Read more at www.afscrossfit.com
I’ve spent the last week down in Brixham, Devon with Ellie and Theo on holiday. Its not the first holiday I have had in the past 4 years since opening but its certainly the first where I truly relaxed. It has allowed me to recharge the batteries, take stock of everything we do, and to assess all the negative press CrossFit has received recently.
Here are a few pics if any of you are interested:
The truth is I don’t see my work as particularly hard. I love coaching you guys and seeing you progress and I love the social side of our gym. So the truth is I don’t really have any holiday blues. I must admit planning an On-Ramp the day I left and then having 12 new members take up our trial of a free month meant I spent a little bit more time then I had planned on sorting out memberships and admin problems. The joys of running your own business is that these things need dealing with and your the guy responsible so suck it up and get it done. From the amount of classes these guys have attended in just the first week its safe to say they are taking full advantage of the offer. Hopefully they are loving it and decide to stay a little or a lot longer.
This current phase of training has seen in very different approach to what we have done in the past. With the emphasis on power development it will be interesting to see how we do on the test week in few weeks time. This brings me onto a very important point. With so many new starters I think it is worth making a few points on how I and indeed the royal we interpret CrossFit. Over the past few weeks with the CrossFit games showing us all how this crazy workout cult is done, I have seen countless people making very negative comments on what CrossFit teaches and what is acceptable movement standard in competition. I’m going to cover the games first. Every competition may it be CrossFit, boxing of football I have always believed that the judge/referee is there to do a job. As a competitor your their to win, and to push the limits as far as possible and make the ref earn his money. The particular incident in question was a woman deadlifting what looked like a PB. She used every inch of her body and then some to stand up tall and as she did so her hand slipped but the judge gave it. It was by no means pretty, some would say a little dangerous. I would say she did what she had to too get it up and got it given, job done move on. CrossFit has standards, many of us have taken the judges course for the Open and it clearly states take the bar from the floor fully extend the knee, and hip and end with the shoulders behind the bar. The bullshit has come from the powerlifting fraternity getting their ass in their hand over hitching (dragging the bar up the thigh by jerking).
Now as professional trainers with a host of certificates, degrees, and years of experience we would never teach poor form. We would never encourage cutting corners on form and technique under any circumstances either in the strength elements or the WOD. It is our first priority to get our members new and old to a proficient level of skill before adding intensity to any workout. We promote the attitude that it is better to stay light and maintain form then push your limits and have form breakdown half way through. New comers are especially susceptible to getting carried away and going to heavy too soon. I emphasise during the On-Ramp sessions that the first couple of months should be spent learning the skills and drills. Take the time to get used to what a WOD entails, its better to go easy and come away saying you had more in the tank then to smash it and be out of action sore, or worse injured.
So in summary there are always going to be bad examples of any sport. CrossFit as a sport is no different. CrossFIt as a workout tool. A tool used to get fit and healthy is un-paralleled in my opinion. Take care choosing your workout venue. Check qualifications, definitely check experience and I would definitely say try before you buy. £50, £60 or possibly more per month on membership is a big investment in your fitness. If any gym is not prepared to give you a trial I would walk away. As time goes on many people are seeing the opportunity to set up a gym and call it a strength and conditioning facility. We have 2 ex-members who now own their own box and do very well, they have the right attitude and I wish them well in their ventures with Sarum CrossFit and Brighouse CrossFit. I wish anyone who shows the ambition to start a business well. This is a tough business and Andover has recently welcomed a Personal Training study into the arena and there is talk of another Strength & Conditioning facility opening very soon. I hope they set their standards as high as we do and help people achieve their goals.
AFSCrossFit, Andover - Holiday Blues
0 comments:
Post a Comment