CrossFit Athletic Group

Going into my freshman year in college I was given a workout packet from Albion's basketball team that I was supposed to follow over the summer. I never looked at it once. When the time for team testing came, I beat every upper classman in the mile run, dips, pull-ups, and all these other machine exercises I'd never done in my life.

Going into my senior year at Marygrove the coaches decided they were going to hold off-season workouts. I never attended one of them. When the time came for testing I won the mile, won all the 400s, won 3 out of the 4 200s, 3 out of the 4 100s, then got the highest weight in back squat, most strict pull-ups, and second-highest in bench press.

In high school I... you get the idea. Let's stop using me as an example.

In 2013 AJ Morey ditched the Alma College football strength and conditioning packet. When he got to fall camp in August he teted the highest out of any linebacker and pr'd on his bench press - despite not doing a single bench press rep for the previous three months.

In 2013 Shannon Marchant ditched the U of D track summer workouts, then came into fall winning all the sprint tests. That was usual, but what was unusual was she also won the distance tests. And the jumping tests. Another unusual thing was she tested with the guys' team, not the girls team. She was also a team captain and set school records.

In 2018 Cecilia Steinwascher ditched the Grand Valley soccer summer conditioning packet. By the time she got to fall camp she had cured herself of shin splints doctors told her were hereditary, improved her Beep Test, and was named 1st team All American and Defensive Payer of the Year. She's also a team captain.

In 2018, Jennifer Banet was a part-timer with Warren Mott's winter track conditioning. By the end of May she won the team's MVP award at the banquet - as voted by the coaches and the athletes.

In 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 Nicole Murley was a part-timer for Madonna University's summer Cross Country conditioning. She steadily improved her times each year, competed without injury, and went from the 2nd worst runner on the team as a freshman to in the top 3-4 by the time she was a senior. She was also a team captain.

In 2016 Alyssa Jabara part-timed the Concordia summer softball workouts. During team testing her coach told her she needed to slow down a bit so the other girls could catch up. Last summer she ditched them completely and she won every testing category and is their starting catcher.

These people chose to do something instead of their sports' off-season conditioning. They chose to do CrossFit. And, with the exception of me, chose to do it with the Champions Club.

...........

Off-season workouts are voluntary. They have to be. It would be illegal to make them mandatory. A coach is not allowed to base their playing time decisions on the attendance for off-season workouts.

But the reality is, they do. And rightfully so. Kids that put in work in the off-season deserve to be rewarded for that in my opinion. I coach basketball and track (and have coached football before too), and I definitely have a subconscious bias towards kids who I see busting their butt in the summer months while everyone else is on vacation. There is also a lot of teamwork and chemistry that can be built in the off-season. The tricky part comes with doing what you know will make you better, and doing what makes your coach happy.

If you are serious about getting better as an individual athlete, the decision framework is simple: What is the minimum effective dose for my school's off-season workouts?

In other words, how infrequently can I show up? How little can I give do that would still keep my coaches and teammates satisfied? Then, in turn, whatever is left over from that is given to CrossFit.

Picture this scenario: Luke Heide is nowhere to be seen at Adrian College during the late-spring and summer workouts. He gives the coach a heads-up that he won't be there much, if at all. When August camp comes around he's suddenly in the best shape out of any tight end or lineman. He's winning the conditioning tests, he's putting up really good weight room numbers, and he's vocal and encouraging to all of his teammates. Is the coach really going to punish him? Legally he can't. Strategically he can't, at least not once it's time to break out the first string and second string.

In addition to coaching at the Champions Club and the various sports I coach, I also run off-season strength and conditioning for Stoney Creek's track team and Lamphere's football team. I see the value in that stuff and I think I run very good programs based on my opinion, the opinions of the kids, and the opinions of the coaches. If a kid had to choose between going to those sessions or coming to the Champions Club with Carter the Blob coaching every session, I'd want that kid to pick the Champions Club.

Off-season team conditioning workouts are very limited. They are designed for a (usually) large group of 30+ kids to (usually) come in 2-3 days per week and assuming the kids are not doing already doing CrossFit, or, even better, another sport. A session at the Champions Club is designed for 5-7 days per week, year round, regardless of what sport you play, and is done in a semi-private/small group setting that allows for coaches to be more picky on form. There is really, honestly no comparison.

...........

It is weird to write this. I have looked back at the "how little effort/infrequently can I show up" paragraph about a dozen times. I wondered if I should reword it, or take it out altogether, or soften it up a bit. And I probably should. I also need to be as unbiased as possible. I've thought "CrossFit > team sports conditioning" since I was in high school. Now seeing case after case after case after case after case of the great benefits from kids pushing their sports conditioning to the side in the off-season and fully immersing themselves in the Champions Club, how else should I put it? It's short-term sacrifice for long-term gain. At the start of the season the coaches and teammates might be a bit disgruntled. By the time the first scrimmage hits, they'll forget about it when you (or your child) is by far the best conditioning and best prepared athlete on the team, and the only one not worried about some nagging injury.

Also understand that this is completely flipped during the season; the question becomes, "What is the minimum effective CrossFit dose?" The team practices become, rightfully so, the top priority. In the off-season, use the word "voluntary" to your advantage. Find out what days the coach will be there watching. Find out what the important workout days are. Definitely make sure you attend any summer or winter league games or meets! That's sport specific, not conditioning, and those are more important than any CrossFit workout. Find out if there are any sessions where a coach will "voluntarily" sneak in some team strategy stuff. And... that's about it. Leave the rest of the 3 sets of 10 8-lb. kettlebell side squats to those not fortunate enough to do rope climbs, deadlifts, and pull-ups.

CrossFit done correctly and consistently is not only the cure for most chronic diseases we know, but it's also the best strength and conditioning program for any and all sports. That is not an overstatement. The Champions Club when attended consistently follows the best expression of CrossFit when it comes to preparing for sports. In the long run, investing your time here will not only pay off for you, but for your team as well. That has never not been the case.