CrossFit Athletic Group

We don't do the movements in a workout program for the sake of doing the movement. We do them because of the effect they have on our body and mind.

Why do I care if Aaron Sexton, potential All-State pitcher, can spin a jump rope under his feet twice before landing?

I think if you can understand that point, then everything else with the Champions Club's expression of CrossFit will become clear (except maybe Kris Campbell's dancing). The key to this understanding comes with moving beyond the "code" of movement.

Here's a test: what's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word squat? Chances are it is something involving a barbell. The problem I have run into with my own training in the past and also see now with other coaches and athletes is their failure to see beyond the formal movement we do in the weight room. We have covered the squat example before first with Movement Shapes pt. 17 and with this recent post. So let's use a different example.

When I look at this workout, I don't see the specific movements of running and deadlifts, I see the general outcome we want to get from the workout. In my interpretation, that would be midline stability and bodyweight perception; 1) how intense can you work before you break midline stability? 2) how well can you keep Pose with a fatigued midline? I care very little what effect this workout has on your deadlift numbers or running times, and I think the CrossFit mainsite people share that feeling.

When we go into a workout, it is very rare for either the CrossFit.com people or myself to have the mindset of, "let's make our deadlift stronger," or "let's make our pull-ups better." Instead we would think, "I want to emphasize my midline stability today," or "I want to get better at upper body pulling." Once we decide on the general thing we want to get better at, the coach sets specific standards (rx'd) to get the athlete to achieve that. From that point on, everything we prescribe is scalable. Everything. I think I got that message across pretty well in our presentation at MSU (I cut right to the part below).

So when I hear Mel say, "your toes-to-bar should actually be touching the bar," or Brian say "you didn't stand all the way up on your deadlift," or Kroll ask why we did regular lunges instead of overhead lunges, or Jack say "more weight on bench press = better football player," I think that's just an example of not seeing past the code. More pushing strength in general makes a better football player, not necessarily the bench press in specific. Space and equipment and having handstands in the workout were the main reasons to scale OHL. The extra inch at the top of a deadlift has very little purpose beyond a competition where deadlifts are involved. And the 3/4 range of motion toes to bar I did this weekend on Liam still made my belly sore for a few days afterwards.

Abiding or not abiding by the RX is the difference between CrossFit as a sport and using CrossFit as a training tool. Both are legit, and I think both should be used. If you are treating it like a sport, then I think you need to go all the way with it; Football players don't play a game every day, and a professional CrossFit athlete needs to carry the same mindset. If you are using it as a training tool, I think you need to throw in an rx'd workout as a test to see how effective your training has been in this specific area.

In both cases, having a good perspective of the movements you are doing is essential to success. If a clean and jerk is the most athletic thing you are doing then you are probably limited in your view. My success as an athlete and coach started when I saw past the RX'd and the specific code of "front squat, back squat, overhead squat, squat clean, wallball" and I encourage you guys to do the same.