Informative Q & A

 

While working at the Attitude Nation Gym in Charlotte, NC I was asked to answer a few interview questions concerning CrossFit and my thoughts on a variety of topics.  Really interesting stuff... but of course I am biased.  Take a read and see what you think...

How and why did you get into CrossFit? 

My brother in law Frank, an Army Ranger and absolute workout LEGEND, started telling me about CrossFit in 2007.  He was doing SealFit workouts, and when I saw them and thought, “Dude that shit looks IMPOSSIBLE!” I instantly become intrigued.  I started researching CrossFit and after a few YouTube videos and a trip to the nearest box (which at the time was 30 minutes away) I was totally hooked. 

I fell in love with it because CrossFit filled a void in my life.  Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  I was depressed and unhappy with the way my life was going and my confidence was dwindling with each passing day.  CrossFit reminded me that nothing or no one had control over me or my happiness… that happiness was a choice and all I had to do was make that choice every day.  Just like the workouts, it was up to me to move the weight, do another pull up, and run one more sprint.  No one was going to do that for me and I loved knowing I had that control over my mind and my body. 

What do you think CrossFit has done for the sport of Weightlifting, if anything at all?

The knee jerk response here is that CrossFit has done wonders for weightlifting.  While I do believe that to be true, it has not come without some growing pains.  In the beginning, there was a lot of really bad weightlifting performed in CrossFit boxes all over the world.  Videos were surfacing of people doing the most God awful snatches and clean and jerks… all in the name of a faster “Grace” or “Isabel’ time.  Trainers didn’t know how to teach the movements but still had no problem programming them in workouts.  I think this hurt weightlifting and turned both CrossFitters away from weightlifting and weightlifters away from CrossFit in the early years.

But things have changed for the better in recent years.  With guys like Jon North going to CrossFit gyms literally every single weekend to teach his style of weightlifting and educate the masses, with the popularity of guys like Donny Shankle and Kendrick Farris, with social media now being flooded with videos from the Attitude Nation, Catalyst Athletics, Cal Strength, and MDUSA, there is so much more accessible and quality information out there.  CrossFitters have taken advantage of all of this and have made leaps and bounds across the board in weightlifting.  Now, you have countless CrossFitters hanging up their board shorts and Nanos for a singlet and some Romaleos.  CrossFit, as a result, has helped bring the great sport of weightlifting into the spotlight and will hopefully help grow the support. 

There are those in the Strength and Conditioning field that do not agree with Crossfit, for a multitude of reasons.  They believe that the body's CNS was not designed for high repetition Olympic Lifts paired with other heavy compound movements as well as CrossFit's lack of assessments on its members which leads to a high number of injuries, What are your thoughts on this?

I think when asking these types of questions, you have to specify who the athlete is.  Am I training Rich Froning or Jason Khalipa?  Or am I training Bob the local CPA who is trying to lose a few pounds before his 15 year high school reunion?  With the former, I do not believe there is anything these guys can’t do or shouldn’t do.  They are athletes who are competing in what is now a sport (like it or not) to win lots of money.  In order to win they will have to be able to do everything from triathlons to max effort clean and jerk attempts (all during the same weekend mind you) and countless other tests in between.  These guys train hard to be able to withstand the rigors of high rep movements and as we have seen, they have done so very, very well.

However in the case of the latter, there is no need for him to perform 30 snatches as fast as he can.  I can obtain high levels of fitness and help our friend Bob achieve his goals with a much smaller risk of injury utilizing other movements.  Would I still teach this individual how to snatch?  Absolutely.  And I would progress him in resistance (weight) as his ability improved. 

It is like training a kid for JV high school football compared to an NFL athlete.  Both are playing football.  But I do not need my JV kid duplicating some of the drills and techniques used during training for the NFL. 

I would also like to add that people need to chill out.  It’s funny, I would have people make this whole argument about high reps being dangerous and then tell me how they love to go skiing and surfing and play rugby in a men’s league and pickup basketball… I am sorry, but is there not a risk of injury doing those things? “Yea but I enjoy them…” Well guess what: some people enjoy lifting as much weight as they can as fast as they can.  To each their own.  

As far as the assessment process, I believe CrossFit gyms assess their members every single day, starting from day one at Foundations / On Ramp.  During this time trainers are able to observe athletes move through every range of motion in a controlled environment.  They can see missing range of motion in a squat, they can see poor thoracic mobility in a press, and they can see things like glute activation and proper bracing mechanisms.  In CrossFit we use the athletes movement to tell us what will need to be focused on and we can then share that with the athlete, bringing awareness to him /her and allowing him to work on these things each day in the gym. 

When speaking about CrossFit people say, "If you train for everything, you become great at nothing."  What are your feelings about this?  Do you find this statement to be true?

When you train for everything, you become great at doing everything.  In other words, training for CrossFit will make you better at CrossFit. 

If you want to be a better football player… play football.

If you want to be a better tennis player… play tennis.

With that being said, there are so many aspects of CrossFit that have tremendous carry over to other sports and can assist in you becoming great at that specific sport. 

CrossFit will not, by itself, make you great at anything specific.  But as a part of a program it can ABSOLUTELY help.

For instance, the mental aspect of getting through a CrossFit workout can help train an athlete to be mentally tough in the fourth quarter of a game or the third period in a match.  When you continually train your body to push through your limitations and train outside your comfort zones – something CrossFit workouts regularly ask you to do – you will see benefits on any kind of playing field. 

Also, the emphasis CrossFit puts on weightlifting and strength development.  Long gone are the days where CrossFit only means running around for 45 plus minutes every day.  Heavy squats and cleans are a part of most programming.  This type of training can and will certainly help any athlete become great at their sport. 

You recently left New Jersey to become the Head ANP Coach at the Attitude Nation.  What are your experiences like at the gym?  What have you learned from Jon and Donny, as well as Jessica and Travis mash?  How have they developed you as a coach?

There are NO WORDS to describe the experience I have been blessed with working alongside people like Jon, Jess, Donny and Travis.  Their knowledge, their experience, their insight… it’s just remarkable.  I do not think there is a seminar or certification in the world that could have taught me more in such a short time.  Whether it was about technique or life lessons, everyone here has shared with me so much knowledge. 

I always strive to become a better coach, to always try and learn and grow to be able to better serve my athletes.  Being around everyone here has taken that learning and growth to an entirely new level.  Every day I am improving leaps and bounds because of the people I am surrounded by and I am just so grateful and fortunate for the opportunity. 

What do you think is the best thing about CrossFit?  The worst thing?

I believe CrossFit has gotten so many things right.  What they have done to help change the face of fitness is nothing short of miraculous.  The best thing CrossFit has done in my opinion is take people away from isolation movements and machines and shown them the value and efficacy of compound, functional movements such as squats and deadlifts.  It opened the mass public’s eyes to sports like weightlifting, powerlifting and gymnastics and allowed them to become involved in these sports. 

It’s hard to say a business as successful as CrossFit has done much wrong, but I do have some issues with what it has evolved into.  My biggest concern is the lack of quality control in the various affiliates opening up all over.  I believe that CrossFit is safe and applicable to anyone but only if you have the proper coaching and instruction.  That doesn’t just mean teaching air squats, but knowing how to program and how to control a large class.  It means knowing how to keep people safe while helping them continually improve.  This is no easy task and too often it is put in the hands of ill-equipped and unprepared “coaches”.

Why do you think that CrossFit has such a bad reputation among college professors as well at physical therapists? 

With all due respect, I do not automatically defer to the opinions of professors or therapists.  I have spoken to plenty of professors and therapists that were (for lack of a better phrase) fools and disagreed with their opinions vehemently.  I guess we can just add these people to the list.

CrossFit does not warrant a “bad reputation” because of its methodology and its application. 

Where CrossFit does unfortunately find itself in some hot water, is when an unqualified instructor attempts to teach / coach movements and workouts he / she is not prepared to lead.  This leads to poor instruction and ultimately will cause injuries, in the worst case scenario.  But this does not give the right for someone to make a blanket statement that CrossFit is bad. 

After all, CrossFit is weightlifting.  Powerlifting.  Endurance.   Gymnastics.  Are all of these things “bad”? 

And if a few videos of someone with bad snatch technique means an entire movement is “bad”, then where is the same outcry about the COUNTLESS videos of people destroying themselves in globo gyms all over the world on a DAILY basis?

What do you think is the most important thing Donny Shankle has taught you?  

Wow.  How do I limit this to just one thing?  Donny has shared so much with me during my time here and literally every bit of it has been pure GOLD.  Even his secret to making the best pot of gumbo ever…

The biggest thing I have learned from Donny is what true dedication looks like.  So many people and athletes claim to be 100% dedicated to their goals.  Well people, dedication has a completely new meaning once you meet Donny Shankle. 

Donny has one thing and ONE THING only on his mind:  Rio 2016.  His focus is like nothing I have ever seen.  He sees nothing as a sacrifice yet only what must be done to put him in the best possible situation to make it to Rio and represent our country at the Olympics.  Weightlifting is not a part of his life… it is his life.  His entire life. 

I cannot even begin to explain the amount of respect I have for someone who can be so dedicated to a goal.  Especially one that requires him to DAY IN and DAY OUT get back on the platform and fight that bar.  Throw the weight overhead.  Squat it on your back.  Pull it.  Push it.  Heavier.  Always heavier.  Every… single… day. 

I thought I knew what dedication meant… until I met Donny. 

Now I know for sure.