This is an article written by Nathan Helming – find it HERE and find my thoughts below.
Coaches Thoughts;
This article was forwarded to me by one of our triathlon athletes (Leanne). I love that CrossFit is beginning to be seen by multiple other sports authorities as a potential training stimulus that is not only enjoyable and challenging, but aids in the development of their athletics and performance with in their chosen sport. In this case Nathan Helming, a triathlete writing for active.com. I agree with much of what Nathan is promoting and discusses as important points to consider when adding CrossFit into a triathlon training program.
Nathan begins by mentioning that most people who learn of CrossFit instinctively concern themselves with the safety and efficacy of the program, which is a valid concern that many have. The most important component to competing CrossFit safely is having intelligent and skilled coaches leading it – this is why at Synergy we have developed the “trainer development program” to keep our trainers active in learning and progressing their knowledge and skills to ensure the best experience for those attending our facility.
Now let us go into more detail regarding the 5 points that Nathan makes regarding CrossFit training and how we at Synergy Strength not only meet but exceed all of them.
Point #1 – CrossFit teaches proper body mechanics
Synergy Strength – we push mechanics over intensity everyday at our gym and we enforce that our clients load their technique not their bodies to ensure long-term success within our program. Creating a foundation of movement skill is most important to long-term progress as it allows for proper loading patterns to exist. Most people joining Synergy have worked out before, but have never actually “trained” before and there is a distinction here, as training requires a deeper knowledge of movement and a greater capacity to move properly (think full squats, tempo pull-ups, Turkish get-ups, snatches, etc.). We can consider ourselves subscribers to a physical culture much more steeped in becoming “master movers”.
Point #2 – CrossFit identifies athletic weakness and imbalances, and provides tools to address them.
Synergy Strength – I would agree only to the point that CrossFit teaches functional movement patterns and scales them appropriately for all populations, but in general very few facilities truly take structural balance and weaknesses into consideration in training programs. At Synergy Strength you will routinely see movements such as; DB ext rotations, 1 ¼ squats, stop squats, split squats, etc. programmed to ensure and focus on weaknesses seen within our membership. Few gyms focus on the positions and weaknesses that most people off the street have (think weak VMO’s, and glute medius, and rotator cuff muscles), but at Synergy we program these movements in to “phases” (macro cycles) that address them.
Point #3 – CrossFit builds greater strength, power, agility, and speed.
Synergy Strength – We are well known for our focus on strength training and using programming that progresses members through proper phases of strength training (functional hypertrophy, relative strength, etc.). CrossFit for sure introduces members to basic slow lifts and Olympic lifting, but at Synergy we take it to a new level of strength by taking time nearly every day to focus on 1-2 dedicated strength movements. This in the long run will aid our energy system training and our efficiency within classic CrossFit workouts. I routinely brag about the strength of our women (over hoards of girls in our club with strict pull-ups, +100# snatches, +300# deadlifts and +200# squats). We are strong and we are proud of it.
Point #4 – CrossFit develops and builds true functional strength
Synergy Strength – Agreed. A build on point #3. We continue to educate the importance of being strong and we teach people how to move properly to develop the flexibility and movement patterns that will last a lifetime.
Point #5 – CrossFit builds skills that transfer to our specific sports
Synergy Strength – Developing strength in all ROM and differing movement patterns is key to developing a true athlete. We at Synergy argue against the myth of sport specific training (to a degree) – too many coaches get caught up in attempting to mimic actual movements of given sports in training programs. There is a time and a place for this style of training, but for most athletes the extra effort and time put into these training modalities (cable exercise on BOSU’s and balance boards as an example) would be better served getting truly strong and fit by doing basic movement patterns (squats, oly lifts, etc). This is something that Synergy does well, we pack a lot of effort and volume into a one-hour session – the time spent at Synergy is guaranteed to be focused on quality rather than quantity. We prefer to build beasts, beasts that are stronger than the competition and never tire, this is a true athlete and these skills will transfer to the road, water, or bike.
Long story short – I love CrossFit, but even more I love Synergy and our focus on our members and their development as athletes (yes you are all athletes, I am not just talking about the competitive team). The training we do and the results we provide are truly important for any athlete of any sport. We believe we have a lot to offer the marathon, triathlon, and endurance world and we hope to see more and more athletes involved in these sports begin to join our program.
