OH YEAH EARLY POST! Scored 90 on my asvab, MP here I come!

Just did 100 inverted burpees. Harder than they look.

Tommy, you did 200 inverted burpees?

J-Bird: yay! Dunno if you saw a few days earlier, I posted to ya: thanks for the mail and for your service. Go, you smart thing, you.

I still don't look right after the rhabdo. Doctors are clueless as to how my recovery should be going. Few days ago, I thought I was looking better, but now I am back with face, arms, legs feet puffy, this is really messing with my head. I am drinking 4+ liters of water, herbal tea with no caffeine, diet is Paleo, so very limited sodium/ processing.

Dunno if this is normal. Very frustrated!

Onto good things: Reiki 1 this weekend :) Gave a dear friend (who suffered a stroke recently) a session this evening. It felt good to help him. Been giving myself Reiki as well- I know I have to stay positive. Oh and feeling good 'bout my just-shy-of-a-butt-whoopin' WOD today - the power cl/ab/back ext: 10 minutes even. Scaled to 45#, felt like a dowel, and took it easy on sit-ups (kind of a scaredy cat with them now)

May lift tomorrow AM, we'll see. Again, keeping it easy-ish, 3 work sets only.

Kathleen- you ROCK. I'm watching you!

J-Bird: everytime I try to post to you it gets held. ARGH. Thank you is what I've been trying to say.

How long does it take for the swelling from rhabdo to go away? It seems to come and go... :( I want my old body back, and I promise I won't complain about it again.

Pony...lol its the thought that counts hun, I asked the wifey and shes not to sure she says its kinda case by case but most of who she deals with is the elderly (in home care). Stay strong though, you'll get better, I want my old body back too!lol (at about 18 years old)31 has love handles :)

Man.... Rob Orlando is my hero.

Didn't work out this weekend so I did the official 300 workout today instead of rest.

20 minutes....Wow..painful.

Nice pic! Hoo-AH!

Awesome video

Love Cato, looking forward to reading it.

SLP - hope u get back to nrmal quickly. Paul

Love Cato, looking forward to reading it.

SLP - hope u get back to nrmal quickly. Paul

HQ, both video links are to the .MOV file.

Does anyone else think that Rob needs to work on compleating the range of motion on his squats? Great video thought.

That's my brother in Iraq doing the deadlift... Semper FI.

Ref: "The Path to Prosperity":
After high school I had no assets at all. I read a book called, "The Richest Man in Babylon" and took the advice: Pay yourself first 10% of your wages, i.e. save 10%, which I followed.

I followed Shakespeare's financial advice: "Neither a borrower nor lender be."

At 58 y.o. I'm no longer poor.

Ian, It was hard to tell his range of motion on the video, the squats looked on the short side, but not impossibly so. He's a solid CrossFitter, so I'd definitely give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm excited to see a workout video on the mainsite, I always like those better than a journal video teaser.

Cool video. I respect the hell out of Rob Orlando, and am quite envious of his work capacity, but Rob was definitely short cycling a lot of those squats. Amazing crossfitter though. 22nd at the games is impressive as hell.

Great effort by Rob. If you look at the shadow of the pull up bar behind him, whenever he stops to rest his head reaches that shadow. It's when he rests that he achieves full hip and knee extension. Most of his squats fall short of that shadow. So, it seems as though they are a little short of full range of motion.

I was'nt dissing him as a crossfitter, just those squats. I have mad respect for a dude like Rob, he is a amazing athelete.

He doesn't even false grip the muscle-ups. That boy is STRONG!

Those squats were not to full extension but those muscle-ups were nasty.

He did nasty girls in under 7 minutes and you guys are bitching about his squat ROM?

Some of you guys are clowns .

30 muscle-up 3:33 PR by one minute fourty seconds

Nice to see you posting Pony!!!

Ronnieboy best wishes bro stay tough train hard

Big hugs and bad english to the FRAT!!!

COLIN-post#7
-what's the official 300 workout? sounds painfun

and what does FRAT stand for? i see it posted every day...

Nobody is "bitching" about anything Ron, just chatting, thats what this page is for, makeing coments.

Gareth's brother on the cover is my son, so is his twin Gareth who spent his time in Afghanistan. Very proud of both. Semper Fi

So here is a topic of debate. I love Rob Orlando as a matter of fact I struggle everyday with whether or not I should intake the amount of calories it would take me in order to reach his size and weight. However his muscle ups had major kip, mine and I am not bragging, even on the last round of nasty girls have no kip. So if I gain the extra 15lbs I could possibly lose my ability to muscle up the way I do now, or do you guys accept those muscle ups without any complaints. My nast girl time is not 6 minutes but I around I think it was like 11 something and the was the first and only time I have done it.

Thanks for the pic, My son Matt is on the cover on his second tour of Iraq. Great to see him.

Whenever I see comments critiquing an athlete I think of this quote by Teddy Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat"

Rob's heart stopped 46 seconds into the video. Anyone else notice that? That's probably why the form went down the drain.

I agree with the range of motion on the squats. Most were short. Can't really tell with the camera angle if the muscle ups were locked out.

Of course Rob is one of the fittest men on the planet, but that doesn't mean we can't critique his form. Many of us our trainers with our own affiliates so we need to let people know what counts and what doesn't.

Smore that is a great time! You need to video that and send it in.

Hey guys, I have to put together a PT session for my platoon. Any ideas on some exercises I can put together that'll last for about 40 minutes? I know pullups, pushups, dips, burpees, squats, stuff like that, but we can't use the gym. Thanks all

#36
If you have a track near you ie. less then 2 miles run there and then do a sprint work out with other movements included say # sets and have everyone time themselves. Also you can split your platoon in half and do cindy with each person having there own counter. Use the website to help you I started something like this prior to this deployment it worked great all my APFT scores went up for my squad.

30 MU's

as rx'd

4:45

after a week and a half off with a virus and then surgery and then an infection. been a tough week.

good to be back though. still cant walk properly or run

Wow! Rob is a beast.

Looks like my "REST DAY" will be extended until Saturday. A typhoon is brewing up a nice swell that just started filling in today. I just got back from a three hour surf session. Tomorrow I'll put in about six hours. I'm glad CF has conditioned me to be able to pull a long sesh off.

Thanks Coach!

J-Bird congrats on the test...hooahh on your option to serve this marvelous country...hope to see you on the flipside...just hit 20 yrs 2 weeks ago and still goin strong......

Strong lil Pony dang i hope you get better that sounds like it sucks...

watching videos later at work but thanks for the heads up everyone...RAT UP!!!

Wow! Amazing stuff Rob!

I'm pretty sure that he would be fully aware of his butt hitting the medicine ball each rep so I'm assuming the vid is slightly misleading (black ball, black shorts, camera angle etc.) and that squat depth was fine.

The fact that a guy Rob's size and strength can do Nasty Girls this fast is amazing to me.

What ever to all you haters out there, especially Ashley! I work side by side and train with rob everyday. Both of us are natural animals in any realm of crossfit movements. So what a few squats weren"t fully locked out! What was he off by a few inches? What would it have been a few extra seconds on his time? He still killed it and will continue to murder wods! Lets see one of your videos Ashley!

Man, this reminds me of the rhabdo sub-2-fran discussion.

Regardless, that is an amazing power output for 6+ minutes!

Great video Rob, I'd like to see you stand tall on more than 90% of your air squats though, other than that it was solid.

Cheers
Leon.

Does anyone else think that Ian C needs to work on his spelling because in 2 sentences he made 2 mistakes. Rob performed 150 squats and the vast majority we close enough. I think that sometimes people get buried in the details. If you're performing every rep like it's straight from a textbook, then you're not working hard enough....which translates to a decrease in power output...which will ultimately retard your progress.

Someone above said his Nasty Girls time is 11 minutes with strict muscle ups. Kudos. However, your power output is insanely low. Would you do Fran with strict pullups? I think not. Learn how to kip and maybe your Nasty Girls time will drop....and your horsepower will increase dramatically. Then, you might actually make some progress.

Great Nasty Girls video by Rob. . . . maybe possible some foreshadowing there for the next cycle?!?!

Close enough? So, with that thinking we should start accepting quarter squats or presses that don't quite lock out, but are close enough.

How about an athlete in a 100 meter sprint only sprinting 99 meters, is he going to win? It's close enough.

Using the pull-up bar shadow, it is easy to see that Rob might have been missing complete extension by and inch or two. Let's just say that it's an inch times 150 squats. That's 12.5 feet of missed extension. I'm just saying. I'm not hating.

Back Squat x 3
WU: 45x10/95x3/115x3/135x3

165/165/175 x 3 Face red like a radish on last rep :)

Boy, that FRAT impostor is just lonely and angry. Perhaps needing a little love, hon? I can take of that tout suite. The post rhab swelling is systemic, meaning ALL over, (much to Goat's delight- typical guy) and makes for bountiful frontal hugging ;)

Rookie- ouch! I feel your pain. Take it easy.

#40 Tim, et al,

Tim said..."So what a few squats weren"t fully locked out! What was he off by a few inches? What would it have been a few extra seconds on his time? He still killed it and will continue to murder wods!"

I think the consensus is Rob did not do full ROM squats.

Question is, what now? Tim says "Show me YOUR video!" Well, I could, but I'm not sure you'd like to spend all the time it'd require to watch the whole thing. It would take me about 15 minutes on a good day. What you would see is that I have nowhere near the work capacity Rob has, and that I did 150 full ROM squats.

I think we've all also come to the consensus over the years, and at the games, that form counts when you claim "killer" times.

Here's my "what now": I am estimating that if Rob did full ROM squats, they would have taken about 1/3 of a second more, each. 1/3 x 150 = 50. So, I give Rob credit for a 7:15 Nasty Girls (6:25 + 0:50 = 7:15).

Nasty Girl in 7:15! Wow, Rob's an animal!! Nice effort Rob!

I personally don't need to see a re-do of this WOD so that we can be shown he can do it correctly.

I will say, though, that when I started CF (coming up on three years ago), when video's were posted with less than full ROM, there was a little pop-up text that said something to the effect that "This person killed this WOD, but many of the fill-in-the-blank reps were less than full ROM."

Dave T.
50/5'8"/180

RE to Comment #44:

Nitz, "performing every rep like it's straight from a textbook" is key to injury prevention, and not a sign of lack of ambition, drive, passion, or firebreather-ness. Go ahead, peruse through the comment threads on WoD days and the discussion board and see how many broken CFers there are due to incessant the incessant and reckless chase towards increased work capacity.

If, as a participant or trainer, I have to choose between doing an injury-free, full ROM slower time on a WoD or an incapacitating injury that keeps me out of the gym or, even worse, from going to work, caused by bad form in the rush to a PR, I'll choose the former every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

When I'm doing a WoD, one question repeatedly pops into my head: If I were participating in the CF Games under the watchful eye of a judge, would my last rep have counted? If the answer is "no," then I repeat the rep. Counting bad reps under the umbrella of "increased work capacity" is a slippery slope; a person won't gain any traction on it by trying to use the second hand of a stopwatch as a moral pick ax.

While I agree that his squats were not fully extended, Rob Orlando is a beast anyway and I'm sure if he redid the WOD his time would not deviate much. That being said, I'm not sure I agree with posting a video on the HQ site that does not display proper technique or full ROM, regardless of who the video shows.

TJ Miller #31-

Excellent post.

If full ROM is not a big deal, then why not go ahead and do it? There has to be some benefit to not completing the movement, right? I suppose it comes down to what your goal is: fast times or full ROM WODs.

I've just returned to cycling after 18 years and I have used the zone previously when crossfiting, but I'm concerned that I might not be able to get the fuel I need from a typical Zone 3 Block prescription (i.e. 3,3,1,3,1). Can anyone give me any info on whether I might need to up the prescription so I don't run out of gas on long rides/races? Any info most welcome.

Many thanks

Bob

one thing i think that gets lost here is slop factor...Rob smashes workouts that may have slop but his power output is through the roof...When it comes time to taylor back the slop and do full ROM his full ROM times are going to be faster than those who havn'nt been flirting with the extremly high power outputs.... This man has competed in the games with the highest of standards and I've seen it first hand, he knows ROM as good as all the internet quarterbacks try to display..He know's how to hit the markes but its the flirting with the slop is what allows him to hit the marks at a speed many of us regulars would dream of....its funny for the guys that think a slow but perfect ROM workouts deserve a trophy over this..I'm all for form but things need to be in perspective of whats trying to be achieved...Because i know if they were willing to enter the slop/insanley high power output stage, they would be feeling more like they were hit by a truck than like they just played a round of golf.....this man knows his stuff....

i'd like to see you guys say that to his face

Ooorah just got my rings

#53 anthony

i totally agree. on the scale of intensity vs technique, i would say rob's intensity level more than justifies the inch or fraction of an inch possibly missed at the top of some of the squats. great effort. false grip? rob don't need no stinking false grip.

Surprise surprise, another video posted on the mainpage with NO movement standards.

I'm so sick of hearing people say that form inevitably suffers as intensity increases. This is true, but the form slips that occur as intensity increases are minor. Rob never hit the bottom or top of his squat, not even in the first round, when he was fresh. You can also tell that he never locked out a single muscle-up, not even when fresh.

Once again, no one is doubting his athletic ability, I'm sure he's very fit.

Response to comment #53...Thank you. Thanks to everyone who tries to keep things positive.

You have got to be f*&king kidding me????

So far in the last month or two, Ive seen pictures of CF gyms in Najaf, at Victory, and now at Basrah! Pretty much everywhere that Im not!

If there are any CF'ers here at COB Adder/Tallil Air Base or anyone that knows a CF'er here, drop me line. There is a C2 Rower at the House of Pain gym and a 44lb kettlebell and a 18lb medicine ball at the Body Shop gym. And Ive got my own rings. My boss's request for charitable CF donations fell through, but maybe we can "acquire" some wood for jump boxes and used tires for tire flips.

Something about a rest day that seems to turn the comments a little sour. If this Nasty Girls video was posted on a day when everyone had their adrenaline & endorphins going, I bet most of the comments would be more like, "Yeah! GET SOME." Working out is infectious... and so is sitting around b!@#$ing.

aaronfit @ Comment #25 - I was interested too and found this - (wfs) http://board.crossfit.com/showthread.php?t=21617

"The "300 Workout" is a CrossFit-esque workout that has exactly 300 reps, which some of the cast of the movie "300" did at the end of their training. It's an easy Filthy Fifty...

* 25 pull-ups
* 50 deadlifts at 135 pounds
* 50 push-ups
* 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
* 50 "floor wipers" (a core and shoulders exercise at 135 pounds)
* 50 "clean and press" at 36 pounds (a weight-lifting exercise)
* 25 more pull-ups -- for a total of 300 reps"

Comment #59 - Posted by: Stephen Barthel at October 6, 2009 8:34 AM

Check with the people in supply at your base or at nearby bases who order the 50 cal cradle mounts (MK64, I think). The wooden crates those are shipped in make for pretty good plyo/jump boxes. They are close to 24 inches tall, and if you tack the top cover of the crate to the bottom of the crate, it's a fairly sturdy surface on which to jump. When I was in Afghanistan, we were at a small FOB with few resources, and that's what we used.

Bob #52-

Unless you're a 98lb woman, 11 blocks isn't enough to support you watching 12 hrs of TV a day, much less riding a bike and doing CF. That's barely 1000 calories.

Don't hold back Jill. Let's hear what you really think.

Craig AKA comment 57.....your comment doesn't even deserve a response!

Rob, you rock!! Awesome job!

I thought it was a video documenting how he trained for the games. Does anybody think that if had done full rom for every squat he would have placed higher in the games?

Anyone have any thoughts on this article? I hope Rip stays with CrossFit....

http://greyskullarticles.blogspot.co...of-emails.html

Also, from my understanding I believe Rip has not made any public statement supporting this authors position, although he does seem to be closely associated with Rip. The article appeared in Rips forum on Strenghtmill.com

Here is the correct link:

http://greyskullarticles.blogspot.com/2009/10/recently-ive-received-lot-of-emails.html

Nicely done Rob!

http://greyskullarticles.blogspot.com/2009/10/recently-ive-received-lot-of-emails.html NOT WFS

Anyone see this? He is a bit harsh but for the most part completely correct

I agree that robs range of motion is lacking. If you are going to post your video to the entire community you better have good form. All and all, good effort. Its about having fun

Catching up. Power Clean/SU/Back Ext WOD, details there.

17:40

RE: Greyskull

Unfortunately, he makes a valid point. While there are lots of great affiliates out there, there is simply no standard of quality. I was lucky and found an excellent affiliate, but it was pure chance that brought me there. I could have easily ended up at the one a little further down the road that's run by a level 1 certification "graduate" with no business programming WODs.

So, what's the solution? I suggest making level 2 certification a prerequisite for opening any new affiliate. The fact that the level 2 certs only have a ~30% pass rate is a good indicator in my mind that those who pass are actually good trainers. So, change the policy so that new gyms can only be started by level 2 graduates and the quality problem practically disappears.

If HQ wanted to get really serious about standards of quality, they'd also make all current gyms have at least one level 2 graduate on staff by the end of some grace period, or lose their affiliate status.

Why haven't they done this already? A cynic would say that the current method makes more money. I'm not cynical about it though. I think that the true reason may be a desire to build a foundation of affiliates so that up-and-coming trainers have places to hone their skills. With over 1000 affiliates, though, I think that goal has been attained and it's time to switch to a stricter model.

Would it be possible that the main site posted Rob's video to encourage the ROM discussion?

Rob, I'd train with you anyday...I have no doubt you'd inspire and educate me.

I read the Greyskull article, and had a few comments. First, I've been to a number of affiliates over the past six months, and none of them struck me as problematic. So when you say “CrossFit” and “Horse$hit” were not supposed to become synonymous at any point." I have to ask myself what the frame of reference is. How do you back that up? What evidence can you present?

Given the skulls hanging from the pole, the actual inference I draw from that harangue is that CrossFit is insufficiently "Fight Club" for him. Are overhead presses the be all and end all? I personally like them, and put up 215 the other day, but I'm not about to go around telling people what a tough guy I am, since my Metcon right now is terrible.

If somebody can do 20 rounds of Cindy in 20 minutes--or in some cases many more--that counts for something too, doesn't it? I don't know any powerlifters who could even approach that.

At the same time, I do think that these sorts of things need to be listened to. We don't deal with whining well, but there are times when legitimate gripes are being made, which would be best dealt with through reform or innovation of some sort.

What, if anything, is needed here, I lack the information to say.

Actually, reading my own comments there, then comparing them to what was said, I have to add that the comments this guy made are simply stupid. My universal experience has been that CrossFit gyms are run by serious, professional people. The Certs are run by serious, professional people.

If they aren't his people--if they aren't obsessed with size and strength, and by extension using weight training to compensate for other physical deficiencies--that is simply what it is. It is not necessary to impugn people and a system simply because they aren't your cup of tea. That has been going on at T-Nation virtually since they realized we taught biomechanics better than they did.

If ya think Nasty Girls is solid, wait to you all see the vid of Rob CRUSHING 'Kalsu' yesterday in 16.44.

as a group gets larger there will always be people who don't want the group to get larger. the liked it better when it was the underground alternative, exclusive and unique. i agree with barry on this one. sounds like crossfit just stopped being "fight club" enough for johnny pain at greyskull. judging from the programming at his place i'd say it's pretty one demensional (unless they're in a strength phase right now). but i could be wrong. but then again it might be kinda nice to have learned how to do crossfit programming, gathered clients based on the crossfit name and then stop paying the affiliation fee. business is business.

A Level 2 cert doesn't guarantee that a trainer knows anything about programming, mobility and flexibility, nutrition, recovery, or Oly lifting (aside from the push jerk and med ball clean, if you count that).

It ensures that they've taken the time to learn the best way to teach the 9 foundational movements and have some experience dealing with groups of athletes, but that's about it.

2k row, 6:49.7; nice long break; "Goat Rodeo" consisting of AMRAP 20 minutes 5 HSPU, 5 jumping bar muscleups, 5 snatches at 95 lbs. I nominally completed 5 rounds, but the reality is I doubt even a single rep of any of the exercises would count in competition. That's where I am right now with those moves, just struggling. I was getting slightly better as I went along, though.

After, just for fun, ran around the block in the Chuck Taylors. Felt great.

Crossfit is all about efficiancy in movement, and that movement is defined by range of motion, a "squat" is defined as from full hip extension dropping below parrallel where the crease in your hip is below the knee, then returning to full hip extension. The reason that these movements are specifically defined is so that they can acurrately be measured and compared over time.
The wod "nasty girls" prescribes squats, without squats it is no longer the same thing. Now, if you have no intention of comparing times, not only to yourself but also to other athletes to see change in data over time, then go right ahead and interpret the wods as youd like. But in crossfit, there is standards for a reason, not to piss people off, but for results. You cant get better at functional movement, without performing functional movement.

Great vid..Made me want to try muscle ups with no false grip even though I'm extremely sore from yesterday's WOD..I can't believe people are "arguing?" about the vid..Yes he is a beast and killed the workout to a point I can only hope to reach in my lifetime..its obvious..its also obvious he didn't accomplish full ROM..What exactly is the arguing point??..

#77 - Barry

"It is not necessary to impugn people and a system simply because they aren't your cup of tea."

Pot. Kettle.

I do commend you, however, for not simply labeling the Greyskull guy as a Leftist. Well, at least you haven't so far.

Now that we're clear on the standards can we get back to the task at hand and increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains? I'm so lucky to be surrounded by such knowledgeable, worthy competitors. I'm sure every one of you will be in the Barn in Aromas for 2010. Good luck and I can't wait to go head to head with each and every one of you.

#58 Rob Orlando

classy response

great workout

#84 & #86: you know, I post here repeatedly during nearly every Rest Day. Why don't you two brainiacs refute me, since you seem to feel intellectually superior?

I can't even tell what positive claims you are making, other than that you disagree with me.

Lewis,

I didn't write a lengthy piece I made sure got posted on CrossFit whining about all the things I thought were wrong. What I did do is say I thought this guy was saying stupid things, and why. I could care less what he does. I'm not going to find his site to whine about what he's doing, and he and his followers shouldn't do it here.

I actually got back on simply to say that after a moment's reflection, his case falls down on many, many levels. First, he shows clearly he knows jack$hit about our nutritional recommendations. Coach has ALWAYS talked Paleo. The first recommendation was the Elite Fitness in 100 words or less. Eat meat, vegetables and nuts, some fruit.

At the Cert. I went to, he said there were two objectives: first, prevent metabolic derangement. This is done through some version of insulin control diet. Second, optimize performance. This is done through the Zone.

Now, he shows clearly he doesn't understand the Zone since he calls it a starvation diet. The actual reality is THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE FAT CALORIES YOU CAN CONSUME. If you aren't recovering, eat more. You can put down 4,000-5,000 calories daily on the Zone diet. All Sears says is watch what you eat, and what happens. Adjust until you are feeling good, and staying trim.

And if you look at trainers like Kelly Starett, or Tony Budding, or Freddie Camacho, they have very good presses. I think he flat out made that crap up about how weak the trainers were.

Some other motivation than some imagined failure of CrossFit is in play. I don't know what it is, but whatever whining he wants to do, don't think it becomes a full grown man. Full grown men deal with things, or accept them. If this is his way of dealing, fine. No further comments are needed here.

Ummm...AlanAragon #86 @1:24...surely you meant Barry at #77, right? #77 is kinda sorta like a lot of Barry's posts, just not as much kinda sorta. But #76?

"At the same time, I do think that these sorts of things need to be listened to. We don't deal with whining well, but there are times when legitimate gripes are being made, which would be best dealt with through reform or innovation of some sort."

Now it seems to me that this is quite reasonable. Downright congenial and open, if you ask me. Barry seems to be agreeing that there is some legitimacy to at least some of the points raised by young Master Pain. This could have been written by any number of long-term posters here; seems rather reasonable.

Care to elaborate?

#85 Rob...youre a better man with the great reply i agree . now,can we please let this bs roll off our backs and get back to the WODs. Personally i think the greyskull article sucked I havent ever been in this good of shape, and its all thanks to the Coaches WODs. (thanks coach) those that dont like what we do, this IS America ,you dont HAVE to Crossfit, go somewhere else. I however love this S##t like so many others so ill see yall in the am to hit it hard like always!

Read the Greyskull article. But first I feel obliged to say:

Re: Comment #86 AlanAragon, also in general.

>> Way to go Barry in #76. Wishy washy and weak-minded. Your propaganda is still weak sauce.

Criticisms without explication are empty; feelings without reasons are blind. I often disagree with Barry; but when I do get round to telling him so, he knows why (I think). If a discussion is to take place, and it is to come to a conclusion, it must take place in a clear and rational manner; the mere dismissal of another person's points only shows what was presupposed - that the two parties disagree with each other. If you do not wish to carry through a discussion, and only wish to slight, then please, carry on - but do not expect people to be so vain as to take your words to heart.

Bingo,

You know me well. Darije, yes, I do respect you as a debater.

Here's what I didn't say. I have heard some very generic moaning and groaning from some well known affiliates. I don't know what the alleged problems are, or what the fixes are.

I will say here, though, that openness helps everyone. You can't fix problems you won't admit. I was vague for the simple reason that I really DON'T have more information. I don't know if problems exist at all, and if so, to what extent.

The post above, though, was manifestly an attack, not constructive criticism. I don't know what issues Rip has, if any, but he's an independent spirit and will no doubt do what makes sense to him, based on any number of possible motivations.

He's been a great asset here, and if he leaves, I wish him well. If he comes back at some point, I'd welcome him back.

Life is change, particularly when you put a group of intelligent, dynamic, independent people together. You can't expect it to remain static forever.

I will repeat, though, that my experience across four Certifications has been uniform competence, professionalism, care for the students, and genuine warmth. No matter what happens, I don't expect any of that to change fundamentally.

Due to ripping open my callus yesterday, I decided to but together some smaller WOD's today.

400m Row
KB Swings(55lb DB) 10 reps
Squats(55lb DB) 10 reps
Burpees 10 reps
5 Rounds for time: 18:48

Seated Row(125lbs)
SitUps
Back Ext.
12/18/15/12/9/6/3
For time: 7:26

For cooldown:
20 minute Hill Program

Back squat 5x5
205, 235, 265, 265, 265

Pony you crack me up ;) Big FRAT HUGS to all!

I've been coming here for 4 years (almost, as of next month). And yes, biases revealed, I do a good bit of legal work for CF.

I read the Greyskull article and here's my take (with absolutely no insider info - I do legal stuff, not the laundry):
1 - I'm always a bit skeptical when I hear that "1 out of 30 affiliates are doing xxx" and now "1 out of 50". I mean, truly, who, even HQ trainers, has been to enough affiliates to make that claim? I've been to perhaps 25 affiliates around the country, from full-blown Meccas like One World to people doing WoDs out of a commercial gym (in St. Louis) and in between. I found the training to be high-quality at every one of them. The worst of them all? My own when I had an Affil. So someone is claiming that they've been to 100 Affils and only two had decent training? Color me skeptical.
2 - People have always used the "you don't test" as some kind of basis for criticising CF certs. But let me ask this: all of the other bodies, NSCA, ACE, CSCS, ACSM, and ABCDEFG (or whatever) require tests - yet what kind of quality personal training is coming from that quarter? I had my ACE, too, and it taught me nothing about how to coach, biomechanics, good functional movement, programming, nutrition, etc. It was all about rehab-type training and avoiding liability. I already knew how to do that as a lawyer.
3 - A lot of the article smacks of "it's not fight club anymore" while criticising the "tough guy" elitist attitude of people who can't press enough. That seems funny. But does lead me to the next point -
4 - The "strength" thing. Man, a ton of people get all bent and throw out these awfully unsubstantiated claims about strength and claim there isn't enough of it in CF programming. I've addressed this maybe a dozen times before, as his Coach a long time ago when nobody was listening (evidently). You can get stronger more quickly on a focused program of strength training in say, any given 6 month period, than you can on CF WoDs alone. But at the cost of what other metrics in CF's definition of fitness during that same span? Fitness is a tradeoff between sometimes competing abilities and limited hours for work and recovery. That's the bottom line no matter who you are. You can get strong on CF alone - it's just going to take longer while you're also working at the other metrics of fitness during those same hours. Why do some people act like this is some kind of criticism and start talking about "weak" CF guys? And when strong CFers are trotted out as counterexamples, there's always some claim of past ability or "strength training" background, but no concurrent acknowledgment that the "weak" CFers may be newbies or come from no background at all. In other words, it's not a legit criticism at all - it's a myth.
5 - "CF's gone 'commercial' or 'sold out'." About this I do have insider info. Coach and Lauren have literally turned down million dollar deals to preserve CF's integrity. I know because I was asked to write several of those letters. There is no "sell out" bone in the Glassmans' bodies.

I'll add one final thought from Coach at the Affiliate gathering. Sometimes it seems to me that a minority of "older" CF Affiliates, early adopters, have a sense that the "quality" of Affs is diminishing, but the reality is that no one starts out as a great trainer. Not by eduction or tests or letters after their name. You have to actually do it. A lot. And learn (hopefully without hurting your clients in the process). But older Affils would shut the door that they came through on newer affiliates. They would close off the very opportunity that they had to become trainers by now "raising the bar" - but the bar was just fine when they were coming through the door.

My $.02, for what it's worth. Need to find some time for the CATO piece, but have some work to do.

m/44/185/6"3

did yesterday's wod no rings-

As Rx'd subbing 120 pu/120 dips

12:28 PR Thought I would be closer to 10. Pretty bummed actually.

Due to work I missed the Muscle Up workout yesterday (not complaining because I can't do one, that I know of). So today I decided to give myself a shot at the CFT. It was my first one, I've been at it for a little less than a month.

I scored a 560. 205lbs BS (could do more but not with decent ROM), 80lb SP, 275lbs deadlift. I guess I am curious as to if it is normal to have such a massive deficiency in shoulder strength. And what can I do to help make it up. I've tried adding HSPU's to my WU but my ROM is terrible on them. Any advice would be appreciated.

10.05.09
Power clean, 135
Sit up
Back extension
24min 3sec

10.06.09
30 muscle up
Subbed rowing muscle up with 30 lb vest
14 mins

m/40/170/5'10"

Decided against rest day. Created a WOD, calling it "Dayton"

As many rounds in 20 Minutes

10 - 1 pd. KB Swing
10 - 70lb BB Thrusters
10 - Pushup
10 - Squat

Completed 8 rounds

Nick S.,

As long as this is a shoulder weakness and not core weakness (lack of stability), I would recommend ensuring you are hitting hard/heavy shoulder WO's at least every other week. One that I have seen posted would be 5 sets of 1 rep SP, followed by 5 sets of 3 reps PP, and finally 5 sets of 5 reps PJ. Heavy cleans and shrugs should also help increase your shoulder strength. HSPU's are good, but if you don't have the strength to do quality or quantity, I wouldn't focus on them.

#93: I haven't been to a Level 2 Cert. Why? Does it matter?

To append to Dale's excellent comment, I had my NSCA CPT credential. I sat down in front of a computer, and guessed enough correct answers, paid my dues, and I was in.

And even the ACSM credential, which requires a degree in an exercise physiology related field, requires virtually no knowledge at all about most free weight movements. They are the source of and continuing contributors to the Cardio then weights philosophy, most of which to this very day revolves around isolation movements on machines.

Ask virtually any ACSM holder to do a proper Clean and Jerk and $5 gets you $20 you'll have to talk to a lot of them to find one that can actually demonstrate it.

So what exactly is the standard? We teach people to sit down, pick things up, and put them overhead. You know, the stuff you actually DO in life, and knowledge of which prevents injuries and bad aging.

There is no certification anywhere that takes the place of time, talent, and motivation.

120 p/u, 120 dips
17:30

My comments on the Greyskull article, which I didn't get around to posting yesterday.

On the first paragraph after the introduction: the truth or untruth of this paragraph is uncertain. The author's points here are based, firstly, upon his personal, and very subjective, definition or idea of a "serious" CrossFit facility; and secondly, upon what he thinks he observes in facilities he has visited. It surely isn't too unreasonable to posit that he sees most boxes he visits with a dose of confirmation bias for his position, and possibly a pre-determined decision about the place; also, that he has not visited a significant enough proportion of all the affiliates out there to be able to draw any sort of generalisation. At most, he highlights a potential issue, a potential concern, which can be stated thus:

"The ease of gaining a CrossFit certification, and the subsequent ease of opening an affiliate, may cause a degradation in the average quality of coaching at CrossFit facilities, due to the lack of stringent quality controls in the system."

An important issue for CrossFitters, no doubt; alas, he provides nothing in the way of positive support for the hypothesis. He has simply re-iterated a point which I think most were aware of; then said he believes it to be true; then jumped to the conclusion that it is.

The points on his first paragraph stand for the second; it is simply a more specific version of the problem stated above, pertaining to programming quality rather than quality in general. He does reveal, interstingly, that he thinks that "If a person meets ten people from France in their lifetime, and eight of them smell like shit, then one can make a generalization about people from France, and they aren’t an asshole for doing so." So, apparently, one need not take into account that you have met but 0.0000001% of all the people from France; nor acknowledge there were counter-examples; nor even learn something about inductive logic when one intends to use it. I won't comment on whether or not that makes someone an asshole.

The next paragraph can happily be ignored as appeal to (an invisible) authority.

Paragraph four is a study in straw-man argument. He misrepresents CrossFit by saying it labels itself as "elite". Then, since some people who purport to CrossFit are not elite (once again, by whose standards?), this is a lie and, consequently, CrossFit is a community he ought not to be part of. Firstly, CrossFit advertises itself as "Forging Elite Fitness", something completely different to "being elite"; without this, his argument falls through. Secondly, it seems to me he may well have misunderstood CrossFit; I do not recall CrossFit ever saying, "We only accept elite athletes," which is what he seems to think the members of the CF community should be.

You get the gist. The guy isn't arguing, per se, he's ranting and raving. At best, he reiterates potential problems that the CrossFit community ought to discuss and conclude in the aforementioned "clear and rational manner."

Re: Greyskull

One or both of two things motivate a business owner—any business owner— a desire to do a particular type of work and/or a desire to make a profit. I think it makes sense to view the author’s post through this framework.

It may be that the writer wishes to be associated with coaching at highly professional level, as he suggests; and that the existence of what he considers to be unprofessional CrossFit affiliates diminishes his satisfaction. The fact that he hears people outside of his affiliate refer to CrossFit in disparaging ways makes him feel that as an affiliate owner he is being brought down; that the perceived poor performance of other affiliates somehow diminishes his stature.

If I were in his position I would feel just the opposite. (I should make clear that I am not in his position. I hear almost only good things about our local affiliates, and what I hear inspires my partners and me to improve CrossFit NYC.)

If he is among the best at what he does, people will flock to him. The bigger the CrossFit market gets, the better it will be for the best affiliates. I don’t care if a dozen affiliates open in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Those who are serious will know which are the best, and the best will flourish.

(I use “best” to refer not only to the quality of facilities and coaching, but also to general business management. The restaurant with the best chef is not necessarily either the best or most profitable restaurant.)

It seems to me that there may be another reason for the author to be dissatisfied with CrossFit: Despite (because of) the proliferation of what he perceives as poorly run affiliates, he has been “crowded out.” He has failed to convince the marketplace that his affiliate is any better than the others. For him, being associated with CrossFit offers no competitive advantage. Therefore, he has chosen to reposition his business as a superior alternative to the local CrossFit affiliates.

This strategy is not without risk. Future clients will come primarily from those who are dissatisfied with and/or have a low opinion of CrossFit. It’s a niche that may be waiting to be filled, but I doubt it. I do not perceive the market of unhappy CrossFitters to be particularly large. Many of these people would already be coming to him, if they recognized his affiliate as superior to their own. Now, he will lose those people who are specifically looking for a good affiliate, i.e., the people he has drawn up until resigning from CrossFit.

I met the author at a Rippetoe Barbell Cert in Boston last fall. He’s a nice guy and a good coach. I wish him well.

I rarely ever post but there are a few things to keep in mind.

ABILITY DOES NOT DICTATE WHO IS ALLOWED TO JUDGE. Even at the Games they have judges. More often than not, they cannot perform the WOD they are judging as well as the participant, and yet they are qualified to decide whether or not the participant met the standards.

THE CRITIQUES ARE NOT PERSONAL. 99.9% only know Rob from videos posted. All videos get critiqued.

ROB IS A BIG BOY. To Rob's defenders, no need to get too fired up. I'm quite sure he can handle himself. Support of course is always appreciated.

KEEP POSTING VIDEOS ROB. You're an inspiration to us all, especially the larger crossfitters, and a good sport to respond on the board. Don't get too involved, you'll go crazy.

DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR "GOATS." We've seen many great crossfitters get exposed. You don't HAVE to be the best at anything, but you have to be good at EVERYTHING.

That's my post for the year.

Good Luck in 2010.

Now here's what I think about your squats......ha ha. JK.

#104: It's not a tone of defensiveness. I genuinely don't understand why you are asking the question. It's entirely irrelevant to the discussion. Why did you want to know?

#106: if you have a problem with CrossFit, why the hell are you wasting your time here? You're a classy, high credibility guy, right? That IS your real name, I assume.

So why not rarefy the airs of some other board with your astute, carefully considered BS?

For right now, you're trolling, pure and simple.

Leave.

Being that this is from yesterday, I am guessing it won't be read much, but wanted to vent....

Why does anyone who questions anybody (evens if it's warranted) seem to get blasted to high heaven? When I started CFing almost 2 years ago, I don't remember it being like this. Anybody who has a great Fran, Cindy, etc is beyond reproach. If we consider ourselves athletes, don't we deserve the right to observe another like athlete? I am a sports nut and constantly analyze and hear people on TV analyze an athlete's performance, many times accurately, even though I cannot throw a football 70 yds, dunk a basketball, or throw a 90mph heater.

There are alot of intelligent, level-headed CFers that can intelligently interact, but holy crap, there are a whole lot of elitist, meatheads as well.

Does a Level I or II Cert teach you in a weekend what it takes years of schooling and practical application to learn? Hell no it doesn't. Does the average person on this site have the free time to become one of the top 20 at the CF Games? Many don't, but does that make all of them, with their collective years of experience, countless degrees, etc. idiots because they noticed that the guy didn't complete the squats "as RX'd?" NO!

Alot of you are starting to sound like the meatheads from "Globogyms" nationwide you used to try to sepaarate yourselves from. Congrats.

AlanAragon - how is the RRG going to "fail" (or CF for that fact, as you seem to pre-suppose)? I'm genuinely curious how. The RRG will begin writing policies shortly - it took a little while longer than thought to wade through the red tape to get approved by the dept. of insurance in Montana.

The RRG can and will write policies eventually in all 50 states. It is, for all intents and purposes, an insurance company. They tend not to just disintegrate if properly capitalized and run. So, do you have some insight that I don't?

I ask myself what it would be like to be so hateful and uncreative. You choose to be here. You choose to post here. But all you can think to do is cast stones.

You are adding nothing. Does this give you some kind of thrill? I will readily admit tearing down is easier than building, but it is what MEN do. Children--petulant, spoiled, vicious little beasts--try to destroy everything they see.

No, I can't control you. Neither can you. That's the point. If you could create, you would not need to hate.

But that is the light at the top of the deep hole you have dug for yourself, and you hate that too, don't you?

You can type your sarcastic response now, displaying patent emotional and intellectual shallowness.

Okay, I'll give everybody a new target (read: me)to hurl medicine balls at :^) In the Pilates culture, there are...I think...eight people alive who trained under the tutelage of Joseph Pilates. When I use the word "train," I mean, went to his studio on a regular basis and learned the ins and outs of doing his method, from mat work to the Cadillac, over a period of decades. These eight folks are treated as deities in the Pilates world, wisened sages who sit on various advisory councils for all things Pilates, with the intent of carrying on the principles as undiluted by expansion and growth as possible.

I wonder if CrossFit will follow the same path, you know, maybe Greg and Lauren will open a small box again and train a selected group of people every day in their fitness discipline (and nothing else, e.g. Zone Diet and Pose running) for a few years, sort of like what Cane did as a youngster in the TV series "Kung Fu," to ensure that the CrossFit method in the nine functional movements remains pure for at least another generation.

I see now what's going on. This is just an attack, plain and simple, launched by people trying to increase market share: http://alanaragon.com/research-review

This guy is the middle of the middle of the mainstream fitness industry. It's what he does.

Alan,

It must really piss you off to know that 10's of thousands of people subscribe to the CrossFit Journal, and that thousands attend CrossFit Certifications at $1,000/pop.

You're a smart guy. You must be thinking you deserve some of that money. You deserve a piece of the action.

Here's a two word action plan for you: Earn It.

Right. I'll go cry in the corner, and soak in self loathing now that the peanut gallery has chimed in.

For those of you who still retain some sense of human potential, I will submit that this sort of thing is the ENTIRETY of the actual moral and intellectual compass of the hard Left. They are machine-like, hateful, and utterly incapable not just of human warmth (although no doubt they can imitate it), but of actual intellectual adventure, actual thought that does not lead to a predetermined conclusion.

This is the zombie invasion. I am completely serious.

I notice some trolling posts were deleted. My last post was in response to them.

I will add, though, that I see this emotional detachment so often on the internet, this feeling that the feelings of others don't matter, and that the task is not to create but simply disrupt. Disrupt what? What do you have? Where can I go to create trouble? How can I exercise anonymous power so as to cause emotional damage, if possible, to my victim?

Look at the crybaby photo of Glenn Beck, created by Leftist propagandists. He's a guy who feels deeply. Keith Olberman has two modes: smugness and anger.

These people are not right in the head. If they wanted to discuss issues, that would be one thing. But they don't: they want to say all Republicans are evil and stupid, then do whatever the Democratic Party Fuehrer tells them to do. They have renounced reason and human connection, outside of their conformist tribe.

Not at all. There is a difference between principled disagreement, and intentional attacks.

Why do you make the claim that Glenn Beck is a racist?

As I recall, the accusation was made of Beck, after he pointed out that Obama went to a very racist church--in which, among other things, it was claimed that prison system was a gulag meant to keep the black man down--and sides with Gates against a white cop, with NO information. He just ASSUMED that the cop must be guilty.

Based on this, and many other factors, Beck accused Obama of racism. Since the flinch reflex of Leftists is to accuse people of whatever form of bigotry is even remotely applicable, they said BECK was the racist, with no contextualization other than Beck's own, HIGHLY contextualized claim with respect to Obama.

If he's a racist, then I'm a racist, because I simply don't buy that someone could go to the black equivalent of a KKK revival hall for 20 or whatever years, and not agree with most or all of what was being said.

And let's not even get into Wright's Marxism.

So, our instructor had other plans than 1-1-1-1 (Etc) thrusters. We did this instead:

35 lb for OH Lunges
65 Lb for barbell work

30 OH lunges
30 SDHP
30 OH Lunges
30 HPC
30 OH Lunges
30 Push Press
30 Oh lunges
30 Back Squat

Repeat round for 20 reps, then 10. The entire class pretty much went until 30 minutes, then had to stop b/c of the next class coming in. Was crazy, but I liked it. :)

I think it worth defining terms, as well, since logic and clarity are "oh so 19th century".

Prejudice is prejudgement. It is making blanket statements in a condition of possessing little or no information. A good example would be making claims about over 1,000 CrossFit affiliates based on a handful of certifications.

Racism is a type of prejudice, in which race, not personal character, determines how you think about someone.

Now, to call someone a racist implies two things: a clear definition of the traits which define the word "racist"; and specific information that those traits are present.

You called Glenn Beck a racist. I would like you very simply to define what you mean by racist, and what concrete information you possess which leads you to believe his behavior matches the definition you provide.

Oh, and the caveat is that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. What you do not want to do is offer up a definition by which Beck is right, and his critics wrong.

That would be counterproductive. Just ask your handlers; they'll tell you what to do. If you don't have any yet, just hang around Daily Kos. You'll have an ideological sugar daddy before you know it.

Rest day topic:

Mr.Cohen began by making an interesting comparison between what he might have called the economic market, and the intelleltual market. He drew on Smith to say:

(1) "Division of labour is limited by the exent of the market.

Then he added: (2) "Human cognitive diversity is limited by the extent of the market."

A person with autism, in Cohen's view has the capacity to expand the market for cognitive diversity in ways that most of us average Josephines do not. This person would be more likely to focus on particular facts, is more likely to be objective, to avoid subsuming or obscuring facts within social narratives, to be more likely to categorize a person as morally sound or morally objectionable based on the attributes, the character, the quality of her thinking than on the conclusions she reaches or the committments she makes. She is more likely to be "cosmopolitan".

I don't think Cohen means that every autistic person will have these attitudes - he wants us to do some rethinking, some recasting of our own moulds, to include the contours of what it means, dare I say, to cast one-self in a small-'l' liberal mold.

Interesting, yes? Yes, but what is this but the goal of a liberal education, of an educated imagination?

I think Cohen makes a good point when he asks us to rethink how we conceive of the cognitive market (he must make the "cultural market" an object of the this reconception musn't he?), and I think autism is ripe fruit for facilitating this reconceiving.

I don't know about blogs, and I don't know about "the internet", and how the bloggers raise the value of the cognitive/cultural market. I strongly suspect, however, that if you live in a city in North America or Europe with a population over 100k you have a very rich intellectual market in you library.

Good job, Prole, sticking to the topic. I mean that sincerely.

I will admit that in general I am video-phobic. In takes me 1/4 the time to read something it does to listen. For that reason I have vast difficulty watching ANY news program or listening to talk radio, which I find annoying for sundry other reasons as well.

Few thoughts. First, the information we have is a mile wide and an inch deep. It is quantitative information. There is no myth or poetry in it. In my own terms, it is expressed, not latent information. It is lacking in quality. It is operationally functional.

Nothing on the internet, though, fundamentally improves on the Bible, Tao Te Ching, or Gilgamesh as a statement on the nature of human life and relationships.

Who "knows" more: the academic in constant motion who has memorized Shakespeare, or a farmer who can honestly and deeply enjoy a full field of wheat, fishing, and a sunset? What "knowledge" matters, and what doesn't?

Second, the underlying meme within Marxist Environmentalism (much of it) is that of scarcity. Marx assumed that as power and capital concentrated, in a condition of finite resources, the divide between what Alinsky called the Haves and the Have nots (Capitalists and proletarians) would increase, leading necessarily to a revolution.

That hasn't happened. Yes, the rich get richer, but so do the poor and everyone in the middle. Marx's own economic prescriptions lead to general poverty, and a vast gap between the Party members and everyone else, in both power and economic privilege.

What Marx missed is that INFORMATION, and more particularly CREATIVITY, is potentially endless. This not only means that as a resource that it never needs to be concentrated, but rather that "capital" can and is dispersed as widely as access to information.

To be clear, my critique of the internet above was not an economic critique. Clearly, access to information is access to innovation and economic growth.

Few thoughts. Have to run.

GreySkull:

Wants to keep doing CrossFit®, essentially as they knew it. Wants to throw the name overboard because it has changed in his brain. Now they get to act like they have an original idea compared to other affiliates in their area, even though they essentially do Crossfit®.

Nothing original here. Just different excuse to go it alone and use the lo' "we don't do Crossfit® because Crossfit® is kinda gay, but we do our own thing which looks like CrossFit® but a slightly different twist I can't quite explain without confusing myself.

Oh, and lets not forget about the "it isn't counter-culture enough because I like my version of skulls and flames better"

So now it is 'Elite' Strength and Conditioning instead of 'Elite' Fitness

Wow that is creative.

Remember any of these-

-Gym Jones
-Some affiliate in Louisiana that wanted to be Gym Jones
-Forgefit

same garbage, from people who can't stand that they are unoriginal and not unique enough under the Crossfit® banner as when they originally signed-up.

However, they essentially do/did the same training. Remarkably they all do the same thing and basically, with the same Crossfit® gym set-up and mindset. Just a different spin. Sounds like the current affiliate world doesn't it?

So really this is about hurt feelings. Not effectiveness. Not asscosiations. Not differences of training opinion.

boo-hoo.

It's been very interesting reading the discussion of this article as it's begun to circulate through the Internet. My main point about the article is this: crossfit is being bashed and put down for not having substantial strength training. Conditioning is as easy to get as losing it is. You can come from being totally deconditioned to conditioned in 2-3 weeks and can lose it just as fast. Strength training takes years and years to build and takes years and years to lose. Looks at speal, he weighs 135 (which is way to little) and can do 100 "kipping pullups" yet he can't deadlift a 370 pound bar. This is a generaliziation but often in the crossfit community this is the case. People don't want to be as strong as possible. They want to have 6 packs and have fast "metcons" and be able to do them with the "prescribed" weights. Someone with a 3 minute Fran is hailed as an elite, yet what is their bench, squat or deadlift?

I have been doing CrossFit for about one and half years now and I have noticed that some people just don't seem to get it. CrossFit breaks fitness into 10 components and the problem seems to be in the weighting attached to each element in terms of importance to the fitness end goal.

In my mind, strength is my favorite component, and I would also argue the most important component. However, to focus the majority of your effort, say 65% or greater, on strength means you may become deficient in your overall fitness as defined by the CrossFit model.

Now, I really like Dale Saran's comments (above)that you can get strong doing CrossFit. I consistently hit near PRs and am slowly starting to build respectable strength (although that is a relative statement). And I am doing so while also hitting prs in my 5k, 10k, filthy fifty, etc. Not bad for an "old" guy.

But, I must admit, I am interested in the Strength Bias program and feel when I plateau, I may venture down that path. However, as long as the prs keep coming (across the board) I will continue to follow the main site WOD. Plus, I am curious to see what kind of empirical results (if any) come from the CFSB program.

The important thing is to embrace and believe in what you do. I believe in Greg Glassman's vision. However, I also listen carefully to the words of CrossFit's subject matter experts and special guests. Incorporate what I can.

I have augmented some additional strength work into my program where I am able to do so. I will throw in additional sets of box squats (x5) and GHD raises (both influenced by Dave Tate videos), shoulder press (Rip), OHS, and power cleans (Starr influenced).

From what I can see, there is a large contingent of strength guys who really don't give a rat's a$$ about their overall fitness and nothing is going to change their minds. Perhaps there is an element of denial involved, but that is another issue. It really is a similar situation to those bodybuilders who focus on hypertrophy at the expense of overall fitness. I have no problem whatsoever as to what they want, but what they are after is not CrossFit.

Let's keep in mind Coach's talk about the three-dimensional health model. This model is presumeably based on the well rounded CrossFit menu as we know it today. Greyskull (and others of his ilk) are not after this end goal. They want strength. Period. And to that I say, good luck, happy training, c'est la vie, it was nice to know you.

120 Pull-ups
120 Dips

22:35