I’ve had a few very positive conversations with some CFG athletes recently and I wanted to take the time to jot down some ideas to share with our community. One of our main focuses at CrossFit Generation is to encourage all athletes to be aware of their movement patterns. This means not just throwing weight on the bar and going through the motions of the movement, but instead really being educated on the movement itself so you know exactly what muscle groups need to be fired in order to correctly perform it safely and efficiently.  If doing exercises right and truly activating the correct muscle groups throughout, you should feel some lactic acid building up after just a few reps.  Sometimes you don’t need heavy weight to feel it either. If you spend time to truly achieve that muscle activation you will see less “aches, pains, pulls, tweaks” in the surrounding areas and more an increase in strength and stamina exactly how it is designed.

The problem can be the clock and desire to post “good” scores.  Watching the seconds on that clock tick away often causes a sense of urgency that pushes you out of the mindset of awareness and into a “get it done quick at all costs” mentality.  Form goes out the window in that moment of weakness and unfortunately nothing good comes of it. Everyone knows the coaches at CrossFit Generation would much rather see times that reflect good, clean form with solid movement patterns than faster times with less than ideal components.  We would much rather you spend the extra time to break the old habits with movements by cutting back weight, dialing down on the “Rx” version to rework correct form, and help break bad patterns.  These bad patterns create issues.  Issues create inconsistent training. Inconsistent training makes goals near impossible to achieve.  Remember, the prescribed weight/reps is just a starting point, a guide if you will, to make recommendations for you for the WOD. It does not mean everyone will be doing what is “Rx” – some may go up from there, some down. It doesn’t mean if you don’t do “Rx” you didn’t “really do” the workout. Either way, you will get a good workout for you. You will sweat, you will work hard and you will be better than when you came in.

This is particularly important for our newer athletes to understand. In your first few months of training, weight and your scores should not be goals. Form and technique should be the primary focus. The best advice we can give newcomers to our CrossFit classes (coming straight from on ramp) is ask questions. Don’t be shy about asking what the muscles are for the movements or why we are doing what we do. This will really help you understand the fundamentals behind it.  For example, a bodyweight pushup can feel totally different when doing it right than doing it wrong as can a 95lb back squat! You don’t need fancy movements or heavy weights to get a good workout.

Above all else, it’s our job to keep you healthy and make you better outside the gym. That is what we have promised to you as your coaches. And, this is one of the ways we do it. We thank you for allowing us the opportunity to help take your fitness to the next level and appreciate you working with us, asking questions and being an active part of the program. Cheers to training smart!