In order to create change in an organism, athlete in this case, stress must be introduced, worked through, retracted and then time must go by in which the organism recovers from the stress and builds up a resistance to that previous level of stress. In other words, the previous level of stress will not affect any further change once the athlete is fully recovered. Now more stress has to be introduced and subsequently overcome. This is what we refer to as “adaptation” (Hans Selyes theory of stress and adaptation in living organisms).

Failure to understand this principle as applied to fitness and weight training is the primary reason many people fail to progress in the gym over the long term. They stay at the same weights/reps/sets/time/etc., over and over and there is no forward progression.

At CFC all of our coaches understand this law of adaptation and we implement it in our programming through all of the aforementioned variables we can control. When it comes to barbell work we control it, via the client, by a slight progressive increase in loading at each session and by using “sets across”.

While this article isn’t about loading, it must be understood that a “linear increase strength program” is meant to carry on for weeks or months by making SMALL jumps in weight each time a movement is revisited. We start our clients out at about 70-75% 1RM for their lift and work forward from there. This gives them plenty of time to increase the load and stress before they start to stall out and we have to re-adjust the loading or rep/set schemes.  We use alternate percentages to compute new 1RM’s according to their current level and make adjustments if needed later on.

It has been seen that the pressed based movement can only sustain about 2.5-5 Lbs total increases from session to session. The muscle groups are much smaller and act much more independently than the hip/knee driven movements. This is the reason we have 1.25 Lb fractional weight plates at CFC. The hip/knee driven movements can be increased by 5-10 Lbs total from session to session due to the greater contribution of large muscle groups and systemic effect/adaptation of the lifts on the body. What further governs these increases is the frequency of the lifts and the recovery in between. In cases where there is less recovery/more frequency changes will be made to lower the weight increases and/or reps, sets, and intensity schemes will be changed.

For weight training, the total volume of the work sets is important. This is the weight multiplied by the total number of reps. Each session will require a slight increase in volume. By implementing “Sets across” we tend to see a better and more consistent increase of volume from session to session. This leads to a better and more consistent adaptation process in the long run.

It has been my experience that novice lifters allowed to work a 5 set scheme with incremental increased loads on each set will fail before they reach the final set and final reps. They usually don’t understand loading and will overdo it, thereby blowing their wad on the 3rd or 4th set. Suddenly we are stuck with having to strip the bar to a lower weight to finish the work sets and mentally they are now defeated and even a lighter weight becomes a challenge. In totaling up the numbers, we often see a decrease in total volume for the workout as compared to the last session.

If we keep people working “sets across” we can make a small one time jump at the start and keep the overall volume higher than last time and have less chance of failure or mental breakdown. It is mentally easier to realize that you did 135 Lbs last week and got through it, so this week at 137.5 Lbs will be fine. Stress was still introduced and the athlete gets more out of it in the end. If the athlete is going to stall or fail on the lift, it usually isn’t until the last rep or two of the last set. We don’t often see this, they grind through it, but if they do fail I don’t lose a lot of sleep over it since the volume increase is still higher.

Notice I said “novice lifters” earlier when I mentioned incremental loading being a problem. I have seen many intermediate and advanced lifters use an incremental loading process with their sets/reps and be successful at it. However, they still use their session to session volume as a guide and reference point and know exactly how much to increase each set in a judicious manner that will still allow them to top last sessions volume and move forward. You really have to know what you are doing, how your body reacts, and everything else that goes along with being a student of the game of moving really heavy stuff that doesn’t want to be moved. All that being said, I personally still stick to sets across as I tend to have better results from it.

In most CrossFit gyms, the typical client is still relatively new to the weight game and being placed in a predetermined path to follow will yield more benefits for them over the long haul. At CFC we tend to keep in mind the average ability of the clientele and program accordingly, so everyone is on the same page. If we were to let people do their own thing, I can assure you we’d be stuck in a lot of ruts as many people will over estimate their ability levels and tank way too soon.

No matter how you cut it, a “Sets Across” program still works and in the long run, that’s all that matters!

Stronger, Fitter, Faster, Healthier!

First, the entry fee went up $50 this year to $100 per entrant. That’s a bit steep considering the fact most TEAM events cost that amount for registration. When I think of one hundred ass smackers, I am thinking a good prize purse, set up and accomodations for the athletes. I dunno, perhaps I am a spoiled punk from my days racing in Europe on cow crap covered cobblestone roads with cold showers and small Fiat team cars for a quarter that amount, but then having an ass kicking trophy or prize purse despite that. Times are hard and California still lags far behind in the “recovering” recession, so unless your independently wealthy, I don’t think most people have a hundred bucks running out of their ass. I will play devil’s advocate though and acknowledge that the event was held at a high school and I am sure the fee for permits, waivers and property lease probably wasn’t cheap, but…..

When you get a gym like ours that had 8 women register at the above rate, you stand to make a decent chunk of change off of that particular fellow CrossFit affiliate. So, when one of your athletes pulls out for personal reasons with a month to go, you’d think it would be okay to sub a new athlete in her place. Wrong!

After countless emails to cyberspace several weeks ago, we finally got a terse reply that stated all refunds and entries to the event were finalized as of July 15th. Also, no substitutions would be allowed. That response finally came with one week left to the event….

So, we got to tell the substitute athlete, who would have done very well at the event and was prepped for it, that she can no longer go – that sucks some major you know what. It tends to irk the Cat and Crazy Ivan a bit more when the offender is another affiliate and then won’t reply back to our pleading response and then we hear some other athletes were allowed a late registration for certain reasons.Very classy…

So, we packed the bags and drove to lovely Martinez to compete and make the best of it. The facility worked out well as they utilized the track to host the majority of the events and allowed everyone to camp out in the grassy infield area. However, bathrooms would soon be an issue. There were only 5 portapotties for a whole slew of nervous women with small bladders and a bunch of grunting males walking around all day. Most of you are acutely aware that a public restroom with 20 women’s stalls in it still has a line a mile long out of it, so there’s no way 100 competitors and a ton of spectators were going to make 5 portables work. Toilet paper was gone very quickly, the “nasty-o-meter” was pegged at 10 in no time, and the damn walk down and back up a 300 meter hill was getting old. Most people ended up resorting to making the most of the backside of some large storage containers on the north side of the track. Hey wait a minute, didn’t 100 athletes pay $100?

Once the event started to wind up towards start time, the event organizer announced that any waitlisted athletes would now be allowed to compete as all check-in’s were closed and whatever open slots were left from no shows could now be filled. Hold your goddamn horses, Skippy! Did I just hear that you were allowing subs in the place of paid athletes on game day? I’m sorry, come again?! I believe we were told no subs and we sure weren’t told there would be a wait list. So, let me get this straight, we paid $100 for this?

Then there’s the announcer. This guy decides his size makes him arrogant enough to talk down to people. I loved the way he would condescendingly tell people to clear the track or do things. That was rad. It was even radder when Mike, part of our support crew, asked him where the “unknown distance” trail run would be finishing so he could get finish line pictures. The announcers response was simply a disgusted look, a shrug of the shoulders and turning away from Mike with nary a word. It’s probably our bad though, it was apparently very secret and Mike probably didn’t pay the $100….

The events were pretty cool though. I liked the unknown distance run, the max Clean, and the DL/box Jump/Swing WOD. The 100m sprints were cool, but most athletes only got one run and then were pulled. Only a couple from each heat went into the final 100m sprint, so if you weren’t fast enough and didn’t make that final sprint, you could lose a lot of places even though you would continue to the final event. The final was 400m followed by burpees, a sandbag out and back carry, more burpees and then a final 400m. I friggin’ hope you like running and if you don’t you sure will by day’s end.

With people pissing in the weeds, an uneven dirt warm up area, an akward scoring system, and a very rutted football field to run across with an 80 Lb sandbag slung over you, it was definitely interesting. Still, the final event was a good wrap up and we got to see Jennie Labaw (very high on the Crazy Ivan “A” list) absolutely kill the final event by about 45 seconds taking the days fastest time away from Jennie Mckernan. That was seriously cool…no joke, it was.

Once it was all said and done, the organizers decided they’d had enough for the day and told folks the results would be posted on the internet and the top 3 in the Open and age groups would be mailed their medals. The same medals they had out on the tables at registration. It’s not like there was a valid reason not to award people their hard fought places. Women don’t have a ton of “Female Only” events and I thought it was rad that this was a perfect venue for them to shine in front of their own hot, sweaty, finely muscled, scantily, Lululemon clad kind (yeah, okay I just wanted to stare some more, but come on, what guy in their right mind wouldn’t?!?! We paid a lot of money dammit!!).

Seriously though, the women who competed and made it into the top 3 should have been recognized. That was a slap in the face in my book and was unprofessional as hell. I don’t care if the school told you to be out of there at a certain time, tell everyone to meet on the street corner for crying out loud or do it by flashlight in the dark, but recognize the women that came out as a whole as well as the top 3. These women were inspiring to watch as there were elite athletes and  rank beginners there all just enjoying each other’s company and having fun. None of them complained or made a drama scene out of anything – they just had fun (There weren’t even any cat fights, although if there were, I WOULD gladly pay $100 for front row seats). These female athletes were there to represent a select few women who have stepped out of the norm insofar as staying fit, strong, healthy and beautiful, goddamn recognize them as they deserved it! Last I remember they paid $100 each, I think they deserve a little bit of face time in front of everyone for that!

The concept is sound, but the organization and subsequent professionalism needs some work. I am not bitter, but I call it as I see it. Being snubbed and then seeing favorites being played out or other shenanigans go on that make me wonder where our money went leaves me curious. The few vendors and sponsors that did come out weren’t acknowledged all that well and the prize packages were a bit shy of what I expected $10k to cover. I saw them on the table… next to the medals….maybe they’ll get mailed to the top 3 women….

I am proud of our CFC ladies for going there, having fun, kicking ass and representing the gym like they did. I am also very proud of each and every one of the other female athletes for going out there and doing the same for themselves and their respective gyms all the while smashing preconceived notions and redefining fit, beautiful and healthy.

Awesome work, CrossFit ladies!

Don’t cheat and don’t quit… ever….

Don’t Cheat – Cheating is just that, it’s an unfair way to turn the tide in your favor. Now in situations of life and death, there may be some fudging room -i.e., “if you go to a gunfight, bring a gun. In fact, bring two. Then bring all your friends with guns.” But I assume the vast majority don’t need to worry about this as much as someone with my job and oddball luck, so let’s just keep it simple and apply the rules to sporting endeavors, which subsequently leads to our life endeavors. After all, personal sporting efforts are an extension to a higher quality life through lessons learned and notions gained.

The truth of the matter is, at some point you will be beat. You will encounter a person who is better than you at something, be it lawn darts, accounting or running fast. YOU WILL GET BEAT! Get used to that concept now and accepting defeat will be less of a painful ordeal when it comes around. It’s like dying -it’s gonna happen, so friggin’ get used to the idea now. If you accept the notion of death, life becomes that much sweeter.

In the same vein, if you accept the notion of defeat, victory is that much better. It is earned and hard fought. You can taste it and feel it and it is beautiful. If you enter a CrossFit workout or any other event with a positive mental attitude and put 100% into it and come out on top, good on you. If not, still good on you – you fought the good fight and you will improve incredibly for your efforts through the physical and mental lessons you learned. Think about it for a second. If you were always on top how would you improve? You would never learn what it takes to be truly good.

Don’t for a second contemplate cutting reps, rounds or range of motion short, just so you can catch up to a competitor. It’s not worth it. It’s cheap and it really does nothing for you in the long run. You will gain nothing from it since in actuality you did not push yourself to the brink. Your competitor did, and they will get better. The cheater will just stay in their false world of hope and delusion and stunt their forward growth.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Your will be exploited in both the positive and negative manner. Embrace it and grow from it.

Don’t Quit – A quitter never wins and a winner never quits. It doesn’t matter that you  are dead last, you are still ahead of the person that quit. Barring true injury, quitting will not make you a better person or make things better in the long run. The notion that you can call “Kings X” whenever the going gets tough will carry over into whatever you do. Unfortunately society and leaders these days make it all too easy to bail out early and that means too many people truly think it’s an option. If you bite something big off, chew it up and swallow it. It may take a while, but who cares.

Shake it off, take a deep breath and finish the job, regardless of how long it takes. Some folks may argue that at some point the effort becomes futile and it’s like beating your head against a wall. The continued work will yield no gains due to it’s drudgery and slow pace. That’s bullshit. That’s just an excuse to quit. It may not be perfect, but you will gain something from it – trust me on this. You ever heard the term, “Die trying”? That’s a whole helluva lot better than the term, “Live failing!”

I won’t quit. It’s not an option. Not in my gym, not when I was a competitive athlete, not in my job. Quitting means failure and in what I do, failure can mean a closed casket funeral. I don’t even want the thought entering my head, so I don’t let it happen at the gym or anywhere else. Come Hell or high water, a true winner will always get through the trials and tribulations put in front of them. And when they do, they are stronger for it. Those are the people you have to watch out for – the ones who don’t know the meaning of “quit”. They will rise to the top because they have tenacity and desire to succeed against all odds.

Dead last? Who cares. I’m last but I won’t be dead…

You want to be a better athlete and human being? Then learn to lose and finish dead last once in a while. You can thank me later.

 A: There are a few ways to make our lives more comfortable. This job is inherently hard on our backs and posture. The lower back takes a beating from seated positions where the normal curvature is pushed too far forward in the wrong places, the thoracic spine gets pulled out of position from our vests and tired shoulders and the cervical section can get beat up if we wear helmets of any type in our course of duties. All in all, this job is less than favorable for the back.

However, when we usually complain about our backs hurting, it’s the lower back that is the big problem. This stems from not only the aforementioned reasons, but also from a lack of strength in the area as well as inflexibility in muscles that tie into the spine and pelvic region. I am going to start with talking about improving flexibility first and then about strengthening the low back. People who tend to avoid the flexibility aspect and go right to strength work will overuse the back and put more tension in the musculature and basically go nowhere, or even take steps backwards. So, improve your flexibility first, then work in the strength.

If we were looking to improve strength and posture in the back as a whole, deadlifts, squats and barbell rows would help to that end. Neck strengthening exercises would help the deep muscles of the neck grow stronger and withstand the loading and constant torque placed on it, while shoulder based pulling and pressing movements would help strengthen the upper T-spine / lower C-spine and the muscles like the trapezius and rhomboids.

There are obviously a boat load of lower trunk muscles, but the ones that cause major grief for people are a set of antagonists (opposites) on the front and the back (anterior & posterior) of the body. The hip flexors are a prime problem on the anterior side of things. The hip flexors allow you to pull the hip closed (flexion). This is best thought of as being able to draw the thigh straight up as if you were marching in place. There a few muscles in the flexor group, but one of note in it’s relation to low back pain is the psoas, sometimes called the iliopsoas.

The psoas originates on the inside of the Lumbar spine (L1-L5) and runs through the pelvic cavity attaching to the top of the inner femur. This is a large, thick muscle that has a lot of power and function in the hip joint. It can move the leg and even is strong enough to lever the body upwards if the legs are anchored. As such, it gets overworked all the time and is rarely taken care of. As with the other hip flexors, and any muscle for that fact, when they are used and then “put away” and allowed to cool off on their own, they shorten. Add to the mix that most of the time, especially in our jobs, we move around and then sit for long periods of time, and the psoas and it’s counterparts get tighter and shorter all the time.

Because the psoas is under so much tension and it attaches to the front of the lower spine, it will begin to pull the lumbar arch of the spine forward ever so slightly. Any slight deviation from the norm in the spine is felt right away due to the vast network of nerves exiting the column over it’s entire length. Discs that become slightly distorted and have pressure placed on their anterior side in this case, start to press on nerves and that hurts. Then once you start lifting or moving heavy loads with any variance in good form, those discs that are under pressure due to the forward pulling tension on the spine, have a higher likelihood of becoming injured in a more substantial manner.

To add to the mix is the antagonist musculature on the backside in the form of the hamstrings. The hamstrings originate at the bottom of the pelvis on the ischial tuberosity, aka, the sit bones. They run the posterior length of the femur and insert in various places on the top of the tibia (lower leg / shin bone).  This is another very strong collection of muscles that flexes the knee and, through action with the glutes, open the hip.

Again, they get used a lot and when we don’t stretch them regularly, the hamstrings begin to shorten. As the hammies shorten, they begin to pull on the bottom of the pelvis. The pelvis, being connected to the lower spine via the lumbosacral area, starts to add deviation to the normal position of the pelvis by “tilting the bowl” backwards. This posterior tilt of the pelvis changes the normal curvature of the lower back and adds pressure to the discs on the anterior side of the lumbar spine – the same place the tight psoas muscle is pulling out of whack. So you can see the lower back gets a double whammy from the hip flexors and the hamstrings. This is where stretching the muscles can make a huge difference in alleviating back pain.

For the hip flexor, lunge stretches with the knee in various positions can pull the psoas pretty good. If doing lunge stretches, it is important to keep the upper torso as vertical as possible to keep tension in the hip. These lunge stretches can also incorporate some PNF type stretching (pull/push) as well as rotational (twist the upper body at the waist in the direction of the knee that’s up).

For the hamstrings the old standby of “bend forward and touch your toes” has some merit, but it works better if you don’t let your upper back round over to get to your toes. Instead, keep the chest up high and the lower back locked in it’s natural arch. You will most likely only be able to get about half way down in this manner and you should feel way more stretch deep in the belly of the muscle.

Another good one is to lie on your back with a rolled up towel under the low back to maintain the arch. Keep your head, shoulder blades and both butt cheeks in contact with the ground. Put a strap around the bottom of one foot and gently pull the leg upwards until you find your end range with the strap. “End range” is the point where any more pull towards you will tilt the pelvis and lift your butt off the ground. The knee should be fairly locked out and the other leg should be laying flat on the ground. Apply a slight bit of backpressure into the band as you pull it toward you. Hold this for about 20s., release for about 5s and repeat a couple more times and switch legs. You will find that each time you release and get back into it, the leg comes up a bit more and the stretch gets a little deeper. This is a PNF stretch (pull/push) which helps override the nervous system to allow for a deeper, more powerful stretch.

There are a lot of very good psoas and hamstring stretches out there you can find on the internet, YouTube or you can corner me and I can pass some down that would take way too long to explain in text. Another good resource is Kelly Starett’s “Mobility WOD”. Regardless of what you are stretching, each stretch should be 1-2 minutes or longer in length to really make a difference. The old “hold for 20 seconds” rule is junk – it doesn’t effect any change. Do this a couple times a day when you have the time, especially after working out, and there will be noticeable changes to your low back, your movement and less chance of injury.

On that note, don’t do a ton of static stretching as described above before your workouts. This changes reflexive properties in the muscle and will actually lead to a loss of performance and higher likelihood of injury during the workout. Instead, use dynamic range of motion (DROM) stretching before the work out. Leg kicks, trunk twists, arm circles, light runs, and/or any kind of multi joint/multi muscle movements will do way more to loosen the muscle in it’s natural work pattern as well as warm up and loosen the joints and the connective tissue. This is something that static stretching beforehand does not do adequately.  Save the static stuff for post workout.

Now if you have been paying attention to the pattern of what is affected by tight hip flexors and hamstrings, you can see the low back is getting beat to hell and any strength work without adequate flexibility will either injure or tighten things up more. Hence the reason you need to break things up a bit first for a few days. It’s like warming up car before you try to hit 0-60 right out of the gate.

Most strength work needs to start out light and basic for folks and then progress up. This can mean starting with simple exercises that don’t involve rolling around on overblown balloons, or using lighter weight and impeccable form on more technical externally weighted movements.

Much can be gained through back extensions, but people overuse them, then don’t balance out the movement with full ROM based ab movements. Note I said “full range of motion” – this means crunches are not part of the equation. Sit ups and other ab work should be done to the full extent of the movement patterns, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Good solid ab work will help balance out overworked muscles of the lower back.

Both of those types of movements are pretty linear (moving forward/backward) and one that gets overlooked is rotational work. Twisting based movements are huge for building lower back and midline strength and they are not used nearly enough. Things like Russian twist lunges or sit ups, Med ball partner or wall twists, half moons, barbell twists are awesome. Start doing them. Look them up on the web or ask me what the heck something is.

To top off rotational movement, isometric contraction work is a good choice as well. This can be done in the form of planks. You can do them on your elbows, in a Superman, side planks, flag planks, etc. They basically force you to contract the musculature of the midline to maintain a nice neutral spine through the low back and abs. This is why it’s isometric – basically meaning “locked in place with no movement”. This stuff goes a long way and is overlooked all the time.  Gymnasts have incredible strength in these positions.

Lastly, once you start getting some flexibility and strength built up, you can start to incorporate external loading. This is where deadlifts, barbell rows, kettlebell work, Olympic lifts, presses and squats come into play. The lower back will be placed under stress in all the movements, some more than others, in various stages of muscular contraction and effort. These motions also involve the hip flexors, hamstrings and their supporting musculature as well to help develop those areas now that they are getting more pliable. Good form and attention to not overload the weight too soon is the best bet, so find a good coach and go slowly.

In the end the ingredients come down to developing flexibility in the hips and hammies, developing strength in the low back, hips and hammies, and then maintaining the flexibility while working the strength stuff in. Go easy at first, but be diligent in working this formula and back pain will be greatly alleviated!

I remember the first time as a young cyclist I rode 100 miles. Once it was over, the realization of what I had done had broken down walls and opened doors to other challenges. Everything else paled in comparison.  Much like a marathon runner, a daring skier, soldier going “down range”, a fireman heading into an inferno, or anyone else tackling a effort that balances delicately on injury, death, near exhaustion, fear and other somewhat daunting prospects, once those tasks are successfully completed, everything else is a walk in the park. To this day, I thank the mental toughness I gained as a cyclist and athlete for my current abilities at work and at play. “Is that all you got? Bring it on….”

I don’t care if my athletes don’t care to use their fitness capabilities in an athletic arena outside of the gym, the fact remains that they are stronger on several fronts then they were before. I’ve seen people who don’t wish to be competitive find the hardest decisions to make in their personal lives to be much easier because they “know they can”.  That’s a beautiful thing. For those that do push their fitness gained in the CrossFit gym out onto the playing field, they find that the hard work done indoors makes their other tasks that much easier. In short, we aim to build winners, no matter what the challenge may be.

The attitude and thought process of “winner” is never ending. You cannot let self doubt or weakness prevail and when it does wish to rear it’s ugly head in the form of quitting, easing up or adopting a defeatist attitude,  you must recover, recollect and beat it back. Sometimes it doesn’t matter where you finish, it matters if you finish. And when you finish, that attitude must remain.

With the prevalence of MMA fighting proliferating the media these days, we have all seen a fight somewhere where one athlete undoubtedly got his ass handed to him by another, but still had the self-respect to raise his hands in the universal symbol of victory as he walked to his corner at the end of the bout. Some call it stupid, some may call it arrogance, however that depends on the manner of how the athlete portrays his “personal victory” at the end. Nonetheless, that fighter did not give up during or after the fight and never accepted a defeatist attitude. That fighter never lied down, which leads me to my point.

CrossFit is unbelievably hard sometimes. Workouts that push you to and past your previous extensions of ability. So, when those WOD’s are over, it is not uncommon to “crash n’ burn” and wait for the room to stop spinning, the lungs to stop burning, your vision to return and recognize you can stand up and continue to function. Now, the following  is a personal thing and my personal opinion only of which I will not forcefully impart upon my clients, but I make all attempts to never lie down after a hard effort. I am just putting this out there as something to think about.

My thought is that lying down is a form of defeat. I know physiologists have proven that recovery is enhanced in a prone position versus a standing position, but I’ll be damned if I am going to get in a fight while at work, then go lie down on the grass to catch my breath and recover in full uniform in front of God and country once the bad guy’s in custody. In all reality, I would be on my feet walking it off, or hands on my knees catching my breath – and yes, it’s I’ve been down that road more than a few times. I’ve regained my composure, cleaned up, straightened up my uniform and walked out with command presence. Unless there’s blood pouring out of a wound, a serious injury or you are dead or dying, get on your feet.

I am not saying some workouts haven’t put me on my back. I’ve been there and there are pics to prove it, but after a moment of clarity I’ve jumped up and moved around. I have changed my views and it’s been a very long time since I’ve done that. Believe you me, I’ve had some severe efforts I didn’t think I’d get through over the past few years. Instead, I choose to sit down temporarily or take a knee for a moment. In my mind, I have not given up and I am not beaten back by anything.

The dead and dying lie down. Roadkill doesn’t get back up. Someone encased in fear rolls up in the fetal position and cowers. A sowbug rolls up in a ball and hopes the predator goes away before someone steps on it. Victims end up on their backs, dead or alive. Dogs are subservient on their backs. Dead trees fall over and rot on the earth. I think you get the point.

In contrast, athletes “take a knee” in between efforts, soldiers kneel to rest and assess a situation, mom’s dress the kids on a knee then get up to get back on with the day, fighters kneel in between rounds. For many, the kneeling position is a position of reverence and recollection. In each of those examples, that person knows more is coming, they can’t give up, and they will get back up to continue on because they have to.

Of course someone will argue that historic rulers made their conquered foes kneel before them in a form of subservience, defeat and other similar situations of the like, but the difference being that those people were forced to adopt that position rather than choose it. Then there were those of legend who chose not to and paid with their lives, but they made history for their courage and heroism moreso than their conquerer did.

The strongest willed walk it off. Nothing puts them down. They may lean up against something, put their hands on their knees and suck wind, walk around with their arms over their heads breathing deeply, or stand tall while being hit by enemy fire like Lt. Michael Murphy (read the bio), but they are still in the fight despite a moment of recovery. There will be time to lay down later.

If nothing else remember, you can get knocked down, but you better get back up again. Don’t accept a defeatist posture, mentally or physically. It is my personal goal to stay up, in the fight, and ready for more after a moment of respite. If you wish to make yourself a stroger athlete and person, think about that the next time you wish to punch out and collapse. Instead, think about the fact you have just prevailed, you are stronger mentally and physically, and you are not dead. Accept a position that does not show defeat. Recover, then get back up and get back in the game.

“Numquam cede, numquam succumbe”

First off, it may sound elementary, but so everyone is on the same page proteins are organic compounds that make up one of the macronutrients we eat and is needed to sustain life. Protein breaks down into free form amino acids, which are the building blocks of the musculoskeletal system. Through activity muscles sustain micro-tears and trauma which, during the recovery period, is repaired by protein/amino acids. This yields more strength, better fitness, and improved health over time and adaptation.

The common standard is “30 grams per meal”. Where that came from is beyond me, but that’s a really rough guideline to go by, however, as an average it works. One of the thoughts was that protein supplement companies put that out there to coincide with their dosage recommendations on their particular brand of protein. There was little else scientific to go on to validate those amounts at the time but now we are seeing some research to put 30 grams as a decent average for people to follow.

That may be a fairly decent guideline to use though, but it can go many different directions, either positive or negative due to the intake and use of protein. Many factors are involved in the ingestion and utilization of protein in the human body. For me, I look at overall diet, the body type of the individual, their activity level, and what kind of activity it is that they are engaged in. For example, a 220 Lb male bodybuilder would have a different protein need than a 115 Lb female runner, a skinny guy trying to put on mass or a heavier person looking to lose weight while utilizing an exercise routine. With those considerations in mind, we also need to pay attention to meals per day and what kind of protein is being taken in. So, let’s take a look at proteins, starting with supplements – an addition to the natural diet.

Supplements are a necessary evil these days, especially proteins. If you were getting your requirements from animal sources alone, you’d be eating a crap-load of meat. I don’t think you’d be feeling real grand after a couple days of that. So, supplements can be put in place and work quite well as long as it is a clean, high quality supplement. There is junk and some really good stuff out there, so choose wisely and don’t listen to the part-time, high school kid behind the counter at the local muscle store wearing the “250 Lb Bench Press Club” t-shirt. Do some research and choose wisely.

The most popular protein supplements out there are whey, casein and egg based. Whey is a milk-derived protein that absorbs fairly quickly and assimilates well in the body. This is important for quick recovery post workout. Casein is another milk based protein source that takes a bit longer to digest. This can be a benefit dependent upon a person’s dietary or fitness needs. Egg proteins are out there and are also a slow digesting protein, however, they tend to be a bit funky for most people’s digestive systems.

Then there’s soy. Soy proteins are available but soy also has some issues with it that have serious hormonal effects on people, men and women, that are deleterious to your long-term health. (If you have certain health issues that preclude you from milk-based proteins, then go egg based before soy, in my opinion.)

With all protein powders that are digested as a liquid, they all have a time release due to their make up, but they will all digest more quickly than a whole food based protein.

In the case of whole food based proteins, there are animal based proteins and some plant based proteins. Meats are an obvious choice and the kind of meat preferred is completely up to the individual. When it comes to plant based proteins, you are in for some work and those proteins will not yield the same results as an animal based protein and/or a supplement. The bioavailability of a plant based protein is minimal and since many plant based proteins are from legumes, soy, or grain-like sources (Quinoa), there are again hormonal and health issues to be concerned with. Outside of religious reasons, this is one of the reasons a vegetarian diet is not as healthy as some may think. But, that is a topic for another day.

The digestibility rate of a high quality protein is about 94-97%, and even plant-based proteins have been found to be around 78-85%. Remember, you are going to need A LOT of plant based proteins to meet daily allotment requirements, even more than just animal based proteins alone, and that’s a lot in it’s own right. Our ancestors ate large amounts of animal protein per sitting and had no ill effects. Their guts adapted to the large intakes and processed it quite well. So, the body is efficient at handling high protein loads if it adapts to it.

Activity levels and meals per day are the next area to be concerned with. This has a lot of variability to it as well, dependent upon the needs of the person at hand.

For the vast majority of people who are looking to lean out, increase health and still gain lean body mass, I go along with the accepted notion of 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. If you are a strength athlete or bodybuilder, that number can jump to 1.25 to 1.5 grams of protein/LB of bodyweight.

If you are overweight and want to lose weight, protein is still a must, however, the number should drop a tad, perhaps to about .75 grams/LB of bodyweight. You will still need the protein to help recover from workouts and fitness efforts, which will in turn will help build lean body mass, which will increase your metabolism, which will increase energy consumption, which will increase weight loss….it’s a big positive circle.

Once you have figured out a daily allotment, you can quickly figure out a meal schedule that is reasonable and can be met. This meal schedule should basically revolve around protein – in other words, no meal is complete without “X” amount of protein per sitting. If you are supposed to be taking in 200 grams of protein per day, and you want to eat 5 times per day (including a post workout meal), then math dictates you will need to eat 40 grams per meal. That is entirely reasonable and also not “over the top” in the body’s ability to process protein and maintain positive nitrogen balance.

If you are looking to gain muscle mass, you need to eat over your weight recommendations. In this case, a 180 Lb male who wants to “get swole with maximum jackage” should take in protein like a 220 Lb male. The same goes for caloric intake – it needs to go up to support the anabolic reactions in the body. Yes, you will gain some body fat, but you won’t get “fat”. It will shed easily once you hit your target and throw in some metabolic conditioning work and a tight hormonally controlling diet.

Keep in mind that ANY macronutrient – carbs, fat and protein – can turn to bodyfat if taken in excessively. If the body isn’t using it, it will convert it to fat. This is not very easy to do with protein since the conversion process is inefficient, but it can happen. This means you need to keep tabs on how things are working and tweak things accordingly. This is where a food journal comes in handy for the initial couple months of a new diet.

With that number in mind for an overall picture for the day, the next concern would be with the most important time of protein intake – post workout. I don’t care if you are training for strength, muscular gains, general fitness or even as an endurance athlete, protein supplementation post workout is a MUST!! I consider this intake as a meal, since you are feeding the body.

Recovery nutrition should come within 45 minutes of finishing exercise. This is the “golden window” where nutrients are the most readily absorbed and the body is in hyperdrive to repair and replenish itself. Failure to meet this cut off slows the recovery rate and can make you feel noticeably worn out and “flat” the next day.

The amount of protein and carbs taken in post-workout will vary a bit. For hard strength training workouts where a lot of muscle is broken down and in need of repair, I recommend about 35-45 grams of protein and about 20-30 grams carbs. The carbs act to replace some of the minimal degradation of internal energy stores through activity, but more so to help transport amino acids into the body. Keep fat intake very minimal here as the insulin spike will encourage a boost of IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor), which in turn boosts HGH (Human Growth Hormone). Post workout meals are the ONLY time you want an insulin spike to cause the above reaction. The rest of your meals go back to hormonal control via lower carb/higher fat intake.

For longer training efforts with less muscular break down, endurance based or high intensity metabolic conditioning, I recommend about 35 grams of protein and double that in carbs. In these longer efforts, the most important recovery/replenishment macro nutrient here being carbs/glycogen since you have tapped into internal energy stores a bit more in this type of exercise. The carb source once again helps as a shuttle to get amino acids and recovery macronutrients into the body.  Again, stick with minimal fat intake.

Runners, triathletes, cyclists, or any other endurance athlete would benefit greatly from increased protein intake and a reduction in carbs in their overall diet. That’s contrary to belief (remember I used to be an elite endurance athlete, so I speak from experience in the “old” and “new” trains of thought). Although it is not thought of, muscle is being broken down over long endurance based training sessions. Think of the last 10k or 5-hour bike ride you did – remember that deep down muscle soreness and connective tissue achiness you felt? Yeah, that’s not from singing too loud in church. Protein supplementation, along the 1 gram/LB of bodyweight rule of thumb, would be a wise choice here with a higher post workout carb intake.

Also of importance, some protein intake during a long athletic event is a good idea. Whey proteins can be added to a carbohydrate beverage. For example, add about 10 grams of protein and 50 grams of carbohydrates to 32 ounces of liquid. This can be continually consumed during long training or competition to increase performance and reduce muscle damage. By taking in protein during long training cycles, the body has an added ability to properly use & store glycogen and reduce muscle wasting via Gluconeogenesis, which is when the body eats away at muscle to use as a fuel source. Protein intake during long exercise helps recovery, lessens the chance or injury, and prevents you from having that rad marathoner’s emaciated physique and one-dimensional athletic ability…. There are some really good research articles out there about strength training and dietary shifts to improve endurance athletes but that’s another soapbox rant.

Scientists have been playing around with “pulse dosing” protein and have seen some good results. In these cases, one or two meals per day were larger intakes of protein than the rest. One would be best done in the beginning of the day and the other post workout. The rest of the meals in the day would be smaller in dosage.

Insofar as dosages, there is no real set limit. I would contend that more than 45-50 grams per sitting per meal would lead to wasted protein, but even that hasn’t been completely hashed out. For the average, 30-40 grams per sitting is a decent place to hover and is workable for the body. There is much discussion of too much protein being hard on the kidneys, but this again has not been proven. Adequate intake of water and slowly adapting to more protein intake over time has shown to alleviate any issues or concerns about this myth. Human tissue does not become injured due to an increase workload instead, through adaptation, it learns to function with new requirements.

Also, new research is showing that higher protein diets are not causing calcium leaching/bone density reduction in people, as long as they are active and incorporating some resistance training into their lives – read that last part again, it’s important. Many doctors have for years told elderly patients or young girls to ease up on protein intake since it will cause a reduction in bone density. Still, old folks are snapping femurs like spaghetti and young girls set themselves up for osteoporosis early on. A new crop of open minded and smart doctors is discovering the opposite to be true.

The last thing to touch on is when to eat in the day, specifically the front and back ends of the clock. Breakfast is important, so start in on a meal within that first hour of waking. This is especially true for strength athletes. I have some personal opinions about getting an immediate breakfast in if you are looking to lose weight, in which case I like some intermittent fasting thrown in a couple times a week. But, for most cases and people, eat breakfast, protein, fat and some carbs.

The last meal of the day is another place to make tweaks dependent upon your training goals, lifestyle or health goals. For folks who wish to get leaned out and add some lean body mass through training efforts, a small protein only meal prior to bed may be a good idea. In this case, an animal based protein or slower digesting casein or egg protein a short while before bed can help the body get through the night where the most recovery takes place and will also help boost the metabolism a bit due to protein’s thermogenic effect during processing.

This is just a brush across the surface of the in’s and out’s of protein intake to help you along. There is a ton more tweaking and adjusting you can do to use protein to your advantage in your quest for fitness and health gains. Remember, protein is essential so all of your meals should have some form of it in them.

                        Women            Men

Essential              10-13%     2-5%

Athletes              14–20%      6-13%

Fitness                 21–24%     14–17%

Acceptable         25–31%     18–24%

Obese                 32%+          25%+

Thanks to our lousy eating habits in the western world, the median ranges on this chart have changed over the past couple decades. The range that has not changed is the Essential BF% for men and women. Any lower than that and we see a decline in health and performance. Women maintain higher BF% due to physiological factors related to procreation and rearing children. They are made to survive the worst of times in order to carry and nurture new life. BF% can be measured many ways and is a much more reliable tool than BMI calculations, which are highly inaccurate due to factors in the person being measured and then compared to an archaic “normal average” – the results are highly skewed.

My personal feelings are that more often than not, most men & women find themselves in the “fitness” to “acceptable” ranges, but that doesn’t always mean they are happy with that. Although I will concede that those bodyfat percentages are rising, again due to our lousy eating habits and the false information the FDA and USDA are trying to feed us – pun intended. Almost everyone wants to see better definition in their muscularity and wants to see that six pack come out. It’s there, it’s just got a layer of fat over it. That’s where a diet aimed at reducing insulin levels and reducing caloric intake, thereby allowing the body to burn BF as a fuel source, becomes the pivotal ingredient. Men will start to see an increase in definition and have improved health and performance around the 10% range. Women find this around the 16% range. Below this we see increased definition and vascularity while still maintaining good performance and, if trained correctly, a profound strength to weight ratio. For athletes and performance based individuals, that means being able to move large loads, longer distances, faster. In other words, an increased power output, which is all that matters in the realm of performance. 

Once we dip into the very low BF% “essential ranges” we have a higher likelihood of health & physical problems coming up due to metabolic derangement in the body caused by not enough BF. For women, this can be really hard on the body and can yield some long-term problems. Athletes should not stay here for long periods of time. Cycling in and out of low ranges like this is usually what happens and although hard on the body, is a sustainable practice. I personally employ this ideal in my training and I have been victim of the 5% BF performance reduction issues. I function optimally at 6-7% and in strength gain periods (winter programming), I will allow the range to get up to about 9%. Cycling back and forth is not a bad thing and can yield gains in various areas of training and health, just don’t let it get too out of control.  

Sure, the other side of this coin does have stuff to do with genetics. There are Ectomorphs (thin, hard gainers), Endomorphs (medium build), and Mesomorphs (heavy, easy weight gain). There’s not much we can do to change our hardwiring, but we can control it by diet and making particular modifications to an exercise program dependent upon our needs and desires. The Ecto’s are going to have a fairly high metabolism and correspondingly low BF%. For athletes of this type, they will have a higher ration of slow twitch muscle fibers and tend to be better at endurance based efforts.

Endomorphs tend to be the “lucky ones” with broad shoulders, small waists, fast moving but not hyperactive metabolisms, and they can cut and gain weight fairly easy. These types of folks maintain that “fit” appearance most of the time if they put in a little effort and their corresponding BF% tends to keep them in those ranges. These folks are pretty well rounded athletes with an ability to do well at both ends of the athletic spectrum – endurance & strength.

Mesomorphs are heavier built individuals with a slower metabolic rate. Bones may be heavier and denser and their ability to gain weight, muscle and fat, can be a bit easier. That can be good or bad. BF% tend to be higher on these individuals. These people tend to have very good strength and power outputs with a good mixture of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers.

Keep in mind you can move around from classification to classification, but for the most part you’re not going to take a marathon runner (Ecto) and make him a world class Olympic Weightlifter (Meso). Folks in either category can push up or down to some extent and see gains with changes to diet and training.

The athletic training you are doing has a lot to do with metabolism and BF%. They are intertwined.  Unbeknownst to most folks, we are programmed at a genetic level to thrive in short, high intensity workouts. We are not designed for repeated and continual long duration, oxidative work. It is very damaging to the human body to do this time after time. It also does nothing for the metabolism as there is no EPOC cycle post workout. EPOC stands for “Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption”.

EPOC is the body’s way of making up for the caloric and metabolic deficit it is in after a short high intensity workout (15-25 min training session at 75-80%+ Max. Heart Rate). EPOC kicks in with the feeling of a very ramped up metabolism after a hard, sprint or interval based workout. This cycle can last up to 8 hours. When a person is in EPOC and they have worked their diet out correctly, the EPOC cycle helps re-establish a normal state (homeostasis) in the body by pulling all the calories and energy it needs to re-establish metabolism from your pre-existing BF. So, you lose a ton of BF post-workout due to this short high intensity training. There is almost no EPOC cycle in long training cycles (60+ Min), so there is almost no post-workout BF burn off. In a long workout, BF is only burnt during the workout due to the low heart rates and metabolic requirements and it is a substantially shorter time frame than the long EPOC cycle.

Also not present in long training cycles is the hormonal response in the body that stimulates growth. Too long of training sessions blunt the neuroendocrine response and cause a build up of stress hormones that actually break down the muscle you are working to create. The desired hormonal response created by proper strength and conditioning programs creates a very anabolic environment in the body, so muscle and bone grow and strengthen very well. Remember, an increase in lean body mass means an increase in metabolism as muscle needs more energy than fat to sustain itself. The build up of negative hormones and metabolic factors causes inflammation at a structural and cellular level. The problems created by inflammation can be mitigated by supplementing the diet with fish oil.

Don’t get me wrong, we need to workout or participate in sports or athletic endeavors that will make us work for a long time, but not on a regular basis as is commonplace. Going long in the pool, track, bike or workout/cardio routine a couple times a month is plenty and is good to keep the adaptation process in the body continually moving forward. This also lets the body work at a lower heart and respiratory rate for a longer period of time and places new stresses on the body for it to adapt to and overcome to increase health and athleticism. 

So, let’s say you have consulted someone in the know, dialed in a personalized diet and workout program and got to where you want to be, composition or weight wise. Now what? If you have been tracking your diet and workouts, you will know exactly what is necessary to maintain or change those new ratios. Both of those factors are the keys to maintaining your new BF% and performance. Your diet can be changed somewhat to accommodate for particular training.

For example, on a programmed strength day (i.e., 5×5 Squats, 5×5 Press, and 3×5 Deadlifts at 82% 1 RM for sets across– a tough day of barbell work), I would up the protein intake a bit more in the post workout meal/shake and a tad throughout the day. Carbs would remain at about 45g post workout to help refuel and shuttle aminos back to the muscles and improve recovery. Protein would be a tad higher to help the muscle repair process. Fat would be minimal in this meal to help the replenishment process – this is the only meal you would eat that would be low/no fat.

If I were to do a high intensity conditioning workout (timed circuits, intervals, Olympic weightlifting or barbell work mixed with metabolic conditioning with no or minimal rest) that extended out to the 20-30 min range, I would recommend about 45g protein and about 90g carbs for a post workout meal or shake. The higher carb content helps replenish the fuel in the muscles and liver while the protein helps muscle regeneration. Again, low or no fat in this post workout meal. Both these post-workout meals help maintain and increase LBM and don’t support body fat. Just don’t ruin your efforts by screwing up the remaining meals in the day.

In the end, I would take any person and define their somatype (body type), their athletic/health goals, and then get them on an insulin controlling diet (Paleo, Primal or Zone), and put them on a good personalized strength and conditioning program involving barbell work for strength and high intensity, short duration training for metabolic impact and overall conditioning. Dependent upon the body type and goals, you may tweak one area of work above the other to gain the desired response.

Does this really work? Yes it does. It just takes commitment and desire. Some would say I am genetically lucky, but the truth is I am no different than any other person, I have just experimented to find the things that really work and produce results that keep me healthy and happy. I have faith you can do the same!

I have looked around the CrossFit community and found a lot of LEO’s involved in CF, but I tend to see and hear about more firemen and soldiers using CF and applying it daily. CrossFit Centurion is not a huge gym, but we have a decent client base and out of that group, the majority of men are firemen (and when I say “firemen” I also mean “firewomen” so don’t start hounding me over being sexist or something lame). We have some cops in here, but we’ve had a lot more show up, try it, say they love it, and then find a lame excuse to quit and go back to, A) either nothing at all, or B) doing something physical that may be good for certain aspects of fitness, but have no application to the tasks of the job. I would suspect that is true in other affiliates besides the ones I have seen and talked to.

What is more common is to see some hellaciously fit, hard charging firemen and soldiers involved in CrossFit. The firemen  seem to be very prevalent at CF facilities, do CF at their stationhouses, have affiliates based out of their stations, and do VERY well at athletic events and CrossFit based competitions. Same can be said for soldiers, here and abroad in the most ideal and the worst of conditions. The Spec Ops community is very supportive of CF and thankfully uses it more than the average bear or Taliban soldier.

I applaud the hell out of my LEO clients in here and at other affiliates because they really get it – they find a sick and twisted enjoyment in the workouts and they see the benefit out on the street when the time comes. Those LEO’s who aren’t into CrossFit, are afraid of it/don’t understand it , make excuses why they can’t stick with it or start, will never see a benefit and real world application, not if, but when the time comes and the shit has hit the proverbial fan. So, here’s the meat and potatoes, or in this case, the donuts and coffee of my theory.

As LEO’s, we get stuck with a lot of “routine” stuff. The “routine” car stop, burglary alarm, disturbance call, etc., and that is a bad place to be. But, it’s the nature of the job and we get complacent. A normal day for a cop is that of counselor, problem solver and mediator. It gets boring and uneventful. Every once in a while something fun jumps off – a pursuit, foot bail, hot call, the kind of “cop work” we all signed up to do. And then even more infrequently, and this is the really important part, we go to the routine call and something really bad happens.  Our defenses are down, we are lackadaisical in our approach to the situation, we just got done with eating something or downing a Big Gulp of soda, and all of a sudden it goes sideways without warning or provocation. Suddenly, it’s a fight. Not a scuffle, but a real “I am not going back to prison for a 3rd strike because I just killed my wife” kind of fight. You have a VERY motivated bad guy on you and he has already formulated what HE is going to do to YOU. It’s all reactive on the part of the cop and that’s not a good place to be.

I don’t know how many of you out there have ever had someone legitimately try to kill you, but I can speak from experience that it is slightly unnerving. To have someone say that to you, make the effort to complete the act, and then feel them trying to pull your gun out of your holster is less than enjoyable. Meanwhile you are now handicapped and trying to fight with one hand since the other is latched onto your gun and you’re probably on your back or trying to stay on your feet while someone puts every ounce of energy into ruining your day. You are in panic mode and now have another concern – get help!

Your radio traffic is rough at best. Screaming, maybe loud and unintelligible, or you may not know where you are. Those LEO’s out there know what I am talking about – you want to pull your hair out as you listen to the traffic and you are pounding your steering wheel in frustration because you can’t understand or know where your partner is at. If all goes well and by the grace of God things turn around, you will get out of this situation and the bad guy goes to jail.

In the end, the CAD event shows the encounter lasted about 3 minutes until the first units got on scene to assist you. You may be beat up, injured, in a systemic meltdown of adrenaline and hormones. Some cops pass out, others throw up, some have heart attacks or strokes. You make it out of one bad situation and land in another. Or how about the SWAT guy who starts gassing after a couple hours in heavy gear in lousy conditions? Or the K9 handler jumping fences and running all over Hell’s half acre after a dog in odor and can’t stay in the fight whent he bad guy is found? How about just a positive public image and command presence?

Ummm, okay that sucks you might say, so what’s the point? The point is how ready was that cop for that situation? Sure, our theoretical cop worked out and is a Master marksman at his last range qualification, but that doesn’t have any worth to it here. Why not? It was routine – everything about it. The call, the attitude, the preparation insofar as working out or shooting at static targets on the range with no outside stress. So it did nothing for that cop. That cop’s day to that point was “go to call, handle call, leave – go to call, handle call, leave – go to call, handle call, leave – go to call, scuffle with guy who is drunk and resisting, get him in cuffs, High 5 each other at the “fight” you were just in (puh-leeeze), and leave – go to next call. Routine is the enemy and variation is your friend.

CrossFit prepares people, mentally and physically, for really hard situations where physical and mental fortitude are the only way to finish/survive. That’s just the beginning. How about working under really crappy conditions at a maximum energy expenditure and effort? Throw on a weighted vest and do a workout for 20 minutes or grind through a massive set of 5×5 Back Squats at 330 Lbs then go do sprints. Holy Christ, that will make anyone want to quit and find the easy route. It almost makes me want to go back to 3 exercises at 3 sets of 10 reps of Bench and Curls. Then I could just jump on the treadmill for 45 minutes do a light jog, not stretch, down my protein shake, and wander out after 90 minutes all at a nice leisurely pace with my heart rate never above 60% MHR.  I did no real functional movements, there was no intensity, there was no work on the multitude of physical skills to make up a well rounded and healthy athlete, I didn’t take care of myself pre or post-workout, and I was in there way too long at too low an intensity to create a disruption in the body and make adaptations and cut loose a slew of stress hormones and catabolic reactions in the body.

Bicep curls, bench press and jogs a couple times a week do nothing for you when it comes down to it. They do make you strong, but in a very limited range of output and exposure. You will have endurance, but foot pursuits and fights aren’t long and easy going, they are short, all out, high intensity effort with lots of gear on and in uncomfortable conditions. That sounds familiar for a CrossFitter. How about doing 4 rounds of deadlifts, burpees and 400m runs. That now has some functionality – there is a strength component, a bodyweight movement that replicates metabolic demands of a fight or high stress situation, and that can simulate a foot pursuit after a fight. Now do it again a few more times and do it against a clock or against someone else to push you a bit.  There is nothing more functional that running and lifting something heavy…a few times. The benefits become a bit more apparent now.

The problem here being cops don’t see that. It’s hard, it’s not free or 50% off, and it goes against the grain of what they think will really work for them. Most cops I know really don’t want to work that hard. After all, it’s hard, sweaty and painful. They are lazy.

Until they are exposed to it and have CrossFit broken down to them bit by bit, it makes no sense and seems ridiculous. Those who do CrossFit and have been in those bad situations have told me afterwards that it was their physical training a capacity that got them through it. It helped them catch the bad guy, stay ahead of him in the fight, take him into custody and stay much calmer throughout the ordeal. I will personally attest to that. The cops in my gym, no matter where they work, realize it could go bad in a second and they are going to be more than prepared for it, so they work hard to ensure that they have the upper hand.

Well that’s neat, so what the hell do firemen and soldiers have to do with all this cop-bashing? Well, to be fair they too often have the same mindset of cops entrenched into their brains about working out and being prepared. But, once they are exposed to CrossFit they tend to stick around and see the worth in it much more than cops. Cops start to think if it doesn’t happen on a regular basis then it’s probably not going to happen, so “why the hell am I busting my butt like this?”

Firemen and soldiers I’ve spoke with don’t see it that way. The majority of them involved with CF were resistant at first, but once it was broken down to them they saw the light. They saw the relation between a hard, high intensity, multi modality workout and day to day work.

As a fireman you will be subject to getting up at all hours of the day, wearing a shit-ton of gear and hot clothing in really bad conditions for very long periods of time, all the while working your butt off in a high stress, dangerous environment. As a soldier you will load out in a full kit of gear, leave your FOB for a patrol or long term recon or other operation. The conditions will be harsh and the threat level high, with a constantly varying workload and intensity level. For these folks, these types of working conditions are “routine”. They are hard, but the workouts were harder and they do much better in those crappy conditions. That high heart rate and massively hard work done at the gym makes this stuff easy. The soldiers and firemen I’ve talked with attest to the efficacy of CrossFit as it benefits their job, their health and helps keep them alive. Go ahead and ask the ones at my gym.

To be fair, there are a whole bunch of fat and lazy firemen and soldiers out there, just like cops. They won’t do anything to better themselves or ensure their health and safety. I would love to walk up to those people, tell them they are a disgrace to the uniform, country and profession, but I can’t so I have to hope that they aren’t put in a position where someone else’s life is at stake – especially mine or my families. I wouldn’t feel comfortable having that person watch my back, but it’s a reality. It’s also a reality that CrossFit has only gleaned the surface of the military and public safety community. The majority of them are still doing things the old way, if they are doing anything at all.

Those that are involved in training for what life holds are making a much bigger impact on their lives, their partners lives and the lives of those they come in contact with. It’s those people we hear about and respect and can call “squared away”, “dialed in”, “operators”, “machines” or “heroes”.

For my Law Enforcement brethern and those in public safety and the military on the fence about changing what they’ve always done to prepare themselves for their jobs, I urge you to take a jump and do something hard that will make a difference. You will thank yourselves, as will those you help. Change the stereotype and be proud of what you’ve chosen to do for a profession. Be strong, work hard, and get out alive!

So here is Uber-trainer, Rob Miller, demoing some good and bad form faults. Once again, we must be doing something right since those that answered hit the nail(s) on the head. In each of the pix, Rob has dipped down to create the momentum from the subsequent upward drive to propel the bar up and overhead.

In pic #1, Rob is in a nice position. The elbows could be up a tad higher, however, I think this may be due to the lackof weight of the PVC. Getting the elbows up to a partial front rack without any substantial weight is tough. But, if the bar were weighted, I’d like to see the elbows placed up a bit more. This would allow the bar to sit on the front caps of the shoulder, thereby relieving tension in the wrist and allowing energy transmission from the legs to travel directly up the body and into the bar to create upward movement. If the bar is held out front in a strict press grip, some energy is lost as the arms acts as shock absorbers and don’t properly transmit the energy.

Otherwise, the dip is ideal. The torso is vertical and the ass is directly over the heels, thereby placing the weight solidly across the foot for maximum return of energy and stability. The dip is also short enough to generate quick power. The dip must be done quickly and violently to use the reflexive properties of the musculoskeletal system via the Stretch Shortening Cycle. Up, down fast!

Pic #2 is no bueno due to the forward inclination of the torso. This is common with people since many folks want to initiate the dip with a movement similar to how the squat is initiated. We never initiate a squat at the knees, instead we start at the hip and get them back and place the weight onto the heel. In a Push Press or Jerk, the dip is vertical and is intitiated by the knees. This keeps the torso upright and the movement snappier. If the torso is leaning forward, weight will be on the toes and the athlete will be off balance, the wrists will be loaded, and the bar will shoot out that direction and most likely cost you the lift with any weight of consequence on the bar.

In Pic #3, Rob is showing us what is commonly called a “muted hip”. This means the hip is in line with the femur. There is no energy return of any use from this position. The energy cannot travel up the body properly and gets lost. Additionally, at heavy loads this can be injurious by causing compression of the discs in the lumbar spine as the back is going into hyper-extension. This position is seen when athletes get tired and push their butt/hips forward instead of down (remember my term, “put your ass on your heels”). Midline sability is gone and things get loose, next thing you know you look like the victim of a bad prison shower incident. If the weight does get up, there is an issue of instability as the athlete tries to re-center themselves under the bar to support the load and properly lock it out. Wasted effort through lousy mechanics.

So, once again nice job on picking up on the subtleties of good/bad movement! Once you see it, you can often self-correct when you feel these things happening to you, or better yet, help someone else out when you see them do it.

Go forth and conquer!