* I approach CrossFit as a sport rather than a fitness tool. That’s another way of saying I want to dominate WODs.

* I don’t usually dominate WODs. That’s not an insight, just an observation.

* For the first two years I used CrossFit as a training tool to supplement rowing, my primary sport at the time. CrossFit is superior to all other cross training I’ve done in rowing, including some sophisticated programs at Division I colleges. If I was coaching a crew team right now, I’d replace our land training with CrossFit and a strength training plan wholesale.

* Extending that, I’d program rowing sparingly for 6 months out of the year. The rest of the time would be strength training and getting my athletes superhuman strong. I want the guys deadlifting at least 450 and back squatting 350.

* Endurance sports (rowing, running, etc) make you really weak. Being weak sucks.

* On the flipside, regular CrossFit is haphazard in how it addresses aerobic capacity. When someone says their metcon sucks, that’s a dumb CrossFit way of saying they have shitty aerobic fitness. Admittedly, I talk about my metcon in this way.

* I did my first CrossFit competition in January of 2011. I was hooked. This basically caused me to quit rowing and take on CrossFit full time.

* CrossFit can get you injured. I’ve had more injuries in three years doing CF than in 12 years rowing.

* CrossFit is about as dangerous as any serious sport. I think it’s as dangerous as playing full court basketball.

* High rep box jumps and recycling are risky. It’s a great way to injure your achilles. We need to stop programming high rep box jumps.

* If you’re going to do box jumps, do just a handful of reps and jump high. The point should be the explosiveness, not the volume. Why not a WOD that features 5 reps box jump per round on a 30+” box?

* I’ve met more people with torn labrums and blown rotators in the last year than is sane and holy. Something has got to be done about that.

* It’s a young sport…in it’s infancy, really. In another 10 years a lot of the kinks will be worked out.

* Community is the most important aspect of the sport. I’ve adopted my gym community as my new tribe and primary social circle.

* I’ve found this social circle to be an evolution on my previous social circles, with better networking, more opportunities outside of the gym, and better friendships. That to me has been a powerful blessing.

* My gym community has inspired me to surround myself with men and women of high character.

* I love the clean & jerk and snatch. Doing those lifts just makes me feel right.

* I like that there are competitions all the time and everywhere…there really is something for everyone if you want to compete.

* Participating in CrossFit for the last three years has convinced me that getting old doesn’t have to suck. It’s a myth that as we age, we’re supposed to lose strength, slip into decrepitude, and lose vitality. The solutions are out there.

* We are all born athletes. Some of us spend a lifetime getting back to that. Or never get to it.

* Embrace your inner warrior and kick ass.

* Get in the fucking gym already.

To get back into it, I decided to try my hand at a sweet social media platform I discovered today, Storify. The brainchild of Pete Cashmore, Storify easily allows you to put together a “story” built from various social media channels and links to sites of your choice. It’s surprisingly addictive. Here’s my ode to Chris Spealler, who did nothing to dispel my man-crush over the weekend at Southwest Regionals.

See the embedded Storify story after the jump…

Essentials

The Oly Lifters weigh 13.4 ounces per shoe, which is less than the hiking shoes I own. Yes, they are heavier than a typical pair of Inov-8′s, but they weigh less than every weightlifting shoe on the market. Heel-to-toe drop is a solid 3/4 of an inch. The heel is constructed of TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) that feels solid as a rock and completely stable. The shoe from mid-foot through the toebox is flexible and light, which gives you a lot of flexibility for most movements during a WOD. I can comfortably do things like box jumps at any height and drop down from a bar without any problem. No, I wouldn’t run a mile in them, but I can dash from one station to the next without any problems. Rope climbing also works great.

Lifters might find the flexible front of the shoe a little disconcerting on Oly lifts but I didn’t mind it at all. I take an Oly class two days a week and when I switched from BAFs to the Reeboks, I had no problem doing any of the lifts.

Note: I normally wear a size 10 running shoe but decided to get 9.5 in the Oly Lifters to make sure they were snug. I also test drove 9.5 and preferred those to the 10, which was a little loose.

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Pros

The big pro is comfort. These things are super comfortable, fit snugly, and just feel right. Combine those qualities with their versatility and it makes for a powerful training tool.

There are some nice features as well, such as the side vents for increased breathability and the velcro straps that strap towards the inside of the shoe. There’s good design going all the way around. The laces cinch done well and don’t flop like many lifting shoes I’ve seen, creating a tripping hazard.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the U-Form technology where you bake the shoe in an oven for eight minutes and it’s supposed to fit better. I did this and didn’t notice a difference. However, the shoe is damned comfortable and if the baking actually did something, then I’m all for it. I will tell you that the fit became more comfortable after three weeks of regular wear. I’ll say something more about this in the Cons section below.

The sole is comfortable and I perceive it as having a *slightly* padded feel…almost a touch of squishiness. It’s a fractional degree, though, and some folks might not even notice.

Last pro, these badboys are eye catching. People will ask you about them constantly. They’re spacey looking and I think they’re hot, but I’ve heard some people say they look ugly as sin. Decide for yourself.

Cons

The only major con is price tag. They retail for $149.99 off the Reebok and CrossFit sites. In the pantheon of lifting shoes it’s not the most expensive out there, but compared to regular kicks it’s a stiff bill. I had to think long and hard about dropping the cash for these. I will say this. If you do some creative googling, you can find a way to purchase them for significantly less than retail and that clinched the deal for me. Email me if you want deets.

Here’s another con. During the first week of wearing them I noticed some top-of-the-foot irritation, almost a poking sensation coming from the uppers along the top of my feet. It was minor but after an hour-and-a-half of working out it royally got on my nerves. That has since decreased and I chalked it up to a break in period.

Bottom line

These kicks kick ass. I love them. For CrossFit, I prefer to wear them over any other shoe in my arsenal and that includes Kinvaras, Saucony A5′s, Merrell Trail Gloves, Brooks PureFlow, and my trusty BAF lifting shoes. In fact, if I could wear them for every workout, I would, but unfortunately those 400M and 800M runs make that implausible.

I think this is the best shoe Reebok has made that goes on the human foot since the Pumps…true, the Pumps were the last time I wore a Reebok product on my foot, and that was in the friggin’ 80′s, but that’s neither here nor there. That’s how strongly I feel about the Oly Lifters. Kudos to Reebok for working with CrossFitters and making a really good product.

If you don’t mind blowing a buck-and-half on shoes, get these. You won’t be sorry.

Here’s a price comparison of some of the Oly shoes on the market as of the date of this post:

• Wei Rui – $69
• BAF – $88
• Adidas Weightlifting Shoe – $90
• 2012 Rogue Do-Wins – $119
• Risto – $119
• Reebok Oly Lifters – $149
• Nike Romaleos – $189
• Adidas AdiPower – $199

Be sure to read this excellent review of the Oly Lifters on the wlshoes.com site.

If you haven’t heard Anderson’s story, it’s a remarkable one. He worked out purely at LA Fitness and was convinced by a friend to try some CrossFit WODs. This included WOD 11.1 of the CrossFit Open from last year, which he did at his house with his son doing the video. He killed it and was in 8th after he submitted his score. From there, he went to CrossFit Paragon in northeast Atlanta one day per week to do the Open WODs. Chace Wheaton, a trainer at Paragon, had to teach him the movements. When it was all said and done, Anderson had qualified for the Games by placing 7th overall in the Open.

From there, Anderson committed to hitting CrossFit Paragon everyday to train properly for the world’s biggest CrossFit event. A few months later, he crushed his competition and was crowned fittest man on Earth in his division.

To give a little background, Anderson is an experienced competitor and terrific athlete. He competed as a wrestler in college, did Olympic lifting for five years after that and qualified for US Nationals, and tried his hand at triathlon after that. He benched 425 lbs when he was 52 years old and his goal is a 300 lbs clean and jerk next year. Once you get to know him, it’s no surprise he’s the best of the best at CrossFit.

Anderson is out for 2012, but look for him to make a big comeback and gun for another title in 2013.

“It’s been a great journey,” said Anderson. “In one year I’ve learned so much. What a great sport.”

Here’s a video interview of Anderson that originally ran on the 2011 CrossFit Games site:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pissed, I gave it another go on Saturday morning. Here’s what I did in a bulleted list:

• Ate two eggs and two pieces of bacon two hours prior.
• Popped a Claritin-D.
• Popped two Tylenol (extra strength)
• Jogged a 400.
• Did all of the mobility from the K-Starr video.
• Extensive hip and hamstring stretching

The pseudoephedrine rush from the Claritin hit me during my warmup. The Tylenol also kicked in so I basically couldn’t feel pain. On Friday I did burpees facing a pullup bar and I had to look up on each rep for the touch. On Saturday I switched to clapping burpees with the bar extending at my 12 o’clock, which allowed me to not lift my head and instead easily center myself under it. I thought that made a difference.

My strategy was simple: balls out for the first two minutes and rack up as many reps as possible. After that it was grind and hang on.

Second go-around was 108 reps. I never want to do it again. It was awful.

Adriana was having serious issues with her neck and both shoulders, to the point where her doctor suggested she quit competition altogether because of a paralysis risk. She tried a multitude of therapies and techniques to help manage her pain and keep her training, including ART and acupuncture. One therapy that was effective was Muscle Activation Technique, also called MAT.

MAT is a relatively new and cutting-edge therapy that focuses on identifying neurological weakness in muscles and restoring alignment to muscles and joints. This happens through a series of checks and isometric strengthening exercises to various regions of the body.

The official MAT website uses the metaphor of a car battery hooked up to an engine, where the battery cables are loose, causing the engine to fire incorrectly. With MAT, the process re-aligns the cables and allows the engine (i.e. muscles) to function properly.

Adriana’s MAT specialist, Todd Collura, was able to identify several areas of weakness and increase Adriana’s mobility almost immediately. She credits his therapy as keeping her healthy and helping her muscles to fire correctly, which in turn kept her training. Todd’s company is called Advanced Muscle Dynamics and his office is located in Boca Raton, Florida.

MAT was so successful for Adriana that several of her teammates tried MAT and they even flew Todd out to California for the Games to help the team recover between WODs. I tried MAT myself and loved it. If you’ve recovering from injuries or looking for an uptick in performance, you might want to look into this technique.

Check out my article here. Want a closer look at MAT to see how it works? Check out the video below of Adriana and Todd.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s also fascinating to watch your friends work through these challenges during a WOD. It gives insight into their character and witnessing those revelations are enthralling. I like cheering on my pals almost as much as I like competing. It’s a profound thing to perform and be judged for our efforts.

So, of the eight CrossFit competitions I’ve done in the past year, Wodapalooza 2011 was the apotheosis experience. Guido Trinidad and the fine folks of Peak360 did an exemplary job.

Enough with the philosophizing. Here’s my review.

The Pro’s

There are too many good things to list so I’ll hit the highlights. The setting at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami was terrific. It’s a cool locale, right on the water, with plenty of places to hang out in the grass and chill. The event took place on Friday and Saturday with 7 or 8 WODs depending on what category you were in. This was a good choice because it meant a) people could party on Saturday night and b) drive home on Sunday in time for the Super Bowl.

Also, it’s awesome to WOD outside and not be stuck in a gym!!

I thought the programming was near brilliant. It was creative and extremely challenging, even in the RX category. I had to break through some barriers just to finish and that’s what it’s all about. The 1RM Turkish get-up? Awesome! Fun! The chipper? Gnarly, incredibly painful, fun. Even the burpee broad jump / burpee wall climb couplet with L-sit buy-in was a blast (and hard). There was a lot of thought put into how the programming meshed together and also how to coordinate it all with three different stages and incorporate the environment. Kudos here, I give it a 8 out of 10. I had one problem with the programming and I’ll get into that below.

Another huge plus was the DJ, who spun awesome tunes from morning til night. The genre was mostly EDM (electronic dance music) with sprinklings of rap and pop and even a Pearl Jam track. In my humble opinion, EDM artists like Calvin Harris and Steve Aoki make excellent choices for a CrossFit soundtrack. More than once I found myself watching an event and shaking my booty. I even saw some nice septuagenarian ladies tapping their feet unwittingly as they surveilled the weirdness that is a CrossFit throwdown. If the grandmas are dancing, you know the DJ is doing a good job.

The Con’s

The event started a bit late on both days, which is a minor glitch, since I considered myself to be on Miami time anyway. They caught up almost immediately and actually finished early on both days. Guido and crew did a fantastic job juggling the millions of moving parts and getting things done.

My only real gripe, which is sort of a broader competitive question, is this: are the standards getting too over-the-top for local and regional competitions? Evidence A were the standards for RTG women, which included 275# deadlift, 175# clean, and 135# snatch. How many chicks in the state of Florida have that?? The answer is not many, as only two women registered in the RTG division. Both of those women had to compete in the RTG men’s heats. Even the RX women’s division seemed under represented, with only 11 participants (compared to 37 RX men).

So either gyms are doing a poor job of marketing to and developing competitive women, or the standards are getting so extraordinary that it’s cutting out athletes, or a combination of the two. On the flipside, you can argue that Wodapalooza is a “premier” event and thus it must maintain extraordinary standards. I mean, people are showing up to see athletes move big weight, right? Whatever is going on, the workouts were tough and the athlete pool was skewed.

One piece of programming I didn’t like were the weighted 53# pistols in the RTG category. Yes, I didn’t compete in RTG so I didn’t have the pleasure of experiencing this particular piece of gnarliness, but it seems like a high risk exercise just asking for a knee blowout. Why not just regular pistols?

My Experience

RX Men did seven WODs total, with three on Friday and four on Saturday. They were all unique and tested something different.

The easiest WOD was the first one, which involved a shuttle run and lateral jumps over a hurdle. It was a major quad burner and fun. I did pretty decent on this one.

The most painful WOD was the chipper. That thing ended with a 1000M run and a 100M bear crawl. Nasty. My CNS was so overloaded after doing thrusters I had to walk about 80 meters before I could break into a miserable jog. I did the bear crawls unbroken and that was a highlight moment as I passed two people.

The hardest WOD for me was the rope climb / deadlift 245# / row 25 cal event. My deadlift max is 315# so 245 is pretty damn heavy. In fact, I’ve only ever done 4-5 reps at 245# in a workout, so doing 30 reps almost killed me. I wore a weight belt to preserve a modicum of form, something I’ve only done once before in CrossFit. I was super stressed about this event because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the deadlifts. I was proud that I did and it ended up being a highlight.

Just to give you idea of how mental this WOD was, I seriously thought about quitting after the first round. I had no idea how I was getting through the last 20 reps of deads. The answer was one at a time.

The funnest WOD was “Lift Big,” which involved 3 x 1′ of lifting at 185#. The lifts were clean, front squat, and jerk, with 60″ of rest in between. My clean and jerk max is 185#, so I set a nice 3RM on clean and 2RM on jerk. My score wasn’t competitive, but I broke through a barrier and I was damned happy about it.

“Lift Big” was amazing because it was at night, under lights, on stage, with people screaming. The music was loud. It was an badass experience.

Bottom Line

Doing 7-8 WODs over two days was an awesome challenge. Everyone was wrecked by Saturday night. There’s a big mental component to a multi-day event and it takes a fair amount of strategy. That was one of my favorite aspects of Wodapalooza and why I think it’s a must-attend for anyone in the region. If you really love to compete, and want to compete at a high level, consider adding this one to your calendar. Plus, it’s in Miami and you can’t go wrong with making a weekend in one of the coolest cities in the world. The experience was fun and super intense.

I want to recognize Peak360 again and the army of volunteers they brought to run the event. Everyone was extremely pleasant and the whole affair had a community vibe to it. Big props.

The bottom line: Wodapalooza is my favorite CrossFit competition of the eight I’ve done and one of my all-time favorite sporting experiences. I will definitely sign up again. I even rank it ahead of Summer Crush, which was similar and totally awesome in it’s own right.

Lastly, I want to recommend LeBouchon du Grove, a great French bistro in Coconut Grove. We ate there both nights and can’t stop raving about it. Chef Christian has the best mustache in Miami.

#tweety #rehab #evolution #bear #bakeman #wyoming

Rudy is a great interview and he’s not shy about diving deep into training philosophy and his thoughts on CrossFit in general. Run time is 30:48.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1. Most CrossFitters have shaky lifting technique, especially on the Olympic lifts. Improving technique can go a long ways towards increasing performance and decreasing the risk of injury. Since I am in that group, I started taking Olympic lifting classes to get better.

2. The top guys and gals have coaches and are showing up at competitions with their coaches. Another sign this has become a sport. Get a coach to take it to the next level.

3. Strength is not going away from competitions any time soon. The bottom line is people like seeing big people crush heavy weight and competition programmers know it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

4. Mix in a second or third WOD on specific days to simulate competition conditions. Check how your output is affected by the extra volume.

5. Most folks don’t know how to warm up properly. All athletes in all sports need to warm up the aerobic energy systems in addition to prepping the muscles and joints. Besides being an injury reducer, being correctly warmed gives a performance boost.

6. Use video and a stopwatch to review technique and round splits.

7. Always use safety collars on barbells. Otherwise your weight can slide off. I made this mistake and it caused me to DNF a WOD.

8. Competition WODs are unique, creative, and fit into a larger program. If your goal is to compete, find a way to train to the level of competition programming. I don’t think regular CrossFit WODs will get you there. Your programming has to be just as creative and fit into a larger plan.

My training plan for 2012

I started on a new plan that has me doing regular CrossFit 2 times per week, but those sessions also have a Wendler strength component. I do Olympic Lifting at another gym 2x week, and then see a strength coach 2x week. I actually go to three different gyms each week! The Oly lifting and strength is highly structured while the CrossFit, obviously, is random.

Where I get my inspiration from

I’m inspired and pushed by the athletes at my CrossFit gym. I treat CrossFit as a sport and thus I’m always competing against (and with) my teammates in a positive way.

Future goals:

Increase my strength a lot and then have the capacity to compete in the RX division of some of the larger competitions in my region. Right now strength is my “weakness” so I’m spending a good part of 2012 changing that.

Thoughts on random vs. structured CrossFit training

I think Asger nailed this question in his inteview. I’ll give my two cents.

For regular folks who want to get fit and have no aspirations to compete, or compete only casually, regular CrossFit WODs are perfect. You can supplement that with playing sports or surfing or biking or whatever else you like to do and it works great.

I approach CrossFit as a sport unto itself and thus I’m interested in going to competitions and performing at a high level. I think there’s no question that in order to keep up, you have to add in other forms of structured training. This could be a system like the Limited Conjugated Method by Rudy Nielsen, or a simpler linear strength program you can find online. Put another way, if you just do the Rx WOD at your box, you will almost certainly not be prepared to compete and get good results.

What I’ve noticed, and maybe someone more experienced than I can chime in, is there’s an arms race among competitions to incorporate bigger and badder WODs. Heavier loads, crazier movements, more weird tasks, etc. So there’s a disconnect between run-of-the-mill box programming and competition programming, and athletes need to be proactive about finding resources to get themselves prepared.

For the record, I love sick WODs and I’m all for bigger and badder. Let’s push the limits.

Thoughts on CrossFit boxes offering more personalized training

Ideally, boxes would have intermediate and advanced tracks, and perhaps even a “High Performance” track if you have enough athletes to sustain it. High Performance would be programming for elite and pre-elite competitors.

Beyond that, I’d love to see gyms incorporate starting strength and Olympic lifting classes. There are business issues with having diversified programming, so it’s tricky for box owners.

What I’ve seen in my community is that the serious CrossFitters are finding ways to get additional training in, either by taking a class at another gym, building a garage gym, working out on their own, or hiring another coach. So the need is clearly there.

I think what you’ll start to see in the future are CrossFit camps and clubs popping up around the country, where athletes go to train for a couple of weeks (or longer) under elite coaches. It’s common in other sports like running and rowing to move to a new city just to train. As more CrossFitters edge into professionalism, you’ll see athletes moving around also.