One of the beautiful things about CrossFit is that whether you’re a 70-year-old grandmother training to stay out of the nursing home or a CrossFit Games athlete striving for the title of Fittest on Earth, you’re doing CrossFit.
In those examples, the difference in training approach is obvious. But what about the murky middle? Enthusiastic athletes prone to overtraining in the hopes of becoming a little more competitive? Or former high-level athletes now training just for life?
In this panel discussion at the CrossFit for Health Summit on Feb. 3, 2024, in Austin, Texas, Summit speakers are joined by notable figures of the CrossFit community for a discussion on training — and coaching — for high-level performance vs. fitness and longevity.
PANELISTS
Tommy Wood, Ph.D., M.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neuroscience
Graciano Rubio, CF-L3, CFA, CFP
Owner of CrossFit Valley View
Thomas DeLauer
Nutrition and Business Coach
C.J. Martin, CF-L4
Owner of CrossFit Invictus
Annie Sakamoto, CF-L2
Owner of CrossFit Santa Cruz Central
Nick Nwabueze, M.D., CF-MDL2
Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician
Stephane Rochet, CF-L3
Moderator
CHAPTERS
0:00-3:01 – When training high-level athletes, should recommendations diverge from standard health and fitness principles?
3:05-8:35 – Training for short- vs. long-term performance
8:41-9:47 – For elite athletes, a focus on recovery is essential.
9:49-13:24 – Managing competition training with overall longevity as the top priority.
13:25-16:20 – Mitigating the risk for, and the long-term consequences of, injury.
16:35-19:15 – Lessons from Annie Sakamoto on doing CrossFit sustainably for the long term.
19:28-24:30 – Balancing lofty aspirations and realistic goal-setting with athletes.
24:42-31:57 – How to communicate that more is not always better.
32:07-35:41 – Setting nonlinear goals for aging athletes.
35:42-47:55 – Nutrition for performance vs. fitness.
LECTURE SERIES PLAYLIST
Episode 1: Own Your Health, With Nicole Carroll
Episode 2: Exercise for Longevity and Healthspan, With Dr. Rhonda Patrick
Episode 3: CrossFit for Health: Muscle-centric Medicine, With Dr. Gabrielle Lyon
Episode 4: From Obesity to Opioids, How CrossFit Can Save the World, With Dr. Tom McCoy
Episode 5: Simple, Not Easy, Ways To Improve Your Health
Episode 6: Training for Fitness vs. Performance
Episode 7: The Role of Lifestyle in Chronic Disease, With Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng
Episode 8: Metabolic Health Is Mental Health, With Dr. Chris Palmer
Episode 9: The Relationship Between Connection, CrossFit, and Health
Episode 10: Future-Proof Your Brain, With Dr. Tommy Wood
About the CrossFit for Health Summit Spring Lunchtime Series
On Feb. 3, 2024, hundreds of CrossFit affiliate owners, coaches, and healthcare professionals gathered in Austin, Texas, and online for the CrossFit for Health Summit, presented by GORUCK.
CrossFit thought leaders led panel discussions on fitness, performance, and the hard work of health, while renowned experts shared cutting-edge research on longevity, mental and metabolic health, and chronic disease — and how the CrossFit community has the power to transform the landscape of it all.
“It is a wonderful comprehensive strategy to address some of the biggest challenges that we face as a nation right now in regards to healthcare,” Dr. McCoy says. “Being there for each other, connecting on a human level, is something that we do that no other fitness modality does. And this differentiates us and it gives us a power to impact brain physiology in a way that no other fitness modality can.”
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Comments on CrossFit for Health: Training for Fitness vs. Performance
I agree with Annie when she talks about progress; it doesn't necessarily show in volume or workload. Simply performing a WOD efficiently with clean movements often poses a great challenge for the athlete, as well as a sign of progress
It's mind-boggling to me how many athletes and coaches have recently diverged from the original CrossFit prescription as taught in the L1 kernel. Just as Glassman said in "Fundamentals, virtuosity and mastery" you fall in the novice's trap when you try to replace good coaching with false complexity and volume. Even at the highest levels, the athletes that stuck to those fundamentals are the ones that consistently made it to the Games (Froning, Khalipa, Bailey, Bridges, Panchik, Smith, Holmberg, Ohlsen, Thorisdottir, Briggs, Fortunato, Letendre, etc) vs. the one offs who maybe managed to make it one year and we never heard of them again. To me, those cases speak to the reality of "short term vs. long term performance"
Definitely saving this one for the watch later list!!! Thanks for the content CrossFit!
CrossFit for Health: Training for Fitness vs. Performance
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