A lot of people think that crossfit invented the wheel in many cases. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "that's crossfit", in reference to one of my exercise choices. Yes, I do use Olympic lifts, plyometrics, and the occasional burpee, but that does not mean we're doing crossfit. These exercises have been around for years, and they are not the problem. The problem is in the programming. Crossfit's programming is flawed and frequently lends itself to injury. A performance coach's priority list should look something like this;

1) Do no harm
2) Decrease the potential for injury
3) Improve performance

My problem with crossfit is that the majority of crossfits seem to ignore these priorities.

Here are a few good article on why crossfit may not be good for you.


http://strengthcoachblog.com/2012/11/12/why-crossfit-may-not-be-good-for-you/

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/fitness/inside-cult-crossfit?page=3

   










My athletes hear me say two phrases a lot;

1) Don't add strength to dysfunction
2) Quality over quantity.

    Optimum performance training is about building a foundation before adding strength. It's about the quality of work over the quantity of work. It's about prescribing the minimal effect dose. It's about recovery. It's about progressive programming. It's not about running clients or athletes into the ground day after day. It's about following two basic rules;

1) Don't add strength to dysfunction
2) Think quality over quantity

     Above you'll see Gray Cook's Performance Pyramid. This is how we should be training. In this pyramid we've developed a foundation of quality movement;  full-range of motion, body control, and movement awareness. This  movement supports our performance; power, strength, and endurance.  Once we develop appropriate performance we can begin to add sport specific skills. The optimum performance pyramid is about knowing that our movement can handle the power we generate and the power generated can control our skills. It's about finding the appropriate balance.

   










    The second picture illustrates what most people are doing when they train. They ignore movement and go straight to performance. Ignoring poor movement patterns and adding strength on-top of this dysfunction is only decreasing your performance and putting you at a greater risk for injury. A dysfunctional movement pattern can actually be why you aren't reaching your goals. It may not be that you haven't trained hard enough. It may not be because you aren't strong enough. It may just be because you don't move well. Each time you try to overcome movement restrictions valuable energy is being wasted.

    Where some people get confused is they think that they need to only work on movement before they start working on performance. You can work on both at the same time, you just need to be safe and conscious about it. Work on your dysfunction and listen to your body. If you feel pain that's a sign that something needs to change.

    Make sure you are incorporating movement into your workouts. The best way to do this depends on your situation but I've found that using a 15min warm-up and adding corrections to the workout have worked wonders. For the warm-up work on mobility first, then add stability to each dysfunctional movement pattern. The way we spend our warm-up is as follows; Mobility followed by Stability.

    5mins Foam Roll (to change tissue density)
    5mins Static Stretch (to change tissue length)
    5mins Correctives/Dynamic (to cement the changes in length)