Coach's Podcast with Barbell Shrugged

[Scott Pelton-Stroud]

Good post, Jason.

[Coach Sommer]

This is not as cut and dried as it may appear on the surface as both Jason and Adriano make good points:

 

- Jason is correct; some people with great attitudes are not progressing due to a lack of proper information.

 

- Adriano is also correct; some people are not progressing due to a lack of patience and insufficient attention to detail.

 

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Tristan Curtis]

I don't think it's just crossfit, it applies to everything. It is this instant gratification thing that is so rampant these days. The general population is being fed this so often that it is 'normal' to expect results whether any genuine effort has been put in. 

 

One thing is really true: very few people really want to put the time and efforts requires to pursue this journey. GST never will be mainstream because people just want the easy road. 

 

Totally agree. Many will not choose to have the persistence required for this, CF or no CF.

[Scott Pelton-Stroud]

Also, are there any more videos & podcasts like this (other than the one w/ Robb Wolf)? Or perhaps are there more in the works?

[Justin Goodhart]

The topic of connective tissue strength REALLY hit home for me. Considering the metabolic rate of the different tissues of the body and how that should inform training progressions was something I had very little specific knowledge about. 

For example, it taking up to 10x longer for connective tissue to adapt than muscle....most people rarely or never consider this. 

Almost all of the talk in mainstream circles has to do with getting your muscles strong...but perhaps it should be more about how we should strengthen connective tissue (bone, tendons, ligaments, fascia, etc.)

Overall, great podcast, thanks Coach. 

[Karl-Erik Karlsen]

I think Crossfit has to go back to it's roots in order to embrace more of the proper GST.
It has changed a lot since ´01 - ´04 and the ideas that dominated back then. Especially with the advent of the Crossfit Games and move away from pure strength and skill etc to mostly "for time" sessions. It has lost so much of the original idea, IMO, which was great - combine different ways of training into a holistic training/lifestyle. Now it's just spasming through as heavy weights as possible, with form and skill all the way in the back seat. Or trunk of the car. But maybe it will revert and go more old-school at a later point and then proper technique will come back into focus again.

[Dorian Brown]

I think the information just has to be more accessible. The gymnastics community is like the jedi order. You are picked young and learn seemingly super human skills but if you are to old you will not find anyone to train you. Coach is the only one out making GST accessible to the masses. I'm not a crossfitter but I follow some crossfit coaches like Kelly Starrett and what I noticed is that the best CF boxes have the best coaches. The won't have a good standard for GST if all the gymnastic coaches are stuck training youth for competition. 

 

Anyway I just wanted to say that the podcast was awesome and made pull the trigger on the foundation and h1 program. As this community grows so will the awareness of GST in the general fitness community. So I believe it is up to us to spread GST, not by dogmatically trying to sway opinions but by being an example of what hard work and determination can produce. 

[Cody Sunkel]

Bombadil-

 

What you are asking means a cultural sea-change needs to take place at your Crossfit gym.

 

It is possible, but requires a concerted decision by the owners and coaches, as well as a revision of the gym's mission statement. It must be a top-down decision.

 

First off, what an awesome podcast. I've legitimately listened to it 15 times and recommended it to all my students. It has really helped put my work in perspective.

 

Jason - great comment. A couple years ago I would have totally agreed, but I've had a different experience at my gym (Diablo CrossFit), which is also one of the first 50 CF affiliates and has a couple handfuls of CrossFit Games athletes. It is very competition centric, but GST has been infiltrating from the bottom up, and is almost trendy right now.

 

I started training there a couple years ago doing primarily GST and oly. After a few months I could barely finish my workouts because I had so many people coming up and asking about my program, tips, etc. I finally approached the owners about starting a GST class. There seemed to be demand. We put on three 1-month long clinic series twice a week and people loved it. I started training the games level athletes and they made awesome progress coming up to the last CF Games.

 

After the 2013 Games I left to travel for 7 months, came back and everyone was stoked my class was starting back up. We ended up filling six 8-person, month long clinic series, and each subsequent clinic series has sold out and I've seen about a 75% return rate (and this is an up-sell class on top of the $190-230 they pay for membership). I'm still working with the games athletes (we qualified 3 teams (first time ever done) and 3 individuals to regionals, and 2 masters to the Games) on strict GST along with the kipping work that will clearly show up in competition. I'm excited for the season, but cant wait for it to be over so we can really nail the true GST work.

 

My class and GST has seriously become trendy in the gym and the landscape seems to be shifting. I walk around the gym now and see people doing scap pulls and chest to wall handstands, ring rows and wrist push-ups. It's freaking awesome. I'm really hoping its not just a trend, but the progress has been speaking for itself. When 50+ year olds walk into the main room and bust out a freestanding handstand or strict muscle ups (and there are plenty of them now) people take note. I think this is how GST will catch on... results.

 

The biggest roadblock, in my eyes, is education. There truly aren't that many people who understand GST and can relate it to the adult population. Coach has done a phenomenal job at making this information accessible, but now we need more people to study, understand, and teach it.

[Jason Stein]

Cody-

 

You make several great points, and the details of your clinics are incredibly helpful. It's also helpful to know that you've seen a lot of interest in them, too.

 

However, just to clarify, I did not mean Crossfit needs a "sea change" in order to introduce gymnastics-specific training to gyms.

 

I meant the sea-change will involve a larger-order decision that "20% slop" is not acceptable, that there will be performance standards, and those standards will dictate movement complexity.

 

It means gym owners need to decide that, for ring dips, 45-degree turn-out and straps off arms are important.

 

For example, one way this eye for form can be expressed is that is that at Crossfit Portland (one of the first 20 Crossfit gyms) the current 6-week block --- the group classes are part of structured blocks that fit into an annual plan --- involve exclusively slower tempo-specified couplets.

 

Your mention of gymnastic clinics is terrifically helpful. As this board and the popularity of Coach Sommer's seminars show, there is tremendous interest in gymnastic training. 

 

best, and thanks again-

 

jason

[Cody Sunkel]

Cody-

 

You make several great points, and the details of your clinics are incredibly helpful. It's also helpful to know that you've seen a lot of interest in them, too.

 

However, just to clarify, I did not mean Crossfit needs a "sea change" in order to introduce gymnastics-specific training to gyms.

 

I meant the sea-change will involve a larger-order decision that "20% slop" is not acceptable, that there will be performance standards, and those standards will dictate movement complexity.

 

It means gym owners need to decide that, for ring dips, 45-degree turn-out and straps off arms are important.

 

For example, one way this eye for form can be expressed is that is that at Crossfit Portland (one of the first 20 Crossfit gyms) the current 6-week block --- the group classes are part of structured blocks that fit into an annual plan --- involve exclusively slower tempo-specified couplets.

 

Your mention of gymnastic clinics is terrifically helpful. As this board and the popularity of Coach Sommer's seminars show, there is tremendous interest in gymnastic training. 

 

best, and thanks again-

 

jason

Good stuff, I agree it is very important for gym's to enforce better standards. I think part of the reason it doesn't happen to the extent we want is because (as has already been mentioned) gym owners are worried that their members wont be receptive to that style of training. The main purpose of my comment is to give an example of just the opposite, and to say that if presented in the right ways, GST can be very desirable to the average CF member, they just need to see the benefits.

 

I've checked out CF Portland's model and really dig it. Looks like they are doing awesome work. If I were starting my own gym, I would definitely look to you guys for inspiration. Definitely will pay a visit next time I'm in Portland.

 

Cheers,

 

Cody