Monday, November 23, 2009

Workout of the Day:
Deadlift
3-2-1-1-1
(Your lift shall be considered a failure if you fail to maintain proper posture throughout the movement. We are looking for you maximum effort with technical perfection.)
and then,
Three rounds for time of:
10 Handstand Push-Ups
15 Deadlifts (use 60-65% of 1-RM)
20 Pull-Ups

The Black Box Summit – Leaders in the CrossFit Community
Written by C.J. Martin

I just wrapped up the final day of the first ever Black Box Summit. My head is spinning. There was so much great content presented that it’s hard to get my mind around it all.

The Black Box Summit was a three-day event offering presentations by a collection of folks who have served as mentors for me and many others. The presenters, pictured above, all have at least five years of experience in the CrossFit community (some have many more). They have demonstrated their excellence both through financial success in running affiliates and through the development of their athletes. They are phenomenal coaches and generous teachers willing to share their experiences in finding success.

Jeremy Thiel and Carey Kepler, founders of CrossFit Central, hosted the event. I have never met a duo that is as motivated and focused on achieving goals as these two. They are single-minded in their pursuit of excellence, and their business shows it. Central has more than 500 clients in their various programs. They have frequent community events and have fostered a family-like environment that every affiliate (in my humble opinion) should strive for. They have also cranked out some darn impressive athletes. In addition to Jeremy (who finished third at the 2008 Games, and in the top 16 in 2009) and Carey (who finished third at the 2009 Games), Central also sent Crystal McReynolds and Lance Cantu as individual competitors, and an affiliate team that placed second in the affiliate cup competition.

Michael Rutherford (Coach Rut) has been a driving force for increasing the importance placed on strength development in the CrossFit community. His Max Effort Black Box (MEBB) has changed the way that many successful affiliates program. The MEBB template includes a strength/skill movement followed by a relatively short, higher intensity conditioning workout. Sound familiar? It should. MEBB, along with Wendler’s 5-3-1, Jeff Martin’s Strength Bias program, and some Westside Barbell principles, are the sources that I have relied on to develop our strength programming methodology.

James Fitzgerald (better known as OPT) might be the human incarnation of Yoda. I haven’t had the pleasure of spending much time with James, but the guy is brilliant. In a room full of amazing strength and conditioning coaches, he was a shining star. He has spent 16 years in the fitness industry perfecting his craft, and in that time he has probably read more than everyone else in the room combined. He is completely focused on helping individuals achieve their maximum potential. He reminded all of us that there is no one correct approach, but rather that every individual will have different needs. As rational as that sounds, it is a somewhat novel concept in a community that is used to throwing a WOD on the board and starting a stopwatch. You are going to hear a lot more about this guy as he blew everyone away this weekend. I am booking a flight to Calgary to learn more from him. It should also be noted that OPT’s crew at CrossFit Calgary took fourth in the Affiliate Cup in the 2009 Games.

Greg Everett and Aimee Anaya of Catalyst Athletics should be familiar to many of you as they provide a ton of helpful content and instructional videos that we link to frequently. They are pupils of Coach Burgener, and have developed several elite Olympic weightlifters at Catalyst Athletics. They authored the authoritative text on Olympic weightlifting, and continually provide high level content through the Performance Menu. On top of all of that, they coach some pretty badass CrossFitters, like Jolie Gentry, Jocelyn Forest and Tamara Holmes.

Robb Wolf and Nicki Violetti are my heroes. Everybody knows that Robb is the nutrition guru for all of us in the CrossFit community. Less well known is that Nicki is the business guru. Robb and Nicki have done more to help me figure out how to run a business than anyone. When I have felt lost, they have been there to give me heaping, generous amounts of their time and resources to get me back on the right track. How do they know what’s best? They have tried it all. Robb helped start the first CrossFit affiliate, and CrossFit NorCal is the fourth affiliate. They have been in business six years and had some downs before settling into some amazing peaks. They figured it all out because they’re really freaking bright, and because they had the confidence to make a few mistakes to figure out what worked best. In addition to their business acumen, they are producing unbelievable athletes out of Chico, California. Their affiliate team finished third in the 2009 Games (despite two male competitors fighting through significant injuries).

Dutch Lowy has been one of my greatest friends and influences in the CrossFit community. Dutch’s evolution as an athlete and a coach has driven mine. He has shared with me lessons he has learned that have completely changed my views on coaching. He has been the inspiration for incorporating more strength/skill work and shorter, higher intensity workouts in our program. The results speak for themselves. Every time we test our athletes they are setting new marks that seemed unrealistic in the past. In addition to what Dutch has done for my professional development, he has been equally important as a friend that has urged me to slow down for long enough to appreciate my successes and to gain a better perspective on how best to improve and proceed. For that I will be forever grateful.

To all of the individuals mentioned above, THANK YOU! You all are an inspiration, and your love of the CrossFit community is apparent in your generosity in sharing your knowledge.

For those of you that couldn’t make it to the Black Box Summit, soak in some of the videos posted on www.sicfit.com.