REST DAY: COACHING (revisited)

In the past several months, I have had the privilege of meeting and talking to a handful of awesome CrossFit athletes, members and affiliate (box) owners. The majority of these individuals trained out of an actual CrossFit gym, ran by certified CrossFit trainers and coaches. I have also met regular, everyday run-of-the-mill type's that train and religiously perform the Workout of the Day or their own regimen at home or at their local gym. What I found similar is that both groups of people have the same love and passion for the program itself. The mental toughness, discipline, and tenacity to give all they have each and every workout continues to inspire my own motivation and training.

There is, however, a huge difference between the two groups of people. The two groups are:

1) members of a CF box
2) 'Soloists' or those that do CrossFit (or variation thereof) on their own

Most athletes that do CrossFit on their own are severely deficient in several aspects of the program. The main deficiency lies in form and technique. For these athletes, just 'getting by' in performing the movement will suffice; performing a power clean and receiving the bar with low elbows is 'good enough'. The second disparity is the lack of fine motor skills that are very important to many of the movements required in CrossFit; especially in the neuro-muscular skills required i.e. coordination, agility and balance. These athletes are strong, powerful and fast, however are weak in simple fine motor skills and are below average in these characteristics. But I can't blame them...who wants to practice one-legged pistol squats and/or overhead walking lunges with dumbbells and kettlebells, right? One can't possible be 'elite' by doing some 'weak exercise/movement'. What they need to understand is that it is VITAL to overall general physical preparedness. But I can hear them..."We aren't generalists...we specialize...we just don't know what we specialize in..." Yet, when it comes time for them to perform these particular movements in a WOD, they get smashed and finish in the middle of the pack, at best. Why is that? It's easy to blame the programming and the person who designed the workouts. But if these soloists who design their own programming (mostly within their strengths) claim that what they are doing is better than general CF programming, why is it then that they don't dominate CF workouts and/or competitions? If what they claim is true, then it shouldn't matter what gets thrown their way regardless of who designed the workout (here we go again with the whole 'unkown & unknowable' theme).

In my humble and honest opinion, the number one reason for this is due to an important factor that cannot be dismissed: COACHING...and everyone needs it regardless if you are Super Duper CF Elite Athlete ranked #1 GrandMaster wrapped in body armor. It doesn't matter how long you've been training or whether or not you were the first member of a gym. You need coaching as much as you need to have an open mind. As a matter of fact, the more athletic and skilled you are, the more coaching you need!

Finding a coach means that one would have to seek someone that specializes in a particular skill and/or sport. Finding a good coach is even harder to find, not to mention the cost of hiring such a person. You would need a powerlifting coach, track & field coach, gymnastic coach etc in order to have the equivalent in an experienced and knowledgeable CrossFit trainer and coach. Finding a coach that is well versed in several aspects in fitness AND sport, not to mention sound nutritional advice is even harder to come by. Finding an elite CrossFit trainer and coach is, well — priceless.

Achieveing Elite Fitness is analogous to achieving a black belt in martial arts. It takes years to achieve elite, high ranking status in order to be fit and in shape across the 10 General Physical Characteristics of Fitness as well as broad time/modal domains. Having an experienced coach is required in order to attain such levels and goals.

In regular gyms across the country, there is hardly any coaching that goes on. The globo-gym member by default has to learn how to perform the movements by themselves without a watchful keen-eye observing. The importance behind having someone who has the visual and verbal perspicacity, a good reputable coach, is three-fold:

1) Safety - will the coach minimize risk of injury?
2) Efficacy - are the methods of coaching effective?
3) Efficiency - will the coaching allow me to do more work in less time?

All three elements are crucial to CrossFit. Without one, you are not reaching your true potential. Without an experienced and knowledgeable CrossFit trainer and coach, achieving elite fitness will be a long attainable process - if at all.

Don't get me wrong, there are soloists out there that are firebreathers and freaks of nature that are damn good at CrossFit. For the most part, there just isn't an affiliate nearby for them to take advantage of. But most of the soloists train on their own because they cannot afford or choose not to pay the rates that CrossFit gyms are charging. Or they feel as if they are bigger & better than what the local affiliate has to offer (which says a lot about the person, doesn't it?) and feel they don't need the coaching at a CF box. I'm sure there is one person who doesn't have the luxury of having a CrossFit affiliate in town and would pay any amount in order to train at one, while on the flipside, you have those individuals that have an affiliate right around the corner and choose to train on their own for whatever reason. Some people have made sacrifices in their lives in order to afford to train at their local box in order to live a longer, stronger and healthier lifestyle. Hell, one weekend out with friends alone can be as much as one month of training at a CrossFit gym. Eliminating and minimizing certain bills can be enough to afford changing your life. To each his/her own, but don't use the excuse of 'CrossFit costs or charges too much' when you just spent $150 dollars the past two weekends boozing and partying.

Without elite coaching, there is no elite fitness...and without a humble, respectable open mind you will never grow as a person.