I had the privilege of attending the first CrossFit Level 2 course held in Michigan this past weekend. It was an incredible experience, and so I wanted to share a little about it with you.
Whereas the Level 1 course focuses on learning the fundamental movements and the methodology of CrossFit, the Level 2 course is all about developing coaching and programming skills. There were a few short lectures, but the majority of the weekend was spent in small groups, seeing, correcting and teaching the movements, with a seminar staff member watching and giving you feedback on your performance. While at times nerve-wracking, it was great not only for self-reflection, but to observe and learn from a wide variety of coaching styles.
My biggest takeaway from the weekend was to be more relentless. As a coach, it is my job to always ask my athletes for more. No one moves perfectly, and there are always small tweaks and fixes that can be made. So if I do not feel that you are squatting low enough, I will ask you again and again to reach depth, even if you curse at me under your breath. When I critique your movement, do not take it personally. Know that I just want you to be better.
Another point we discussed was that while we must always push for better, excellence is not always realistic. We play with some very high skill, technical movements in CrossFit. Even something as simple as the air squat has many points of performance, and demands good mobility to be executed correctly. So while it is important to be relentless in the pursuit of better movement, it is also necessary to recognise that not all the pieces will fall into place in that one-hour session. To expect or demand that they do will just leave everyone frustrated. Priority number one is safety, so until the movement become natural, it is okay to let small details slide, if it means first focusing on maintaining a neutral spine or staying in the heels. It’s triage- identifying and treating the most pressing issues first. There is no amount of cueing and coaching that can make someone squat low enough if their hips are too tight, but if I can get them just a millimetre lower each day, then that is a win.
Finally, seeing the quality of movement from some of the best in the CrossFit world blew my mind. The CrossFit Games are exciting, but they are nowhere near as impressive as watching the way Lindsey Smith and Gregg Martino do medball cleans and snatch an empty bar. The speed and power with which they extended their hips was eye opening. The way the performed these simple movements looked superhuman. This really drove home for me that it is not about the super heavy weights and extreme challenges of fitness, it is about being a virtuoso of fundamental, human movements that are accessible to us all. These people excel because they do the common, uncommonly well. Helping you achieve that is my ultimate goal.
