The Theoretical Hierarchy of Fitness
We have all heard the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, correct? If so then this picture succinctly explains the very rationale behind our programming here at CFTR. In October 2002 CrossFit offered what has amounted to the first comprehensive and quantifiable definition of fitness. In nutshell CrossFit believes that fitness should be broad, general and inclusive. It should develop one's competency in the 10 key physiological domains:
- Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance- ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
- Stamina – The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
- Strength – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
- Flexibility – the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint
- Power – the ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
- Speed – The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
- Coordination- The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
- Agility – The ability to minimize transition time from one movement patter to another.
- Balance – the ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base
- Accuracy – The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.
Finally, a comprehensive fitness can only be achieved through a program that incorporates Constantly Varied exercises delivered at a relatively High Intensity and is based on Functional Movements (the ones based in our DNA). In essence we are looking at the definition of average power or the ability to move large loads over long distances quickly. Does that all make sense so far? One of the greatest elements CrossFit has brought to the health and fitness community is a common sensical approach delivered in simple language so that everyone can better understand what they are doing and why.
So let's break down the picture at the top of the page shall we. This will help all of us better understand the training philosophy and ideology behind what goes on at CFTR.
NUTRITION
This is the first level of fitness and in essence serves as the foundation for everything we accomplish inside and outside of the gym. We have talked about this previously in the context of bulking, the mad dog diet, supplementation and why grains are killing us. Whether you eat Paleo, follow a Zone Diet plan or follow another routine you need to know what you are eating, when you are eating it and how much of it you need to be eating. Your diet lays the molecular foundations for fitness and health.
Managing issues of blood glucose control, proper macronutrient proportion, and caloric restriction are the three pillars of sound nutrition whether your concern is athletic performance, disease prevention and longevity, or body composition. Unfortunately this level is largely up to the individual and accountability has to come from within. Coaches can educate and inform you and we can certainly point you in the right direction but at the end of the day we cannot prepare your food for you or pick out your meal from a menu or keep you from indulging. You must be virtuous in your dietary practices just as you must be in practicing a new exercise or skill.
METABOLIC CONDITIONING
Biking, running, swimming, rowing, jumping rope, speed skating, and cross-country skiing are collectively known as “metabolic conditioning.” In the common vernacular they are referred to as “cardio.” When one enters a traditional gym setting they think of cardio as being the deck full of machines like ellipticals, treadmills, and stationary bikes. In CrossFit we try and avoid these devices unless otherwise necessary because at the end of the day nothing gets you in shape like going outside and moving the earth around.
The key to developing the cardiovascular system without sacrificing strength, speed, and power is interval training. Interval training mixes bouts of work and rest in timed intervals. We can control the dominant metabolic pathway conditioned by varying the duration of the work and rest interval and number of repetitions. While it is definitely necessary once in a while to go long, the bulk of metabolic training should be interval training. This is where we develop one's engine so to speak. Whether you are looking for general fitness or performance outcomes you must first develop your capacity across all time domains. This is the fitness everyone needs and the level that has the greatest impact on ones overall health and wellness. This is why we do our Metcon work first. There is a method to our madness and a well thought out one at that.
Keep in mind, for the casual consumer of fitness, interval training need not be structured or formal. One example would be to sprint between one set of telephone poles and jog between the next set alternating in this manner for the duration of a run. It's truly that simple, but yet not enough people seem to appreciate the full benefits of this type of training. It may take some time before the prevailing paradigm fully shifts to accept this methodology but we will continue to promote this information until it does.
GYMNASTICS
The use of the term “gymnastics” not only includes the traditional competitive sport that we’ve seen on TV but all activities like climbing, yoga, calisthenics, and dance where the aim is body control. It is within this realm of activities that we can develop extraordinary strength (especially upper body and trunk), flexibility, coordination, balance, agility, and accuracy. In fact, the traditional gymnast has no peer in terms of development of these skills.
CrossFit uses short parallel bars, mats, still rings, pull-up and dip bars, and a climbing rope to implement our gymnastics training. The starting place for gymnastic competency lies with the well-known calisthenic movements: pull-ups, push-ups, dips, and rope climb. These movements need to form the core of your upper body strength work. While nothing in the pyramid is mutually exclusive it would be otherwise inappropriate to focus on weight training or "lifting" without first ensuring that your gymnastic capabilities are sufficiently mature. Doing otherwise will likely be a prescription for injury.
Here is where we often introduce core work into the programming. Core work is essential and it is largely based on body weight movements, perhaps with some moderate loading. Core movements help us better understand and harness the power of core to extremity power and force production. Without sounding redundant, every movement should originate from within our core whether its walking or performing a kettlebell swing. Unfortunately what was intrinsic in our youth has been lost as we age. The emphasis on core work allows us to reprogram our motor patterns to ensure that we always initiate activity from our hips, pelvis and abdominal region. Once we have done this the quality of subsequent movement patterns will automatically and necessarily improve.
Core exercises can be incorporated into your warm-up, your cool down or can serve as a stand alone component to your workout. Generally these exercises are best done prior to any sort of weight training as they will prepare your muscles to be challenged with heavier loads. Core exercises can serve as a gateway to the weightlifting and throwing portion of the pyramid.
Another good place to work on your gymnastics is during your Movement Preparation time (a.k.a the warm-up) and / or your Cool Down. These can be 5-10 minute windows where you work on a piece related to the workout that day or you can get some extra practice time on a skill that is yet underdeveloped.
WEIGHTLIFTING AND THROWING
“Weightlifting” as opposed to “weight lifting”, two words, and “weight training” refers to the Olympic sport, which includes the “clean and jerk” and the “snatch.” Olympic weightlifting, as it is often referred to, develops strength (especially in the hips), speed, and power like no other training modality. It is little known that successful weightlifting requires substantial flexibility. Olympic weightlifters are as flexible as any athletes.
The benefits of Olympic weightlifting don’t end with strength, speed, power, and flexibility. The clean and jerk and the snatch both develop coordination, agility, accuracy, and balance and to no small degree. Both of these lifts are as nuanced and challenging as any movement in all of sport. Moderate competency in the Olympic lifts confers added prowess to any sport.
The Olympic lifts are based on the deadlift, clean, squat, and jerk. These movements are the starting point for any serious weight-training program.
Why the deadlift, clean, squat, and jerk? Because these movements elicit a profound neurodendocrine response. That is, they alter you hormonally and neurologically. The changes that occur through these movements are essential to athletic development. Most of the development that occurs as a result of exercise is systemic and a direct result of hormonal and neurological changes.
As many of you already know we work very closely with the brilliant minds at Athlete Cell (where else do you get to talking training with NASA engineers?). Through this collaboration we have been bringing the very best programming the to strength portion of our daily workouts. This being said we also recognize that not everyone is after the benefits gleaned from this portion of the program. We also fully appreciate that each individual needs to put in the time to practice and develop the competency and proficiency needed to excel at these movements. That is why we program this in a sort of Open Gym format. The Open Gym format allows each individual to tailor the post Metcon environment to meet their individual specific wants and needs.
At the end of the day what we put out as the workout of the day is in essence an ingredient list from which any number of recipes can be concocted. What becomes of the final product is up to each individual. We can lead you to water but we will never force you to drink it. We will encourage you to put your all into each session and as long as you leave feeling better than when you walked in then it should be considered a successful workout. The benefits will accumulate over time and the fitness you will accomplish will be well worth the effort.
SPORT
Sport plays a wonderful role in fitness. Sport is the application of fitness in a fantastic atmosphere of competition and mastery. Training efforts typically include relatively predictable repetitive movements and provide limited opportunity for the essential combination of our ten general physical skills. It is, after all, the combined expression, or application, of the ten general skills that is our motivation for their development in the first place. Sports and games like soccer, martial arts, baseball, and basketball in contrast to our training workouts have more varied and less predictable movements.
However, where sports develop and require all ten general skills simultaneously, they do so slowly compared to our strength and conditioning regimen. Sport is better, in our view, at expression and testing of skills than it is at developing these same skills. Both expression and development are crucial to our fitness. Sport in many respects more closely mimics the demands of nature than does our training. We encourage and expect our athletes to engage in regular sports efforts in addition to all of their strength and conditioning work.
To a certain extent this is the goal of the Beards, Bulking, Bros, Bras and Boarding experiment. We will train together at least once a week as a group. We will embark on new and varied challenges outside the gym (think running races, biathlons, triathlons, tough mudders, Spartan races and even snowboarding/skiing). Some of us will even run the NYC Marathon on November 1st of this year. In the end we will grow together, bond along the way and enjoy the journey regardless of where we go with it or what we do in the end.
So there you have the rationale behind what we put on the whiteboard every day. We realize our formula is not necessarily the traditional approach but we think that is ok. We are trying to create value for each and every individual that walks in our doors and that value will potentially be different for each person. We do not believe in a cookie cutter approach to fitness, let alone CrossFit or any other methodology. As a collective we bring a wealth of experience from numerous backgrounds in health and fitness. Our daily programming is a reflection of these varied backgrounds and expertise and we endeavor to bring the best most comprehensive solution to the table each and every day. If you should ever have any questions regarding our programming please let us know so that we may further explain the methods behind what we do.
