Training encompasses ALL aspects of fitness. It is becoming more popular to have a lot of different varieties of fitness pulled into many functional events. Let’s take a look at CrossFit. CrossFit by definition is :”Constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement.”
-CONSTANTLY VARIED – Always changing the workouts, never letting your body adapt. Your body never gets used to anything so you never reach those plateaus.
-HIGH INTENSITY- Intensity is the act of creating power (power = force multiplied by distance divided by time).To make it simple, power/intensity is how much weight you can move over the longest distance in the shortest amount of time.
-FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENTS – Are movements humans were built for. Movements that are natural and safe. Movements we use in everyday life such as squating, deadlifting, pulling yourself up, reaching for something off a shelf, or carrying an awkward weighted load (children).These are movements that promote neurological and hormonal responses, leading to better health, actual strength, actual core stability, agility, and flexibility.
There is a trend that is starting to happen more often now with fitness that you start to develop a “specialty.” You can hire a gymnastics coach, a nutritionist, an Oly coach and even a personal trainer to work into isolation movements. There is now a new domain to get into: Strongman. If you are unsure of why this is starting to flood the CrossFit scene, take a loot at this past year at the Games where 5/13 events had a strongman movement.
As a whole, athletes need to stop dividing the field of categories and start training for athletic performance. Long gone are the days of being defined into one category, now we see the need to have elements of ALL training in order to have optimal success and longevity in the sport.
Now that we know why we should add this in, it’s time to talk about what movements to focus on:
-How often will it show up in a WOD ? Prevalence is important to programming, being that CrossFit is constantly varied, the likely hood of a strongman movement coming up is not often but should be trained. Good movement patterns to learn are Sled pushes/pulls, Atlas Stone/medicine ball shoulders, front/shoulder carries (sandbag, logs, barrels, etc) & Farmers/Yoke Walk.
-Next is the technicality of the movement. Lifting heavy weight is the name of the game, but just like Oly lifting, technique is critical for safety and efficiency. In order to move up in weight, being proficient at the movements are key when learning new skills like the Atlas stone, Log press, Yoke carry and Sled pushes/drags.
-Athletic turnover, this is the real reason to diversify your training. You want to be as well-rounded of an athlete as you can be. The Strongman movements that provide the most athletic benefit with the least amount of risk are Farmers Walk, Sled drags/pushes and front carries.
If you’re serious about being competitive in CrossFit, you need to become proficient in the Strongman movements. Make sure to give extra practice the Strongman movements that are the most difficult to learn and find a coach that can teach you proper techniques when learning new skills.