If you hang around CrossFit gyms long enough, you'll find that there are always challenges being put up by the individuals that play there. This comes in many forms. It may be a coach sending a message to an athlete or the whole class by prescribing a regular dose of a particular movement or discipline. Perhaps a running focus for a span of a month or two. Perhaps a good dose of gymnastics for body control improvement. That same coach will address Strength on a regular basis. Or it may be an athlete hitting single rep strength movements while others look to shine on MetCon workouts that require big lungs over various time domains. It is here where the two extremes on the CrossFit continuum will clash as long as you practice CrossFit. You've heard the correlate; If your MetCon is up? Your strength will fall. If your strength is up? Your MetCon will suffer. My only advice? Be patient. There is a constant need to fight to keep these two in some form of harmony.
The In Between
What's between the two extremes of Strength & MetCon? For most general CrossFit Athletes, you'll find Gymnastics and moderate load fill in the grey area. These consist of general movements that we can learn with now and load later. A light or moderate Overhead Squat. A Kettlebell Swing. A Farmers Carry. These are items that can be embraced as well as despised depending on the rep scheme and what the movement may be coupled or tripled with. The beauty of grey area functional movement is how it lends to efficiency in everything else we do. We constantly get better by good technique and exposure alone. It's a beautiful thing.
Fighting for Skills
As a CrossFit Coach, I occasionally witness an athlete embracing a movement that they absolutely suck at. You see that far off and away stare. It's usually expressed as a half smile, half angry look. There's the challenge again. As individual athletes we all set goals. It is in our blood to achieve those goals. Get better. Look better. Shed some weight. Utilize good nutrition for fuel. Keep up on stretching, joint mobility. Address areas of need. Don't take your current strengths for granted. We constantly need to keep them up. Always striving for greater efficiency in what we already do. Why? That answer is simple. Nobody likes to fail. Ask any CrossFit athlete what they are good at and they'll tell you without blinking. Follow that question up by asking what movement they are challenged by and they will answer just as quickly but with a bit more emotion. These are the challenges that keep us coming back. The constant need to always get better. In my life experience, the sport of CrossFit has given me an endless dose of both attainable and un-attainable. Realistic and what seems sometimes, unrealistic. Given time and good practice, the unrealistic can become reality for those willing to stay the course.
Quick Story
On the day I received my first pair of Gymnastic Rings in the mail, I ran to a local playground and hung them off the highest crossbar that happened to be on a slide. I had never performed a successful Muscle Up. Minutes later I found that my kip could get me there and I hit my first muscle up. Over the course of the next 34 minutes I did 30 muscle ups. Best day ever? It's up there. What's my goal now? 20 consecutive MU's. It's a delicate balance. I strive for 20 MU's in the Gymnastics category, but I cannot neglect every other aspect that is CrossFit. This is the best part. I perform MU's once per week in some way, shape or form. Something will suffer. But I know that once I achieve 20, I can pick up on something else and meet or exceed the new goals I create going forward. Over time, I'll have a pretty solid bag of functional skills involving stability, endurance, strength and power. I'm going to be 45 in June and I'm stronger, faster and more fit than I ever envisioned myself being...period.
Keep Evolving
Reach your goals and set new ones. Be patient with the balance. It's delicate. With good programming, you'll get there. CrossFit, done properly, does a pretty good job of addressing the needs of the constantly varied, functional and intense athlete that simply wants to be better......at life.
Stay strong!
Peace - Johnny
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