Chris Spealler is Awesome

Enough said...

100% at 90%

Mike at full effort AND output

In competition, mental intensity and work output are the keys to success.  It is imperative that you learn how to switch on your body and mind so that you can perform at 100% capacity.  With single seconds, reps, and pounds deciding placings this is all the more important.

There are many people out there though that operate 100% at 90% ... which means that they are performing at 90% output 100% of the time.  Note that I said output, and not effort... these are different and your mind can trick you into believing that they are one and the same.

100% effort is you feeling like you are giving your best on that day.  The trouble is that if there is underlying fatigue or lack of mental focus, your 100% effort is NOT going to be 100% output.

100% output is your maximum physiological capacity for completing work - i.e. what your body is truly capable of.  This not only requires full effort but also a rested and primed physiological state.

Typically in Crossfit people tend to push themselves hard (maximally?) every workout.  This can be (almost) okay if you work out infrequently and aren't concerned about performance.  However if competition achievement is your game, you need to change your mindset.

You need to be able to recognize when you are physically ready to compete at your best and are also mentally tuned for peak performance.  The way to do this is twofold - adjust your effort level on a daily basis and target key wods to demonstrate maximum output.

Performing workouts at 70, 80, 90% effort will reveal several things to you (more on that later) but will most importantly allow you to judge what is easy, moderate, hard, and maximal.  It will also provide your body with opportunities to grow its fitness in other areas while helping avoid excessive fatigue. 

By targeting 1 key workout a week and getting prepared mentally and physically for it, you will begin to be able to demonstrate 100% output.  Practicing operating at this intensity will improve your ability to repeat it in other workouts and will sharpen your competitive edge.

So if you feel like you're putting out 100% but are performing at 90% or below, try the suggestions above - with training for the 2015 Open already underway, dial in your focus and work some quality.

Cam

Motivation

If you have time.

If you have energy.

If you have food, shelter, safety.

What is your excuse for not becoming the best you can be?

We are all fortunate.

Do justice to your talents.

Cam

Muscle Up Technique and Training

I recently discovered this excellent video (see bottom of post) of all-round awesome Annie Sakamoto performing muscle ups in slow motion at the 2011 CF Games.  There are many styles of muscle up technique now practiced, Annie has more of a classical "pull" style which is the same one I typically employ under fatigue.

Watching the video has validated the training advice I give to people who are learning the muscle up or are looking to improve their rep numbers in it - practice hard ring rows (with/without false grip) and deep dips. 
I once heard a gymnastics coach describe the muscle up as "the highest pull-up you've ever done into the lowest dip you've ever done".  This does describe some muscle up variations quite well (i.e. the stricter forms), however you can clearly see that Annie isn't really performing a pull-up in the usual sense of the word.

For Annie, the real "pull" motion occurs with the body virtually parallel to the ground (i.e. not vertically positioned) which is "rowing" strength and power as opposed to pullup strength and power.  Once she flips her shoulders forward though, the dip position she achieves is VERY deep - note that the upper arms are well below the top of the rings... (also influenced by the size of her arms - Annie is not the tallest athlete). 

As you get fatigued and height of pull decreases, the only thing that will save your muscle up is fast action forward and strength from a low dip position.  It is worthwhile then to really extend the depth of your ring dips when practicing for muscle ups.  A drill that is particularly useful is repeatedly lowering into the deepest dip you can control and practicing letting the rings drift slightly away from your body and then drawing them back in before pressing back up to full arm extension.  Only perform this if you are strong in ring dips and have healthy shoulders.

The other video links in the youtube sidebar (all from user "hookgrip") show some of the other women performing muscle ups also.  There are variations in technique which typically involve different lowering strategies and size of kip.  Depending on the technique used, the dip may be as low as Annie's or may also be higher but all of the women pass through the parallel or close to parallel body position and therefore are pulling in a "rowing-horizontal" direction. 

So the short advice is - if you employ a "pull" technique similar to Annie, invest some time in getting some ring rows done (make them hard - 4-6 reps max) and work a very deep dip and some ring holds in the bottom dip position.  Your muscle up numbers will soon improve and you will save more reps that you may have lost before!

Cam

Programming

(nice quilt)

Most people think 'programming' means simply making up workouts.  It doesn't.  Programming is a systematic and thoughtful arrangement of sessions towards an end result.

I liken it to making a quilt (something I've never done but I understand the process of).  Ideally, you have a design for your quilt and then you work backwards.  With a design you will know where each square of cloth gets placed and how to interlock them to get the desired effect.

Two things are necessary for this to happen: 

1.  You have to know what you want the quilt to look like (so in our case, what is the desired outcome of the program).

2.  You have to know which squares (training methods and modes) to use and how to assemble them.

It takes an understanding of the physiological effects of training and years of solid strength and conditioning experience to accomplish 1+2 together. 

If one or both of those components are lacking, then the programming will suffer, typically resulting in a disjointed day-to-day approach (i.e. we did squats on Monday, so we shouldn't do them on Tuesday!).  In these circumstances, who knows what the quilt (or resulting fitness) will look like.

I should mention that for a lot of Crossfitters, this simply doesn't matter.  They just want to turn up and crush themselves.  However as an affiliate owner or coach you have a responsibility to offer high quality service to your membership (they are paying premium prices after all), and that should involve a thoughtful, reasonable, and effective approach to programming.

Keep fit and have fun,

Cam