GOING UP OR COMING DOWN?

Dan the man doing a power clean. How can you tell he is on the way down?

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Go to any CrossFit Level I Trainer Certification and there is a lecture called “Technique.” In this lecture, the argument is presented as to why CrossFit workouts are performed with some fault in your technique being acceptable. I have actually heard presenters say 20% poor/bad/flawed technique is okay in a workout. Now I understand that the potent medicine that is CrossFit comes from working out with high intensity, which we determine as the time it takes to complete the work. The other factor that ratchets up people’s time in a workout is competition. This is all well and good, but please don't think this is an excuse to throw out technique. I especially hate that some folks make no effort at their technique right from the get go. Maybe you are physically able to handle the sloppy technique without getting hurt. I will argue that you can be faster by putting more effort into your technique.

Using proper technique in any physical endeavor makes you move more efficiently. Moving more efficiently is faster and uses less energy, which when evaluating the totality of the work to be performed, will mean a faster workout time. I recently tweaked my right bicep twice in a six week period. Tweaked to the point where I was actually not even able to pick up my backpack with my right arm. Both times I tweaked my bicep by early arm pulling during either the clean or the snatch. Early arm pull is one of the most common technique deficiencies in an Olympic lift, especially when the load is light and the reps are high.

So what ended up happening to me? After I healed up enough to get back at training, I had to really slow myself down when snatch or clean was included in my workout. At first, it lengthened my overall workout time, but as I conditioned my mind to concentrate on avoiding early arm pull, my workouts got faster than prior to the injuries. For example, I did a workout on 11/9 that had power cleans in it. I really concentrated on proper set up and not pulling early with the arms. I did the same workout last week. My set-up time on each lift was faster, and I had the technique dialed in to avoid early arm pull. I almost didn’t have to think about it. I performed way better in the same workout with the same movement within a month I’ve been hitting lots of clean and snatch workouts lately. No issues with the bicep whatsoever. Definitely a case of an injury becoming a blessing in disguise.

You need intensity, but you need to put work in and make an effort to get better at technique. Make it happen!

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WOD   12/8/2009

Do a 100m run every 30 seconds for 8 minutes. Rest 4 minutes. Do a 100m run every 30 seconds for 4 minutes. Rest 2 minutes. Do a 100m run every 30 seconds for 2 minutes.

Every missed run (not completed in 30 seconds) is a 5 burpee penalty.

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Comments

[Doug]

I attended an event this evening at Diablo Crossfit that I wanted to share briefly. There was a free talk given by Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint and he gave a very interesting talk about his thought on nutrition, exercize, etc. Alot of similarities to paleo but he does have his own ideas too that I found worthwhile. This guy is 56 years old and looks great and he's walking his talk. I guess he just gave a talk at Catalyst and Diablo had him come up and give a talk. There was probably 80-100 people there. I spoke with him afterwards and wanted to see if he would be willing to come to One World sometime. He's supposed to get back to me on this (he lives in Malibu). I think alot of One Worlders would find it beneficial if he was able to give a talk at our box. He's got a well known site called MarksDailyApple.com also too, and more info on his book can be found at primalblueprint.com

[Chris Stroud]

Doug,

I went to Catalyst for his lecture on Sunday. Your right it is pretty much the ancestral diet he advocates; same as Cordain, Wolf, and DeVany.

[j-ro]

Hey guys! Yeah. I also went to his talk at Catalyst and I read his blog. He posts a lot of interesting articles that address nutrition and health - not just physical health, but mental health too. What I like most about Mark's Daily Apple is that he posts good recipes and the parameters of primal eating are pretty do-able. For example, he allows some room for dark chocolate and red wine. If any of you are interested, I highly recommend you check out the blog: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

[Chris]

His feet are in the landing position??

[Robert Gonzales]

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting here. I started my crossfit journey only 3 months ago. I use WODs from the main site and this one. Just wanted to confirm today's WOD. Is that 100m, 100m, 400m sprints or was it intended to be 100m, 200m, 400m? Thanks!

[freddy c.]

Robert, A typo by me. Sorry. All the runs are suppose to be 100m.....

[Beth]

Knees bent and turned out, feet turned out and apart, wrists bent down with his shoulders turned inward (it looks more like he's trying to control the bar with his forearms, rather than pull it up with hips and shoulders).
I think. (I hope.) :)

I have to admit, it's much harder to focus on technique with something twinging (muscle, joint, whatever). And it's disappointing to lower weights instead of work on PR's... but it's been better in the long run.

[Scott Schactler]

Hey Freddy and One World,
Im not sure if any of you heard this in the news http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78768412.html
For today and tomorrow(dec 8-9) papa johns pizza is donating ALL proceeds to the families of the four slain officers. This is the best reason in the world to break off your paleo and get some pizza with your friends.
take care,
Scott Schactler
NW Crossfit

[Torey]

His hips are in flexion and arms have broken, so I would assume that he is attempting to pull himself under the bar at this point.