This post is a compilation of some truths that I have discovered since becoming a coach and taking my training seriously. I have tried to present them in a “point-counterpoint” type style, since there are usually two sides to every viewpoint or argument, and both can be correct. I hope you all find this entertaining and informative!
Coach L
Point- “Kipping pull ups are awesome!”
Who doesn’t love kipping? It’s taught at all the basic CrossFit certifications. It allows one to do more pullups in less time, which equates to more work/less time/higher power output. For many people, kipping allows them to get their first pull up, which is a huge milestone. A lot of us even rely on the kip to be able to do multiple pull ups- we wouldn’t be able to complete WODs without it.
Mastering the kip implies learning how to recruit your hip and “core” in coordinated fashion to translate horizontal momentum into vertical movement. How many of you remember how awkward and “hard” kipping was when you first were learning it? Now that it’s routine, think about how you have learned to control your body in space. You literally have become more coordinated and have better control of your body by learning to kip.
Personally, I think the assistance it provides newer athletes in getting their first pull up is the single best reason to learn how to kip. Crossing that milestone is so empowering for a lot of people that it becomes critical. By keeping people motivated and feeling like they’ve accomplished something, kipping helps keep them coming back for more and opens the door to more advanced fitness goals.
Counterpoint- “kipping pull ups are the devil!”
Word association time- fill in the blank. CrossFit, kipping, _________. If you answered, “hand tears”, you’d be right. If you answered, “shoulder injuries”, you’d also be right. “Impedes upper body strength progress”? Ding ding ding!
Hand tears have become so common in CrossFit and are worn by some as a badge of honor. To a certain extent, they are unavoidable due to the fact that we use our hands so much in CrossFit and they naturally bear the brunt of the beating from the equipment (barbells, kettlebells, pull up bars, etc). However, kipping only magnifies this problem. Strict pull ups are much easier on the hands due to general lack of horizontal/rotational movement seen with a kip. More kipping = more hand abuse. As far as I’m concerned, hand tears are NOT COOL. In a competition, fine. Go for it- leave it all out on the table. As a daily occurrence in training? All they do is impede your training, cause you pain, gross people out and serve as an opportunity for a hand infection. Great. There’s something to be said for the mental toughness it takes to finish a WOD with a hand tear, but how is that any different than the mental toughness needed to finish a WOD in general?
The shoulder hyper-extension/external rotation, under load, while the athlete is swinging violently can really lead to overuse problems or outright injury. Keeping one’s shoulders tight and active through all phases of the kip will help to a certain extent, but will not remove the risk entirely. The larger and more violent the kip, the harder it is on the shoulders. Of course, the people that tend to use the biggest kips are the ones that generally have the least upper body strength and stability. In other words, needing a big kip almost implies the shoulder girdle doesn’t have the strength/stability to withstand that kind of abuse. I know of several athletes personally, and have lost count of the number of people I’ve heard of that have injured their shoulders due to chronic kipping.
Once someone gets their first kipping pull up, what’s the usual next step? Let’s aim for 5, or 10! Maybe let’s learn to butterfly kip- it’s so much faster and cooler! Typically, the next goals are to increase the NUMBER of pull ups one can do, rather than the quality of the pull ups. I’m talking about strict or weighted pull ups. Those are the movements that will seriously develop your upper body strength. How many of you can do strict pull ups? How many of you can do weighted pull ups with at least 25lb added? I thought so. Kipping pull ups can be great, but if that’s all you ever train you will be leaving a serious hole in your athletic development. I’ve heard of women who can do 20+ kipping pullups and ZERO strict. These people obviously lack the strength to do “real” pull ups and have become entirely reliant on the kipping “crutch”. In my mind that is completely unacceptable. Their coaches need a serious re-evaluation.
For my own purposes, I do the majority of my pull up work strict and weighted. It’s easier on my shoulders and much more beneficial to my upper-body development. I always kip or butterfly kip during WODs/when the goal is for time, but then again I’m more advanced than a lot of people, have significant shoulder strength and I TRAIN NON-KIPPING PULLUPS all the time. I have seriously considered outlawing kipping pull ups in any form at CrossFit Elysium, and instead only allowing or teaching the movement after one has demonstrated the strength and ability to do a STRICT pull up. For the beneficial reasons I listed earlier I decided against this, but it’s certainly food for thought. Give some serious thought to reducing your volume of kipping when you come in, and instead work on getting a strict pull up.
Point- I’m an awesome athlete.
In a couple years’ time, I have gone from being 30lb overweight, to losing that weight and being able to do all of the complex movements in CrossFit. My WOD times are generally competitive. I can knock out strict muscle ups, have taught myself to do passable double unders and have done a human flag. I am close to getting an iron cross, a back lever and a front lever. If you’ve never tried even a scaled version of those movements trust me- they are seriously hard. I have a double bodyweight back squat, can press over my bodyweight for 5 reps, have a 1.5BW clean and jerk, etc. Yep, I’m pretty awesome.
This is frickin' hard. I can almost do it.
Seriously, all of you should remember what you were like when you started CrossFit and how much you’ve accomplished since then. Maybe you’ve lost a lot of weight. Maybe you couldn’t do pull ups J and now you can. Always remember what you’ve accomplished and think about how awesome it is. You have a right to be proud of what you’ve done!
Counterpoint- I suck as an athlete.
There are some serious beasts out there. I couldn’t even qualify for the CF Games regionals last year by a big margin. Just when I think I’m awesome, I look at the times/weights some other people are routinely putting up and I’m like “WTF”? These people are inhuman. I will NEVER be able to do what some of them can do. This is not being defeatist- this is me being realistic. I think about what I can back squat and I’m like, “that’s awesome” then I realize there are a ton of ladies out there that warm up with my 1 rep max.
It seems like every time my ego gets a boost from something I’ve done in CrossFit, along comes something else to knock it back down to earth. I’m realistic. I’m not the best out there, not by a long shot. Heck, I’m not even the best in our gym. So whenever you start feeling like you can rest on your laurels and that you’ve accomplished enough, remember- it doesn’t mean S!@#. Someone else is crushing you without breaking a sweat. So achieve things for yourself, and on some level forget about what everyone else is doing.
Point- I’m an awesome coach.
I know more about anatomy than most people. I understand the movements I teach. I can DO all of the movements I teach. I feel like I can explain things clearly and identify individual faults rapidly. I get along with pretty much everyone. All of these things and more make me a good coach. Plus, every day that I coach and every time I work with you athletes, I get BETTER.
Counterpoint- I suck as a coach.
I haven’t been doing this that long. There’s a TON of info out there, much of it flat wrong or misleading. I can’t coach consistently because of my job in the hospital. A lot of the things you athletes struggle with came really easily to me. All of these things make me suck as a coach.
What am I doing to fix this? Practice, practice, practice. Constant re-evaluation of my strengths and weaknesses. Continual reading and self-education to make myself better. None of us are perfect, but I’m going to try and get as close as possible.
Point- barbells/strength work makes you stronger, physically.
Duh. All I would add to this is “strength work” implies big, multi-joint compound movements such as the squat, deadlift and press. These are tried and true movements whose ability to get you strong is unquestioned. Sorry, but one cannot get truly strong with machines, Zumba, bosu balls or any of that other nonsense out there that passes for “good” movements these days. Those things will allow a seriously weak person to become slightly less weak, that’s all.
Coach Stacie. Strong? Uhh, yeah...
Counterpoint- barbells/strength work makes you stronger, mentally.
Here’s what I think is the real benefit to strength work, even beyond the physical. It takes a certain kind of person to put iron on their back/in their hands day, after day, after day. It takes mental fortitude to grind out a heavy squat when every fiber is saying “stop”. The mental changes we’ve seen in people who train with us for any period of time are WAY MORE IMPORTANT than the physical. People go from being unmotivated and ready to quit at the first opportunity to having a “never give up, never say die” attitude. Think of how that translates over to daily life, and just how important that is. I would bet every last cent I have that if you did a study comparing “life success” (job, happiness, etc) in people who lifted heavy crap regularly vs. those that didn’t, we’d see a clear trend towards the lifters being more successful in “life”, however you wanted to define that. Furthermore, I think that success would derive almost entirely from the mental adaptations those people have made, not the physical.
Put another way, I respect the person who has developed a 500lb squat, not only for the physical strength that takes, but more so because of the mental toughness THAT PERSON MUST HAVE to be able to get himself to that point.
Some serious mental fortitude-type stuff going on here.
Point- the #1 thing women need is strength, and to be comfortable with getting stronger.
Please see my excellent post (haha) titled “strength” earlier in the blog archives for a much more detailed analysis. In a nutshell, I feel badly for women these days. Society has so skewed what is supposed to be the feminine “ideal” that women are taught that it is ok to be weak, that being strong means being “big and bulky”, and that “firming and toning” are real terms with actual meaning. Along the way, this line of thinking has sanctioned osteoporosis, early nursing home admissions and a general idea that women are SUPPOSED to be weak, thereby helping to keep women down. I say screw that.
Ladies- you have a RIGHT to be strong. You’re supposed to be strong. Weight training will ward off osteoporosis, heart disease and fat. Plus, being able to squat more than the dude next to you is pretty damn cool and empowering, no? Getting strong will NOT make you look bulky- NOT being strong makes you look sickly and weak, or soft and flabby. Wanna know a secret? “Firming and toning” is code for “have strong musculature and low body fat percentage”. That’s it. Women do not possess the levels of testosterone that are needed to make them look like a GUY that lifts weights. Unless you take steroids and do specific exercises DESIGNED to make you look bigger, you WON’T LOOK BIG AND BULKY getting stronger. Instead, the look you’ll achieve is- curves in all the right places, fit, thin waistline, etc. HAWT.
Not hot.
Hot.
Counterpoint- the #1 thing men need is to put their egos aside.
I think men more so than women are used to competition. We’re taught it’s socially acceptable, even desired as a male to be competitive. Men who shy away from trying to prove they’re the best are often labeled “weak”. Somewhere along the way, we’ve also picked up a nasty habit of taking too much pride in our accomplishments, and thinking anyone else even gives a damn.
Guess what dudes- the barbell doesn’t care that you THINK you can squat 300lbs. It will staple your ass to the ground no matter what you think unless you really can squat that weight. The half-range of motion “pullups” you did just to get a higher number or faster time? Yep, none of those counted so technically you didn’t even finish. Cheating reps to finish faster? No one cares- they’re too busy trying to finish their own workout without dying.
Men much more so than your average woman tend to be quite inflexible. Many of the basic movements in CrossFit, such as the overhead squat, push press or even an air squat can initially prove challenging. Yet, it’s always the guys that want to start adding weight, trying to overhead squat 135 when they can’t even get parallel with a PVC. Meanwhile, the women with great ROM sometimes have to be convinced to go heavier. Dudes, get the mechanics down first. ROM first, then consistency, THEN intensity/go heavy/whatever. Put the egos aside.
Fail.
In practical terms, what this means for most guys is- train smart. If you can’t handle a given weight, bring it down a bit. If you can’t do a given movement Rx’d, THAT’S OK. Take the time to learn and build up properly. Listen to the coaches- we’re here for you. If you’re hurt, say so. And if you’re cheating reps- stop it. You’re only cheating yourself.
Point- avoiding injury is training “smart”.
Injuries suck all around. They impede your training, they hurt, and sometimes they mean you’re done COMPLETELY. Doing whatever you can to avoid an injury makes sense and can be thought of as training with your head. If you feel something is “tweaked” or at risk, LET A COACH KNOW. If you’re worried about something, it’s probably for a good reason. You should not feel obligated to continue if it will result in injury.
Take care of yourself. Get as much rest as you can, eat right, take your fish oil, stretch, recover, etc. Not doing these things is a set up for injury and shows you DON’T TAKE YOUR TRAINING SERIOUSLY.
If you need to, SCALE THE WEIGHT OR MOVEMENT. Don’t risk hurting yourself simply to be able to say you did a workout Rx’d. If there’s a question if you can do it, you probably can’t without a risk of injury.
Counterpoint- injuries are inevitable.
Yep. You heard me. If you work out long enough, you WILL GET INJURED. Of course, if you play sports you will also eventually get injured. For that matter, if you do anything remotely interesting or active, you run the risk of injury. As Mark Rippetoe once said, “injuries are the inevitable price you pay for leading a healthy, active lifestyle”.
Knowing this, the trick is to train smart (as above), knowing eventually something is going to happen. You WILL tear your hands at some point, or sprain a wrist, or tweak your back. It’s not the end of the world. Recognize it, deal with it and move on. The POTENTIAL for injury shouldn’t dissuade you from trying something- it just means you should do it intelligently. If you’re truly leading a lifestyle with zero risk of injury, then you’re probably shortening your life by decades, because the only way to do that is to sit on your couch all day, never leaving the house or engaging in any sort of physical activity. Even that isn’t a guarantee, because who hasn’t tweaked their neck/back/etc just lying in a funny position on the couch?! The point is, don’t live your life or avoid training simply to avoid the possibility of injury. Yes, it will happen. Most likely, it will not be serious (and probably much less serious if you’re physically fit). Life happens- expect it, deal with it and move on.
Something like this WILL happen at some point.
Point- excuses are for the weak.
No one cares about your excuses. We’ve all got them. Life doesn’t care you if you were up all night, or have “a lot of stress going on”, or whatever. You still have to go to work, dodge traffic, or lift that barbell. The weak use excuses to justify failure. The strong succeed IN SPITE of having excuses.
Courage Wolf makes a good point.
Counterpoint- the weak always have excuses.
Ever notice that? Like no one else has ever had an alarm not go off, a car not start, or a dog eat their homework. Guess what- EVERYONE ELSE IS SORE TOO. We all have jobs too. Get over it. The weak always have excuses- the rest of us show up, go about our business and crush PRs.
Simply by coming to CrossFit Elysium you have proven you have already crushed most excuses in your life. Even so, we all can succumb to the weakness of excuses at times. Try to keep it to a minimum. Crush the excuses, not the other way around.
Courage Wolf rules.
Point- actions define a person, not their words.
How many of us have friends who “swear” they’re going to join or start working out “soon”? How many of those people actually ever put their words into action? It’s ok to talk about plans and have grand ideas, but at the end of the day if you don’t actually do it, it never happened. Put another way, talk is cheap. Actions are where things actually happen. Be a doer and not a talker.
Counterpoint- Mental strength and positive actions will ultimately determine whether you last at CrossFit Elysium, not physical ability.
It’s true. Anyone who has made it past their year “anniversary” with us has done so because of mental toughness, desire, and putting their words into action, not from physical traits alone. You can take the most physically gifted person in the world, but if that person has no mental drive they won’t be able to push themselves and come in day after day.
Coach P and I have seen a number of “good” athletes come and go. Often, these people don’t last because they simply don’t have the willpower to force themselves to keep going when things get tough. By contrast, all of you who have stuck with Elysium have proven you have the mental grit to “get it done”. I respect someone with mental strength MUCH more than someone with just raw physical talent.
Except for Danielle who's moved, EVERY ONE of the members pictured here, over 1 year ago, still trains at CrossFit Elysium. Mental toughness and actions define your character.
I hope you found this post interesting, and hopefully it’ll generate some talking points. Thoughts? Post to comments. Until next time!
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