your forearms.

2. Hammer Curl

During this curl, keep your palms facing your torso and raise the DB until your forearms and upper arms are at an approximately 90-degree angle. Make sure you keep your elbows close to your body and minimize cheating by keeping it at strict as possible.

3. Narrow-Grip Strict Chin-Ups

Though we often consider chin-ups to work the lats, they also have great benefits for the biceps, especially if you practice them with a narrower grip.

4. Bent Over Barbell Row

Once again, we think of rowing as being more for your lats than your biceps, but if you’re pulling, then your biceps are active. The barbell row is great for the biceps as you’ll be able to lift considerably more on this movement than with a traditional bicep curl. As you pull, think about pulling your elbows behind you and then hold for a second at the top before controlling the weight back down.

5. Flexed Arm Carries

Kind of like a farmer carry, but with a flexed arm. They’re great not only for building the biceps but also to bulletproof your joints, which will help when you get into movements like pull-ups, as they can be strenuous on the shoulder and elbow joints.

Biceps matter. Not just at the beach, but in life. So, don’t forget about them.

The post Biceps: Do They Really Matter? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“How long does it take?”

“How are we matched?”

“How often do matches fail?

“What does the birth-mother relationship usually look like?

“How do normal people pay for this?”

“Alright, already. Where are you keeping the babies?”

In November of 2017 my wife, Neely, and I nervously attended orientation at an adoption agency. We filed into our seats and attentively followed the day’s program, brimming with all the obvious questions:

“How long does it take?”

“How are we matched?”

“How often do matches fail?

“What does the birth-mother relationship usually look like?

“How do normal people pay for this?”

“Alright, already. Where are you keeping the babies?”

During one session we were taken through a history of adoption where they explained the old orphan trains that would load up orphans from northeast cities and take them from point to point throughout the Midwest allowing people at each stop to select a child or children.

When these trains came to their final destination in Fort Worth, Texas, there was typically nothing but babies left. Why babies? Because all along the way parents selected the strongest and most capable children.

At this time, children weren’t seen as bank account draining dependents who required constant coddling and shuttling about town, they were young-citizens chosen to reduce the household burden. More physical bodies meant more work could be done. People, children included, were useful for farming, building, sewing, cleaning, and contributing to the needs of daily survival.

Even in cities, kids worked. There was play and fun, but work was a natural part of life. If you were to take your leisure time and go to a bowling alley, you’d see a youth on a platform at the end of each lane. After you bowled, he’d hop off the platform, clear the pins that were knocked down and roll back your ball. After your second attempt, he’d quickly hop down and reset all the pins, stepping on the “pin bar” that rose spikes to help him align the pins.

These pinsetters were an essential component of the bowling experience until, in the late 1940s the automatic pinspotter was created, mitigating the need for human pin-setting or ball retrieval. While it is a relief for employers not to have to pay anyone for such menial work and for bowlers not to have to deal with slow setters, there is a cost to this progress.

Just as the steam engine replaced millions of railroad workers after John Henry proved it would kill a man to keep pace, each invention brings the immediate uselessness of formerly useful employees and their physical bodies—a challenge that will define ours and, especially our children’s lives.

Automation Isn’t New

This is the story of automation and it has been around as long as civilization. For most of human history, often called pre-history, humanity lived in nomadic hunter-gatherer societies where all were needed for the survival of the group. Everyone helped in food and water acquisition, shelter-building, defense, story-telling, fire-making, song, and story.

Some 10,000 years ago the Agricultural Revolution brought food surpluses that allowed thousands of former hunter-gathers to become unnecessary. But they didn’t. Inventions simply allowed for more human resources to be applied in new areas like building, military training, trading, and accounting. In fact, many people became even more useful. They became mathematicians, scientists, philosophers, artists, explorers, and inventors.

Often, these intellectual pursuits neglected the body, which then created a new need. Physical training and the development of physical culture sprung up in every great society in order to offset the costs of progress. This is why everyone from Socrates to Thomas Jefferson advocated devoting hours each day to physical training and play.

Today, our opulence has created a great need for the multi-billion-dollar fitness industry. Without modern technology, there would be no use for gym memberships, trainers, supplements, fitness articles, nutrition programs, fitness certifications, or any staples of the modern fitness landscape.

In the 18th and 19th century the Industrial Revolution transformed the human work landscape, again. Industrial era automation made millions of farmers obsolete right as there became a need for factory jobs. Waves moved to the cities, but the nature of work became far less fulfilling. Industrial work organized people on assembly lines doing repetitive tasks.

People no longer saw the beginning and end of their work. As cogs in the machine, their lives become regimented by the clock and often they didn’t even use the products they were assembling.

Again, progress came with costs but also opportunities. As predicted by the father of capitalism, Adam Smith, industrialized societies were killing the human spirit by subjecting them to the “mental mutilation” characteristic of mindless, purposeless work. Humans needed to feel connected and competent, not replaceable and mechanized.

This was a great need which people sought to fill with sports leagues, fitness gyms, wars, and, more constructively, education. Many factories employed lectors to read newspapers and books to workers and societies began crafting schools to cultivate the human mind and body. As of 2016, there were almost 3.5 million public school teachers in America—another need created by technology.

The Fears of Modern Automation

Today we’ve seen the age of automation rev into overdrive, again. Old experiences like heading to the video store or vacuuming are eradicated by another wave of smart machines. The unfortunate reality of modern automation is it allows for the growth of a useless class. We no longer are required to secure our own survival. The modern world allows us to engulf ourselves in comfort and mindless entertainment while consuming far more than we need and never having to move.

As smart homes and curbside pick-up become the norm, three terrifying anxieties loom. First, we are developing a world where life doesn’t require any movement. Second, as these machines become even smarter and more ubiquitous our growing useless class will continue to expand until it is the majority.

And, finally, our technology is creating such endless convenience and individually tempting entertainment that the lobotomized masses will happily accept their uselessness and float on into a Wall-E-esque dystopia—propelled through life in a chair, leashed to a screen, as machines anticipate our every want and mitigate any need for physical effort.

“Humans don’t mind hardship, in fact, they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary. It’s time for that to end.”

–Sebastian Junger

These fears are not unwarranted, particularly when we consider the cultural transformation that followed smartphone ubiquity and the disinterest in independence characterizing our youngest generation, aptly named iGen. With the inevitability of even more addictive entertainment and concepts such as universal basic income looming, it seems likely that many people will choose a life of mindless voyeurism.

Life has never been easier, more full of temptation, or more conducive to avoiding responsibility. Unfortunately, while serving impulses is always more pleasurable and enticing in the moment, it feeds the uselessness most crippling to the human spirit. This is why obesity, anxiety, depression, suicide, and drug overdoses are at all-time highs, with no foreseeable end to the upward climb.

Yet this highlights the obvious—there is tremendous human need waiting to be filled. Despite our technology, and often because of it, new needs are being developed constantly, and many of them are only able to be filled by humans and tech-free natural experience.

“In effect, humans have dragged a body with a long hominid history into an overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, competitive, inequitable, and socially-isolating environment with dire consequences.”

–Sebastian Junger

Let’s look at that concept of usefulness. What has made humanity useful throughout history? We were useful in that we provided goods and services for other people. Look around you. The world is full of problems. Big problems and, rather than evaporating with technological innovation, they seem to be multiplying.

Clearly, as many people can be useful as want to be! To be useful, to solve problems. As the author, Mark Manson clarifies, we all have problems. Happiness comes from finding better problems and solving them.

We Can’t Ignore Our Needs

Right now the greatest needs of humanity are to transcend the noise and temptation and begin cultivating a meaningful life that honors their bio-evolutionary human needs.

What are these needs?

Tony Robbins contends that the most essential needs of the human spirit are growth and contribution. Sebastian Junger, takes an anthropological view, determining that humans need competency (which requires constant growth), connection (which can be found by contributing your competency), and authenticity. This last need seems especially untapped in this world of curated social media posturing and especially well-suited for humans.

Humans need to belong to a tribe. They need challenging experiences that force them to shed their mask and depend on one another. They need play, flow, and projects where they lose themselves in a sense of flow. When examining the rise of CrossFit, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, calisthenics, gymnastics, and niche gyms like Chicago Primal, it is clear that people are coming for the fitness, but staying for the connection and authenticity it taps.

Fitness and education are especially well-positioned to meet these growing needs. Sure, technology will continue to help assist fitness goals, but as the proliferation of poor health proves, the human component is what is most important. No Peloton bike will hold someone accountable, make them laugh while they train, or introduce them to new styles and modalities. The treadmill won’t suggest an amazing book or invite you over for a barbecue after.

“Leisure without study is death—a tomb for the living person.”

— Seneca

To review:

1. Uselessness is death to the human spirit.
2. Modern technology entices many people into useless/meaningless lives to their own detriment.
3. Humans can’t become useless unless we decide to be, because we need each other.

The foremost emphasis for parents and educators entering the future must be highlighting the needs of the human spirit and creating an environment that orients people towards the more fulfilling, less impulse-driven, pursuits.

We cannot become useless unless we are complicit in that uselessness. As the historical record shows, new technology always creates new needs. Each invention frees humans to determine a more fulfilling purpose. Technology may allow us to choose not to engage in actually living, but that is a choice and, while easier, it will be a path to self-destruction. If at any point we want to find meaning, there are an infinite number of needs that can create purpose in our lives.

Now more than ever humanity’s needs are not being met. This is a tremendous opportunity for anyone seeking to find a sense of meaning and purpose that brings fulfillment. Technology might render us unnecessary to secure our own physical survival, but more than ever we need each other to ensure the survival of the human spirit. The possibilities are endless.

Life is too short to be normal.

This Week’s Mission

Come up with skills to learn and have the family learn. We were meant to always have new challenges. Learn to juggle, to do a handstand, to use the kettlebell, or to play the harmonica. For even more effectiveness, go take lessons.

Learn from other people who can share their own experience and offer a sense of community in your development. You could learn to salsa, to play tennis, or startup with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Don’t be paralyzed by the number of choices. Pick one and commit.

The post Use Fitness to Counteract Automation appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

There has been a single article posted in The Morning Chalk Up that quotes Greg Glassman and presents his new vision for how the Games will be structured henceforth.

One thing we know about the new CrossFit Games restructuring is that we know very little.

There has been a single article posted in The Morning Chalk Up that quotes Greg Glassman and presents his new vision for how the Games will be structured henceforth.

It’s not clear when the conversation took place, to whom it was provided, and other than “Glassman said in a call earlier today,” we don’t know if this is official policy, 2019 rulebook law, or Glassman’s off-the-cuff remarks in an interview that was supposed to be about other things.

We’ve not heard from Dave Castro, and as of this writing, his Instagram account appears to be offline. There’s been no official statement from the CrossFit Games, no mention of it on the CrossFit website, nothing.

So really, the massive buzz that is floating about on the various social media channels is – at this moment in time – much ado about nothing. Relax everybody!

Let’s Imagine

For the sake of discussion, however, let’s assume that the details of the article are essentially correct. Let’s consider the Open and the Games will be ostensibly the same.

• CrossFit Invitational – This is being shut down. No one cares about this. This is ok news.
• Regionals – Gone. More about this later.
• Open – Here’s where it gets dicey.

Apparently, every country who has an affiliate will crown “Fittest In Country.” Whoever is the fittest in any given country after the 5-week Open will go to the Crossfit Games.

Let that sink in folks. After a 5-week online qualifier, every country will have a fittest male and female, and those people will get an invitation to the Games. At the moment, CrossFit has affiliates in roughly 162 countries. What this means is that after the Open, 324 people, one male and one female from each country, will get an invite to the CrossFit Games?

This model is rife with holes. First off, the CrossFit Games purports to want to find the fittest person on earth. As such, it seems necessary to have a continuously narrowing funnel – brackets if you will – through which each successive chapter of events narrows the field.

The Open/Regionals/Games process has done that fairly well – as is evidenced by the fairly similar top 10 males and females who’ve finished at games level in the past three years. Narrow it to one per country, however – now you have one Dottir, either Toomey or Saunders but not both, but more than that – there is one affiliate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

So the USA is going to send one male and one female to the Games, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is, as well. There is a single affiliate there. So will the affiliate’s coaches be the CrossFit Games representatives?

I get that this has more of an Olympics kind of flavor to it, but the Olympics is not seeking to crown the fittest on earth. If this system is initiated, there will be lots, and I mean lots, of CrossFit games athletes who couldn’t even win a local competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, let alone a regional competition.

What About Tonga?

The main issue here is simply the data points being tested. You can’t have a conclusive result without repeated tests of the data. The Open in the Congo with one affiliate is a single data point that is now going to be given the same weight as the data coming out of the US where there are thousands of affiliates, and the results will rumors the same. Bad idea.

As a result, the data will be skewed going in. The pool will be polluted if the sample sizes are too small to produce meaningful data.

But much worse will be the cheating. We know that bro-reps and long-shot video angles can be pervasive in the Open, but heretofore, those bad reps only got you over a bubble and any embarrassing weaknesses where exposed at regionals. If it means a games berth, forget-about-it.

And, since CFHQ in their infinite wisdom handed Brooke Wells a mulligan on her handstand push-up video, how on earth are they going to start holding winners to standard now that they have set the bar at “capacity to do work” instead of “actual work performed?” And if you think it’s not possible to game HSPU lines, camera angles, editing, filtering and much more, you are mistaken.

In addition to that, the question then needs to be asked:

• How many athletes are now going to relocate to get their shot at the games?
• Is the 4th-fittest Dottir in Iceland now going to move to Samoa? (Or is that part of the US? Do we know yet?)
• Which one of the Smith brothers get to stay in the US?
• Why can’t Pat Vellner catch a break?
• And where will the dancers go next??

The Open will occur in February, according to the news, for the 2019 Games, then repeat in October. Which leads to:

Regionals

From the sound of it, Regionals are gone. In their place, CrossFit will effectively co-opt 16 of the world’s leading functional fitness competitions like Wodapalooza, The Granite Games, and some of the other big competitions that have remained in place.

Ironic, in a way, because CFHQ has adamantly disavowed these competitions quite heartily for years – “Don’t call them CrossFit competitions. CrossFit has nothing to do with the OC Throwdown.” – now it is set to provide oversight, staffing and more so that the winners of these competitions can also get an invite.

In other words – did you miss the women’s top Open spot by two points in Albania? No problem! Register for Wodapalooza, win that, and you get to go to the games. There’s your regional competition.

However, it is doubtful that all of these competitions will have the same format – some two days, some three, some barbell heavy, some gymnastics heavy. Some cardio focused, others skill focused.

Oy. Talk about your data points being skewed. Now you have a CrossFit Game made up of athletes who’ve all taken different tests. That’s all well and good, but again, it pollutes your pool and essentially renders the title “Fittest on Earth” rather flat.

It appears as though the opportunities will still be plentiful, but the value of the Games-level competitors may be diluted.

I Get It.

I understand where CFHQ is coming from on this. I know they want to focus on health, not the .01% that makes up the CrossFit Games athlete pool. But I hate to break it to them – the reason they have the outrageous growth is due to the games.

I was there when it was a garage, underground, cultish program, and I watched as the games transitioned from the Aromas to The Stub Hub center – as ESPN picked it up, as the media grew more savvy, as the prize money raised, as the production grew, ad infinitum. I can assure you that the explosion in growth of affiliates is directly correlated to the popularity and associated marketing benefit of the Games.

Everybody wanted to be like them. So CFHQ should at least gauge the pulse of what has fed its explosive growth and give credit where credit is due. While I understand that Greg Glassman wants to cure sickness and ill health, he has his enormous platform in part because Dave Castro delivers a hell of a show.

The Games may lose money – true – but we call that a loss-leader in business.

Does This Take the Gloss Off?

In a way, up to this point, if you earned your way to the CrossFit Games through a grueling year of training, putting yourself through hell in the Open, traveling to Regionals, getting on the podium, and making it to the Games, you were part of an elite class of athletes. You earned it. You were the 1%. That had value.

Now, if you show up at the Games and you’re amongst some guy from Bavaria where an affiliate just opened who are sending their two best athletes who just learned kipping pull-ups. Can this be real? I can’t imagine this is how it’s going to be, but it appears so. In that case, is it really that exciting anymore?

Do you want to qualify for the games by winning the Wodapalooza? I don’t know. It seems … cheaper.

The post The New CrossFit Games – What About the Dottirs? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

FitRanX solves several problems for people who want a fitness program, but who are averse to chain gyms, wary of independent gyms, and wary of CrossFit. In fact, FitRanX is very attractive to would-be CrossFitters who may be put off by CrossFit’s reputation for injury, the lack of consistency among facilities, or the perception that you’ve got to push till you puke to “fit in.” For such folks, FitRanX is a clearer and more rational approach that still gives them the “box” vibe. We sat down with Sergeant Nick for an interview to learn more about FitRanX after getting a heads up from fitness luminary Dan John, who seemed taken with the man and the program:

How We Got Here

CrossFit popularized the idea of a fitness community and the idea that fitness is more than showing up at Gold’s and reading a magazine on the treadmill. It offered up a definition of fitness and a means to measure and attain it. CrossFit also helped redefine female fitness and bring strong females into the mainstream.

But the wind is no longer at CrossFit’s back. In the US, affiliate growth is generally believed to be stagnant, or worse. While CrossFit Inc. won’t give numbers, there are plenty who believe that many “boxes” are, in fact, closing or consolidating, and that the number of affiliates in the US is shrinking.¹ Growth abroad is said to be continuing, but is hampered, particularly in places like like the UK and Australia, by things like gun giveaways and licensing requirements.

Enter FitRanX

While designed for a wide range of facilities, the focus is on broadly defined fitness (sound familiar?), and is therefore very well suited to a would-be or former CrossFit box. In many FitRanX locations, you get the familiar Rogue bars, bumpers, rig, and rings; you get chalk and kettlebells; you get stall-mat flooring and a warehouse vibe. There’s the community, the facility, and the fitness – all the good stuff from CrossFit, plus all the good and unique things your coach brings. All this, and a system that, to many, just makes more sense.

Image credit: FitRanX

A Brand Built to Last

A hallmark of FitRanX that may help it outgrow and outlast even CrossFit is a strong brand identity through consistency. CrossFit’s infamous inconsistency is a legacy that all fitness businesses are now saddled with. CrossFit gyms vary widely in many aspects: from facility and community to programming and equipment, what you get at one may be absent – or even antithetical – at another. There is virtually no oversight or governance or standards for running a CrossFit facility, and programming varies wildly among boxes. In this situation, one “bad apple” affiliate can spoil a whole market. This inconsistency must be baffling to consumers as well, but FitRanX wants to solve that problem. FitRanX offers total, apples-to-apples program consistency, no matter the location or coach. While there may be differences in tone or vibe among individual facilities, the program, and in particular the testing, is exactly the same. As Sergeant Nick explains:

A Welcoming Community

Yet, despite the rigid standards and the competitive element inherent in literally ranking each person, FitRanX is, in fact, incredibly inclusive. You don’t get put to the side while the “cool kids” who compete get all the attention, because in a FitRanX facility everyone is on the same path, everyone starts at exactly the same place, and everyone faces the same hurdles. The competition element is organized and largely contained within the community of that facility. So you don’t need to ask your members to get up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, drive for hours, and go workout someplace far away just to say they’ve “competed.” With the rank system, you also get more accountability than most gyms offer, because you get clear benchmarks and standards. You can’t do x before y, and you get clear instruction on how to get from one to the other. And, although the competition aspect is largely contained within the gym’s community, you still get to sweat and compete and celebrate as part of a worldwide community.

Photo credit: FitRanX

And that last element, community, is another that FitRanX has addressed so intelligently. CrossFit popularized the idea of a fitness community, and many consumers now expect to find community at any reputable gym. Inherent in the FitRanX system is a unique blending of community-building and elements of competition and events. This is something that seems to blend the best elements of friendly competition and community. It is, in many ways, very similar to martial arts gyms in that the testing is a gathering of a supportive community, and a chance to celebrate an individual’s commitment, effort, and achievement.

Is FitRanX the Next CrossFit?

FitRanX may or may not be the next CrossFit. But it might be even bigger. Sergeant Nick has built a sensible program that can be easily communicated. It maintains the key points needed in a post-CrossFit market: community, facility, and fitness. It fosters accountability and goal-setting, and excels at celebrating the successes of its particpants.

Time will tell. But today, FitRanX boasts more than 1,030 locations in 27 countries. And, in case you thought Sergeant Nick might be resting on his laurels, FitRanX version 3.0 launches on October 17th. In fact, the best value that Sergeant Nick offers may be that he is continually updating and refining his program and testing and training coaches in order to create standards for everyone, from those wanting fitness to those wanting a successful fitness business.

More on fitness in everyday life:

Shift the Culture of Everyday Health

The post Is Sgt Nick Your Next Great Fitness Guru? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

CrossFit, Inc. recently posted this on their Facebook Page, promising that “The documentary you’ve been waiting for,” Froning: The Fittest Man in History would finally be available on iTunes on October 2nd.

While it’s not the documentary I have been waiting for (I am trying to get my hands on Going Clear, frankly, but we all have our priorities), a lot of people are geeking hard over the film.

While comments like “Yesss! Movie night Friday!” and “Can’t wait for this to come out!” were prevalent, it seemed like the bulk of the comments surrounded the argument that “Fittest Man in History” is, perhaps, a misnomer.

Lots of people take issue with anointing Froning the fittest man in history because it tends to depose the accomplishments of many of history’s greatest athletes – Muhammad Ali, Jessie Owens, Bo Jackson, even Babe Ruth – athletic legends whose legacy will likely exceed that of Rich Froning.

Is He Really the Fittest?

One common response to the argument that Froning couldn’t last two minutes against, say Bruce Lee, is, “Oh? I’d like to see Bruce Lee’s Fran time.”

It’s fascinating that the support for whether Froning is the greatest in his own sport is to challenge those from other sports to participate in the one thing Froning is best at.

See if this analogy works:

“Eddie Van Halen is the best musician of all time.”

“Whoa – what about Chopin?”

“Let’s see Chopin play ‘Eruption’ brah – get back to me then.”

In other words, yes, Rich Froning is the all-time undisputed champ of CrossFit. Not the universe, just CrossFit. It’s important to remember that CrossFit is a sport – one of many, many sports that exist, and Froning is clearly the best at his sport.

The fact that CrossFit labels their reigning champ as the “Fittest on Earth” or Froning as the “Fittest in History” means nothing. I have written about this previously.

CrossFit codified their own definition of “fitness” and created a sport under that umbrella. Froning, who grew up inside the very system that has crowned him, is the fittest only according to its own definition.

Froning Versus Rousey

While Froning may be the “Fittest in History” according to CrossFit’s definition of fitness, his “fitness” to do other tasks would quickly be called into question outside his sport of choice.

For example, put him in a ring with Ronda Rousey, and my money is on Rousey to drop Froning in a heartbeat. Blasphemy, you say? I say he wouldn’t even know what hit him. Conclusion: He may be the “fittest in history” but he wouldn’t be fit to fight in a UFC bout.

“Put another way, he is competent or qualified to do CrossFit. He is not competent or qualified to play tennis.”

You can extrapolate that example to many others – a sprint against Usain Bolt, a tennis match against Serena Williams, an arm-wrestling contest against Travis Bagent.

Froning is going to lose all of those contests. If you look at a broader definition of fitness, which is the state of being able to perform a specific task – adapted or well-suited, competent or qualified – Froning is not “fit” to sprint against Bolt or to play tennis against Williams.

Put another way, he is competent or qualified to do CrossFit. He is not competent or qualified to play tennis.

What Does “Fitness” Mean?

OPEX defines fitness as “the journey of physical potential and purpose.” James Fitzgerald, founder of OPEX, includes aspects of spirituality in his personal definition of fitness.

You may include personal well-being, inner peace, and happiness in your own definition of fitness. Some might go so far as to fold financial stability into their own paradigm of what “fitness” is. In other words, how fit are you to live a life?

Quite frankly, general physical preparedness, in the grand scheme of life, is only one aspect of “fitness” if living a purposeful and full life is one’s ultimate goal. Mental fitness, spiritual fitness, financial fitness, and more, can all be regarded as components of the task of being “fit” to live that life.

“Yes – Rich Froning is the “Fittest Man in History,” but really, what this means is “Fittest CrossFitter in History.”

By those standards, CrossFit’s definition of “fitness” becomes rather narrow. And as such, it can be put into the container in which it truly belongs: CrossFit.

Not athletics in general, not life, and certainly not the world. Meaning, yes – Rich Froning is the “Fittest Man in History,” but really, what this means is “Fittest CrossFitter in History.” And if you read it like that, some of the hubris of the assertion is removed.

Froning’s Fitness Ends Here

In other words, guys – don’t take it so personally. CrossFit can call Rich Froning anything they want. In reality, it means nothing. And please – if you’re in the deep Kool-Aid camp of Froning hero worship, let’s at least be honest.

Froning is a masterful CrossFitter. But under no circumstances are his skills transferrable to other domains just because he has been named the Fittest in History by his bosses.

There are hundreds of athletic scenarios I could pose where Froning gets beaten soundly, which is fine – because Froning doesn’t have to compete in golf, tennis, track and field, football, grappling, UFC, boxing, NASCAR, or fly-fishing. To suggest that Rich could dominate any of those sports over their top contenders would be silly.

But equally as silly is the “Oh? Let’s see Serena Williams’ Fran time” argument. Froning is not a tennis player, and Williams is not a CrossFitter. And neither is “more fit” than the other, because Froning is fit to do CrossFit. Williams is fit to play tennis.

By all means, lift Rich Froning up as the best CrossFitter of all time. That is indisputable. But that’s where his “fitness,” at least for now, ends – in the cul-de-sac of CrossFit’s definition.

More Like This:

• How to Strategize and Win a WOD Like Rich Froning
• A CrossFit Games History Lesson
• Is CrossFit’s Definition of Fitness Flawed?

Photo 1 by English: Lance Cpl. Derrick K. Irions [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 2 by Edwin Martinez from The Bronx (US Open 2013 Part 2 679 Uploaded by Flickrworker) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Rich Froning Is Not the Fittest Man In History appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Functional training is a philosophy that both connects and divides much of the fitness industry. The largest issue I’ve seen with “functional training” is that it is actually more of a philosophically based means of training than one of agreed-upon specific methods.

Where poses issues is in understanding what type of training is meaningful, what is circus like, what is innovative, and what is different for the sake of being different. That leads trainers and trainees alike into intense debates about many aspects of functional training – one of which is training planes of motion.

Training all the planes of motion isn’t as simple as it sounds.

Movement in Real Life

If you are unfamiliar, I’ll give a quick summary of planes of motion and how our training can best reflect real movement of the body. There are three planes of motion:

1. Sagittal
2. Frontal
3. Transverse

Each joint can move in these planes, as well as the entire body itself. In order for our training to be functional, we need to truly understand how the body performs fundamental human motion. Actions like walking are a great example of how something simple in real life is quite complex upon examination. Our everyday action of walking uses all three planes of motion, producing and resisting forces all at the same time. Yet, we ignore many of theses concepts in our strength training.

“[W]e use the transverse plane to create some of our most powerful actions, like kicking, throwing, and punching. Given that, you might think it would be more integral to our idea of functional training.”

Some will argue this is not much a point of discussion. After all, doesn’t strength in general make us move better in every way? Well, a 2015 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that movement-oriented programs actually improved frontal plane stability of the knee and spine while conventional fitness programs did not.

This chart compares the movement-oriented exercises (left) with the conventional ones in the study (right).

Yes, sagittal work is important, it is our foundation. And most won’t debate the importance of the frontal plane, either. But how about that little transverse motion? I say that a bit sarcastically as we use the transverse plane to create some of our most powerful actions, like kicking, throwing, and punching. Given that, you might think it would be more integral to our idea of functional training.

The Debates

Ironically, transverse-plane training is hotly debated, but more from of a lack of understanding and knowing when to implement this form of training, rather than the training itself. Some coaches will even say you shouldn’t train the transverse plane because the risk involved with training it does not yield enough reward to warrant doing so. Are they right?

Well, it depends. If you are someone who believes rotational movements come from us twisting our torso, these coaches might have an argument. After all, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has stated, “[T]wisting while you lift can also make your back vulnerable.” “Vulnerable” is referring to the risk of herniating discs in your back.

Rotational training needs to be smart in order to avoid disc problems.

Even if we take away the spinal flexion, just rotation of the torso can be tough. As leading researcher Dr. Stuart McGill stated, “…developing twisting moment places very large compression loads on the spine because of the enormous coactivation of the spine musculature. This can also occur when the spine is not twisted but in a neutral posture in which the ability to tolerate loads is higher.”

“You don’t have to be a scientist or a top strength coach to see how traditional rotation training might a problem. After all, who ever performed a set of Russian twists and thought their back felt awesome?”

Top strength coaches like Mike Boyle have long espoused concerns about the way most people perform rotational training. Coach Boyle cites the work of physical therapist and professor, Shirley Sahrmann. In her book Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes, she wrote:

[D]uring most daily activities, the primary role of the abdominal muscles is to provide isometric support and limit the degree of rotation of the trunk…A large percentage of low back problems occur because the abdominal muscles are not maintaining tight control over the rotation between the pelvis and the spine at the L5- S1 level.

That brings up an interesting idea that maybe our core isn’t meant to produce motion as much as it is meant to resist it. In their book, Mechanical Low Back Pain, physical therapists Porterfield and DeRosa stated, “Rather than considering the abdominals as flexors and rotators of the trunk – for which they certainly have the capacity – their function might be better viewed as antirotators and antilateral flexors of the trunk.”

You don’t have to be a scientist or a top strength coach to see how traditional rotation training might a problem. After all, who ever performed a set of Russian twists and thought their back felt awesome? Not many people I ever met!

The key to safe rotational training is assessment and safe progression.

The Rotational Debate

Of course in any debate there is an argument at the other extreme. Some believe because it is possible for our body to get in this position that we should train it. There are several issues with this thought process, though.

“The thoracic spine has 35 degrees of rotation and the hips have thirty to forty degrees of internal rotation. Based upon this relatively simple anatomy lesson, where do you think rotation should occur?”

The “you should rotate your spine under load” group will cite the need to teach movement in the SI joint and lumbar spine. Well, neither the SI joint nor lumbar spine possesses a great deal of movement. The SI joint, for example, possesses a whopping six degrees of motion. The lumbar spine? The greatest segment of rotation of the lumbar spine is at L5 and S1 – and is capable of degrees of rotation. Not much.

But don’t worry – all is not lost! The thoracic spine has 35 degrees of rotation and the hips have thirty to forty degrees of internal rotation. Based upon this relatively simple anatomy lesson, where do you think rotation should occur?

Is It Right for You?

In the video below, I will walk you through how you can qualify yourself to see if rotational training is right for you, how to do it well, and how you can easily progress the movements.

Qualifying Movements:

• Basic seated position
• Sandbag press out
• Sandbag rotational overhead press
• Horizontal medicine ball throw
• Sandbag rotational deadlift
• Kettlebell inside out clean
• Sandbag rotational clean
• Sandbag shoveling

More Like This:

• 3 Sandbag Exercises You Should Add to Your Training
• Sandbag Drills: Instability Builds Balance and Strength
• Kettlebells for an Iron Core: A 3-Phase Training Plan
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. David M. Frost, et al, “Exercise-based performance enhancement and injury prevention for firefighters: Contrasting the fitness- and movement-related adaptations to two training methodologies.” J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Mar 10.

2. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, Herniated Disc in the Low Back,

3. Stuart McGill, Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance, McGill 5th edition (2004)

4. Shirley Sahrmann, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes, Mosby (2001)

5. James Porterfield and Carl DeRosa, Mechanical Low Back Pain: Perspectives in Functional Anatomy, 2e, Saunders (2008)

Photo 1 by Edoarado (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons.

Information in chart courtesy of Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Photo 2 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 3 courtesy of Jessica Bento.

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“Shoulders? Where we’re going we don’t need…shoulders”

– Me, paraphrasing Back to the Future

In probably the most uninspired set of regional workouts yet, CrossFit’s Dave Castro has seemingly set up the individual athletes for the shoulder ruination of the century – with, in this writer’s opinion, a little bit of reckless disingenuousness. More on that later. First, let’s look at the workouts.

The regional events this year, at least for individuals, appear to be aimed squarely at the shoulders. Now, in the interest of fairness, yes, these athletes train a ton of volume and this shouldn’t be that big of a deal. In addition, you have to use your arms to do CrossFit, which are attached by way of your shoulders. Ergo, it stands that nearly everything one does is going to involve the shoulders. That said, the shoulder-threat scale is a solid “8.1”

Here’s a quick breakdown with my wholly unscientific analysis and shoulder-threat level.

“Randy”

For time:

• 75 snatches (75/55lb)

Time cap: 6 minutes

This tests nothing more than gut-check ability and posterior-deltoid muscle endurance. Zero skill, zero strength, and zero strategy are tested. When doing this workout, it’s not a snatch, but rather a wide-grip kettlebell swing. Judging will be a virtual nightmare as judges are reduced to nothing more than counters, as the speed with which these reps are being executed will make it virtually impossible for all but the most elite judges to spot and call a no-rep. This is a poor choice for a regional-level test.

“Tommy V”

For time:

• 21 thrusters
• 12 rope climbs
• 15 thrusters
• 9 rope climbs
• 9 thrusters
• 6 rope climbs

Male: 115lb thrusters, 15-foot rope

Female: 75lb thrusters, 15-foot rope

Time cap: 16 minutes

I like this test overall. It’s a good balance of a push (thrusters) and a pull (rope climbs) and will demand strategy, skill, and preservation of fuel. Those who try to go all-out will be burned, but those who find just the right pace on thrusters and proper turnover rate on the rope climbs will be rewarded. Heavier-than-normal thrusters following “Randy” is, on its own, not horrible, but think of it like taking money out of the bank – there is a cumulative effect on the shoulders that is about to get much, much worse.

“Event 3”

For Time:

• 1-mile run
• 50 overhead squats (135/95lb)
• 100 GHD sit ups
• 150 double unders
• 50 sumo deadlift high pulls (135/95lb)
• 100 box jump overs (24/18in)

Time cap: 26 minutes

This test is kitchen-sink and lacks any real logic. Now, I have no heartburn about the requirement of running on the treadmill. It’s just a simulated run, like rowing on the erg is a simulated row on water. And the TrueForm treadmill is human-powered, so it’s a fine equalizer. But the workout itself is a high-volume mess of shoulder-crushing, rhabdo-inducing menace.

50 overhead squats at 135, 100 GHD sit ups, 150 double unders (shoulders burning yet?), and then 50 sumo deadlift high pulls -probably the dumbest movement in the CrossFit kingdom. Keep in mind, these sumo deadlift high pulls come after “Randy,” thrusters, overhead squats, and double unders. Now, let’s yank the bar up elbows high with impingement-width grip!

Don’t get me wrong, sumo deadlift high pulls suck. We did them in the masters Games in 2013 with an 88lb kettlebell. But here’s a pro tip for the programmers: everything sucks. Give me 20 bar muscle ups here, 30 hang cleans, hell, 50 Russian kettlebell swings with a really heavy bell. But this workout is just embarrassing. This is basically a volume test that requires very little other than a pacing strategy.

Shoulder bank account stands at 50% empty. Athletes start asking where the Airrosti rehab center is.

“Event 4”

For time:

• Handstand walk 250 feet

Time cap: 3 minutes

I actually like this test because it tests skill. This particular skill (or lack of) brought down Sam Briggs and Stacey Tovar, as well as other Games hopefuls like Danielle Sidell and others in 2014. It has become a staple test in the CrossFit world, and just like a deadlift ladder tests strength, this tests skill.

Unfortunately, it’s coming on the heels of three previous shoulder massacres so the central nervous system (CNS) fatigue and its resultant impact on the ability of the muscle fibers in the shoulder to continue to work efficiently for 250 feet is suspect.

Bank account at 40%. Many athletes seen walking around with ice bags attached to upper torso. Airrosti rehab workers ask athletes to “come back later” due to crowding.

“Event 5”

• 1RM snatch

Each athlete will have two 20-second windows to attempt the lift with 80 seconds rest between.

Here’s where things get interesting. When I wrote this piece about Kevin Ogar’s accident and CFHQ’s demand to see the video of said accident, it was to challenge the claim that HQ’s goal desire was to provide injury-prevention education with regard to CrossFit competitions and wholly imitative derivations.

Despite that claim, CrossFit has not only done nothing in terms of competition injury-prevention education, but they have now programmed the snatch in almost exactly the same way that the OC Throwdown organizers did in 2014 when Ogar was injured – put a max snatch event at the end of day two when nervous system fatigue is high and the shoulders are toast. Moreover, it’s literally part two, coming on the heels of the handstand walk. A max snatch in a highly fatigued, likely CNS-fatigued state. Sounds very much like the thing they were criticizing to begin with, or claiming they were bent on avoiding.

“Event 6”

5 rounds for time of:

• 25-calorie row
• 16 chest-to-bar pull ups
• 9 strict deficit handstand push ups

Time cap: 16 minutes

As a standalone piece, I like this. Rowing calories sets you up for lactic build-up followed by a push-pull series. It is not a ton of volume, so it should be fairly fast. The deciding factor here will be the handstand push ups. Because they are strict and at a deficit (not a big one, but a deficit nonetheless) athletes who have been working this particular movement will be rewarded.

But again, your shoulders are taking a major beating here between the pull ups and the handstand push ups. This would have been a much better test had the chest-to-bar pull ups been replaced with some variation of the squat. There is almost no squatting in this year’s regionals as compared to upper-body pulling and pushing.

Shoulder bank at 20%. Airrosti tape covers 90% of athletes’ delt, trap, and rhomboid regions now. Two orthopedic surgeons seen high-fiving each other in the stands after every heat.

“Event 7”

For time:

• 15 muscle ups
• 1 squat clean (205/135lb)
• 1 squat clean (225/145lb)
• 1 squat clean (245/155lb)
• 1 squat clean (255/165lb)
• 1 squat clean (265/175lb)

Time cap: 6 minutes

This is reminiscent of the master’s final event from 2014, which was a 100m sprint, 4 burpee-muscle ups, and 5 power snatches. It was literally a balls-to-the-wall sprint. I was able to finish that workout in 92 seconds. This workout will be even shorter – we may actually see a sub-1:00 time on this from some elite athletes.

While I think it’s a solid event overall, it could have been even a bit more inspired has this been a five-rep hang clean for each of the bars. That would have been a separator – or, better yet, an equalizer – because those bodyweight superstars who pound out the muscle ups unbroken might get stuck on a five-rep scheme where there is a bit more of a need for a battery charge between bars. As it is guys like Vinny Casey from the Atlantic region or Courtney Walker from the California region will bang those muscle ups out in thirty seconds and move through the bars like a knife through butter.

The bank account will run dry for some athletes on this final workout. Surgeries will be scheduled for July through August with a hope for the athletes to begin training again in October for the 2016 Open.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• What the CrossFit Games 2015 Changes Mean for You
• Avoid Shoulder Injury by Strengthening the Rotator Cuff
• The Risk of Injury in Competition and How to Protect Yourself
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 courtesy of CrossFit, Inc.

Photos 3, 4, and 5 courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

The post CrossFit Regional Workouts 2015: The Good, the Bad, and the Shoulders appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

How do you tell Jo Average, who thinks she’s “pretty fit” and has just walked in off the street, pumped and motivated after watching some CrossFit Games footage on ESPN, that she has zero to no hope of making it? Less than 1% of participants in the Open actually make it to the Games. Ask yourself which is more likely – are you part of the 1% or the 99%?

What’s Required to Make It to the Top?

For Jo Average to have a chance, a minimum of four to five years of double training days (for a total of four to six hours per day) is required to achieve the standard we see at the Games today. And it’s guaranteed that in another four to five years, that standard will have improved again dramatically. So, how the hell does Jo Average break in or catch up to the game?

If you’re not already in the sport of CrossFit or if you don’t have a high-level sporting background (preferably in gymnastics or weightlifting), then the outlook is as bleak as it could be.

“We won’t see the days of unknowns breaking into the ranks of Games athletes ever again. If you do the work, they’ll see you coming for years.”

I qualified for the 2011 CrossFit Games as an individual after six months in the sport. I had a high-level sporting background; I was seriously fit and naturally strong; I had a bulletproof mental game; and I employed solid recovery practices. That was enough back then. At that time, I honestly didn’t know what the Games were, I hadn’t intended to go, and I hadn’t single-mindedly worked toward qualifying. It all just fell into place.

We won’t see the days of unknowns breaking into the ranks of Games athletes ever again. If you do the work, they’ll see you coming for years. This is now a professional sport and athletes devote themselves full time to their Games preparations. The breadth, depth, and level of skill, strength, endurance, mental resilience, self-discipline, recovery practices, and nutritional commitment required to make it to the top are uncompromising and unforgiving.

Think about these things:

• If you’re working hard, your competition is working harder.
• Injury is a matter of when, never if. Can you handle it? Do you have a team around you to keep you strong and healthy? Do you have adequate recovery practices to cope with the training demands?
• Do you have the courage to go to that dark place, over and over, day after day? Will you seek out and swallow pain without faltering?
• Do you have the self-belief to fight on, year after year, despite the odds and evidence against you?
• Do you have the total support of friends and family? Without their support, you’ll never make it.
• Are you willing to give up your social life, give up the drink, get to bed early, and train when your mind says no or your family wants you to spend time with them? There is no way to add in the training without removing other things from your life.
• Can you handle the pressure of competition and the stress of multiple days of battle? Does your support crew travel with you to keep you strong and healthy, as well as calm and focused?
• Are you willing to discipline your nutritional habits? Can you give up sugar, dairy, wheat, and processed foods?
• Do you have the mental fortitude to remain calm in the face of failure and seeming defeat? Think back two years to Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s rower not working in the final event or Rich Froning’s public frustration during the rope climb. Do you have the strength to handle that with dignity?
• Do you beat yourself up when you fail reps? While seeking to improve is important, you need to have a positive inner dialogue, not berate yourself constantly.
• Do you have an unquenchable fire and drive to succeed?
• Do you have absolute faith in yourself and your chosen path despite the critics and haters?
• Can you live for your dream on negligible income?
• Do you have a bulletproof sense of the ridiculous?
• Can your body handle the volume and intensity of the physical work required?
• Are you insane enough to keep coming back for more, with no promise of reward or recognition?

Perception Versus Reality

The dream of being a CrossFit Games athlete and the reality of being a CrossFit Games athlete are two entirely separate experiences. One is all glory and magnificence in the limelight, while the other is all suffering and uncertainty alone in a dark box.

“Being a Games athlete is rarely fun. It’s massive volumes of grimy work. It is ultimately rewarding, but it is an unforgiving and brutal way of life.”

I say that anyone willing to step up has great courage. To box owners faced with what to tell these motivated fans declaring their Games dreams, I say tell them to seriously consider the above points before embarking on what will be a multi-year journey.

CrossFit was originally about minimal dosage for maximum results, about community, and about fun. Being a Games athlete is rarely fun. It’s massive volumes of grimy work. It is ultimately rewarding, but it is an unforgiving and brutal way of life.

Related Articles:

• What the CrossFit Games 2015 Changes Mean for You
• 3 Lessons We Can All Learn From the CrossFit Games
• A CrossFit Games History Lesson
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography

The post The Brutal Truth About Getting to the CrossFit Games appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Like the time I ran through a series of corrective exercises culminating in the get up as a final stage – and a strength coach asked me how much load I’d use with a player with an ACL tear. Or the time I talked about shoulder mobility and how if it disappears you’re on the short track to injury – and then got asked whether I should bench three times per week while fixing it or five.

RELATED: The Value of the Get Up: Broken Down Into 6 Pieces

Teaching the get up.

The Real Definition of Functional Training

“Functional training” is perhaps the most overused term in fitness today replacing “core training” from a decade ago. Not surprisingly both are massively misunderstood when it comes to the non-elite side of training. The misunderstanding many make with their use of functional training is that they define strength as a general fitness quality.

“[F]unction relates to one thing only – movement. If you can’t move, you’re dysfunctional.”

While strength is certainly part of function and is most definitely a general fitness quality that transfers across many other qualities, function relates to one thing only – movement. If you can’t move, you’re dysfunctional. Expanding on that: if your training doesn’t involve movement, it is likely leading you to becoming dysfunctional, too.

Even spending time making sure you cover all the basic movements – push, pull, squat, hinge, lunge, rotate, flex/bend, brace/carry – won’t necessarily make you functional, either. It will merely add general strength in those patterns.

Great Grapplers Are Truly Functional

Life doesn’t happen in isolated movements like we use in the gym. If you want to see how life forces you to work in the shady zones between perfect patterns, then give moving house or grappling a try. You’ll quickly see there are not many chances for perfect posture or set ups, and you’re often in odd positions trying to assert your gym-gained strength from an unstable start point.

When you watch great grapplers compete, one thing becomes clear – if function is high, it will look like you can fire a cannon from a canoe. However, as anyone who has ever rolled with a great grappler will tell you, these athletes appear to have balance when it should be impossible and they have unbelievable strength levels in the most awkward of positions.

RELATED: Wrestling 101: Wrestling in Mixed Martial Arts

While grapplers will spend time in the gym, they spend more time grappling. And I’ve yet to see a training plan that covers as many variations of human movement as a high-level wrestling plan. From basic tumbling, to running, to walking on your hands, to single-leg work, it all seems to be covered – and at a level few can match.

Life Happens Outside the Gym

I’m not suggesting you take up wrestling at the age of forty. In fact, that could be a quick way to destroy what function you do have. I’m suggesting you remember that the point of the gym for the majority is to get in shape for life. While a few of you reading this will be in the gym to help you perform better at a given sport, most people simply want to lead more fulfilling lives. Last time I checked, life happened outside the gym, not in it.

“I’m suggesting you remember that the point of the gym for the majority is to get in shape for life.”

Using that as our start point – that we need to get out of the gym more – let’s take a look at a few things you could set your eyes on for 2015 that will encourage you to move more. In order of difficulty:

Running

Running is an easy way to start this process, as it is cheap and accessible. All you need are a pair of shoes and a bit of free time to get outside and enjoy some vitamin D and fresh air while getting in your movement fix.

RELATED: Running Is the Killer App of the Human Body

Obstacle Running

While running is great, it mostly happens in a straight line. So we’re not really covering all the bases of getting more movement. That’s where events like obstacle races come in.

These events have a variety of challenges that force you to move your body in those shady in-between areas. I know a few of the Spartan Race pro team, like Aril Dee and Isaiah Vidal, and they’re better athletes than any pure runner I’ve come across. The same can be said of parkour, which at its essence is a short series of attempts at obstacles that combines a run with basic tumbling.

Bodyweight Movement Workshops

MovNat, Animal Flow, Ground Force Method (formerly Primal Move), or Ido Portal Method Locomotion. These workshops take you from static to moving, and show you clearly where your dysfunctions are. Something as simple as a sideways crab requires an enormous amount of straight-arm strength work (that you’d get from planche training) to make it happen fluidly, along with being flexible enough to nearly completely achieve pike position – and all this needs to happen while moving.

RELATED: A Breath of Fresh Air: My Experience at a MovNat Workshop 

Loaded Movement

At the top of the tree are sports like grappling, the NFL, actual military work where you are under load for long periods of time, and anything else that requires you to move your body while facing resistance or load.

If you’re unsure if something qualifies, then ask yourself a simple question: “Do bad asses do this?” If the answer is yes, then it probably fits here. The athletes that display high skills in this area are the ones who take home million-dollar paychecks or wear all black and kick in doors late at night.

“If you’re unsure if something qualifies, then ask yourself a simple question: ‘Do bad asses do this?” If the answer is yes, then it probably fits here.'”

Work Your Way Through the Continuum

If your goal is to develop true function and athletic ability in 2015, take note of where you fit on the continuum. Most people don’t need to ever get to that final category and would gain much from addressing the first three. A bit of running, some light parkour, and consistent movement practice will go a long way toward making you as functional as possible.

RELATED: Getting Outside the Box: The Definition of Functional Strength

Unlike traditional strength training, the difficulty doesn’t increase by adding load, but by adding complexity. For some, it will take you up to two years to become a decent runner and to run injury free. Once that has been mastered, try adding in light tumbling and basic obstacles for difficulty. Then add the movement training to top it all off.

You may find the amount of in-gym strength training you need is substantially less than you previously thought – once your body is functioning right. But the first step is to ditch the machines and single plane of movement found in most training plans and get outside.

Photo 1 courtesy of Andrew Read.

Photos 2, 3, & 4 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post In 2015: Move Better Than You Ever Have Before appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Now don’t get me wrong. It is never the victim’s fault when some a$$hole attacks them. I don’t care what she was wearing, I don’t care if she had been drinking all night, and I don’t care if she was walking home alone. It is never the victim’s fault. However, I think it’s a natural reaction when we hear awful stories like this to think, “What would I do if this happened to me?”

Fitness for Survival

And, honestly, I don’t know. I’d like to think I would fight back and be able to run away, but I don’t know. The suspect is supposed to be about 6’3” and attacks from behind.

I am in no way a self-defense expert. I’ve never been in a fight and have only taken a couple self-defense courses. But I do believe that if you are more fit, your chances of getting away will increase. Not necessarily because you can fight an attacker off, but maybe you can get in one good punch and run away.

Or maybe the mental toughness you’ve developed through your training will allow you to keep a clear head and make good decisions. Or maybe you’ll have just got enough lung capacity to scream your lungs out and draw attention to the situation. To me, surviving and escaping situations like this would be the top level of functional fitness.

The phrase functional fitness has been bandied about on a regular basis for the last few years. When I hear people talking about it, they are usually telling stories about how they were able to get up a rope climb or make it over a wall without help during their mud run. Now that’s all hunky-dory, but when I think about functional fitness, I’m thinking about survival situations like those above, as well as stuff I’m doing every day that’s made easier or better by being fit.

Real Life Functional Fitness

While I’m hoping my fitness helps me escape or survive if I’m ever in the terrible position of being attacked, your fitness can come into play in much less serious, more common situations. Here is what I think about when functional fitness is mentioned.

Honestly, I feel a little bad-ass when I’m at PetSmart and I can toss my 45-pound bag of dog food on my shoulder and control my unruly mutt at the same time. I used to struggle carrying the bag to the car. Now it’s not much heavier than the sandbag I train with. This ability to carry heavy stuff also applies when I’m getting home from the grocery store. Sure, I could make two trips from the car to the house, but where is the fun in that?

I am not a mom, but when I watch my friends who are, I can see all sorts of functional fitness coming in to play. One example that sticks in my mind is watching people carry their babies around in the car seat carrier. Oh my goodness, if that is not the most awkward (and functional fitness-requiring) thing, I don’t know what is.

There’s also some functional fitness going on when we play tag with the kids in our lives, push them in swings, and tote around the astounding amount of stuff that creatures weighing in under fifteen pounds apparently need. The soreness I have the morning after toting my three- and five-year-old great-nephews around lets me know that I am squeezing in an unscheduled workout.

Another great place where I see functional fitness happening is the airport. Those track workouts definitely pay off when you’ve got a short connection time and are sprinting across terminals. And this might just be a pet peeve of mine, but it causes me to roll my eyes and let out a sigh when a woman is unable to pick up her own carry-on to stow in the overhead compartment. I understand there are exceptions to the rule – if the person is older, maybe she’s a mother with her arms full of babies, or maybe it’s someone with a shoulder injury. Fine, you can have a pass. Otherwise, pack your bags in a way that allows you to pick it up. If you want to pack more, start training harder. We don’t need men to rescue us from ourselves.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here because it will make me blush and my parents make up about 40% of my regular readers, but being fit leads to better sex. Part of it is simply that you are more confident when you are taking care of yourself and treating yourself right. But another part is that increased strength and flexibility allows you to try things you might not be able to do when you’re weak and tight. Ahem.

Joking aside, I consider this last one perhaps the most important. I know, you male readers are like, “What are you talking about? You’ve already mentioned sex. What could be more important?” But after reading this next one all my female readers will be like, “Amen, sister!”

The last functional fitness item I want to talk about is the ability to hover. I thought about the importance of this when I had to use a porta-potty while tailgating last week (Go Gators!). Add this to the list of reasons why you should squat heavy stuff. With my thick quads, I was able to leave all porta-loo surfaces untouched. Hallelujah!

Obviously, the ability to escape and survive a situation like the one first mentioned in this article is the most serious display of functional fitness, but our fitness level comes in to play in all aspects of our day.

How is your fitness impacting your ability to function? Please tell me what you think functional fitness encompasses in the comments section below.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post How Being Fit Can Keep You Safe and Improve Your Day appeared first on Breaking Muscle.