David Claiborne - Because Being Weak and Pathetic In The Gym And Life Sucks...

CrossFit Biz and Training Pt. 2 – Quantity EQUALS Quality?

DC — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:27 +0000

Hey DC here and I hope you are enjoying your 3 day weekend (if you are lucky enough to have one).

With the CrossFit Open starting this week, I wanted to finish up my thoughts regarding the training side of CrossFit. So I shot a brief video yesterday driving back in town where I talk more about the training side of CrossFit, continue to talk some about the business side of CrossFit, and answer some questions that people brought up when I posted my original post here.

If you didn’t get a chance to read part 1 yet, I recommend you do so, then be sure to check out the video below.

What do you think? If you have any ideas regarding how to tweak the cert so people are better prepared to come out and train people after going through it, I would love to hear it.

If you know anyone who would be interested in learning more about the CF lvl 1 cert or has their own ideas on changes, please share this video with them.

PS: For those of you are competing this week in the Open, I wish you the best of luck and would love to know how you did. Once the workout is posted drop me your time/score on my facebook page as I want to hold a mini-contest on Facebook.

www.DCFacebookPage.com

Your Warm-Up Is Making You Weak(er)

DC — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:30:36 +0000

Watching people warm-up pretty much anywhere always makes me a little nauseous. You seem to have 2 different extremes of people…

*The spend 5 minutes moving and a few stretches, push-ups, and MAYBE some air squats guy.

* The spend 10 minutes foam rolling, perform every mobility exercises that has ever been printed, bust out a few yoga poses, and then end with every CNS activator type exercise he has ever read about guy.

But this article isn’t about how to warm-up. This article is about how both of these groups no matter what they do still end up warming-up for their first big lift that day the exact same way.

What do I mean?

Let’s take squats for an example (which I know probably doesn’t work, since the guy who would do warm-up A would probably never squat anyways, but hang with me).

If they are typically going to hang out in the 365-405 range for the majority of their work sets, their typical squat specific bar warm-up will probably look like this.

135 x 10
225 x 6
275 x 4
315 x 3
335 x 3
365 x 3

… and then they begin their actual work.

So before it is time to do any sort of real work, they have already performed nearly 30 reps of back squat with a bar…

This is before they even get to the part of the workout that is going to make them better!

What You Didn’t See Was the Lion Performing 10 Warm-Up Laps, 6 Rabbit Chases, & 3 Antelope Chases to Prepare Him for His Actual Work of Getting Food That Day

So is there a better way?

After researching and more importantly testing methods, theories, and ideas out at the facility (on myself first, then my coaches, then finally my athletes), we came up with a system that provides you the same type of movement prep, a good adjustment to preparing for the heavier weights of your work sets, while still leaving plenty of energy and power left in the muscles.

On our board at the facility, we have a basic barbell weight/warm-up guide that all of our athletes follow, no matter how young or old they are (unless they have a specific issue or injury that needs to be handled differently).

For our younger guys, they get extra rep and volume work not during warm-up sets, but instead by performing complexes to have them learn the exercises, learn the movements, and build a little work capacity while doing so.

Genesis Basic Barbell Warm-Up Protocol:

If the majority of your working sets and weights are:

Under 135lbs – perform 1 set of just the bar
135 – 185lbs – perform 1 set at 95lbs
185 – 225lbs – perform 1 set at 135lbs
225 – 275lbs – perform 1 set at 185lbs
275 – 315lbs – perform 1 set at 185lbs and 1 set at 225lbs
315 – 365lbs – perform 1 set at 225lbs, and 1 set at 275lbs
365 – 405lbs – perform 1 set at 225lbs, and 1 set at 315lbs
405 – 455lbs – perform 1 set at 225lbs, 1 set at 315lbs, and 1 set at 365lbs
455 – 500lbs – perform 1 set at 275lbs, 1 set at 365lbs, and 1 set at 405lbs
500 – 550lbs – perform 1 set at 315lbs, 1 set at 405lbs, and 1 set at 465lbs
550 – 600lbs – perform 1 set at 315lbs, 1 set at 405lbs, 1 set at 465lbs, and 1 set at 500lbs

* We allow 30-60 seconds rest between warm-up sets, and all warm-up sets consist of 2 reps.

This is as high as our board goes as we have a few high school and college athletes who can trapbar deadlift and box squat in the high 500’s, but no one has gotten in the 6’s yet.

Now using that same example that we started with (365-405), our squatter has only been squatting for 2 minutes, and only performed 4 reps so he is fresh and ready to crush his actual work sets, but his CNS and body is adjusted and prepared to move heavy weights.

So if you never feel fresh by the time you get around to performing your work sets, or feel like your strength is always lacking, then I recommend you give this protocol a try and let me know how it goes.

I apologize for the lack of updates this week, as it has been a bit of a sad week. On Tuesday night my Grandpa passed away and went to be with the lord. He finally lost his long time battle with cancer, but is now in a much better place.

Here is a pic of my Grandpa this Christmas with my son. I’m so glad that they were able to spend some time together before he passed away.

I hope you spend this weekend around those you love and enjoy every minute of it.

Genesis Athletic Performance Intern Opportunity!

DC — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:20:40 +0000

Hey it’s DC here and I have a HUGE announcement... Well for me it’s huge at least.

Due to the overwhelming amount of athletes that we have training with us in the summer, we will be looking to bring on an intern (or 2) at Genesis Athletic Performance.

I receive resume’s (I hate boring resume’s and cover letters) on a weekly basis inquiring about a position or internship, but I want to make an official announcement to everyone who consistently checks out the blog and website.

Here are the Details:

When: 1st week of June to the last week of August (Monday thru Friday and an occasional Saturday each week)

Where: Genesis Athletic Performance – Houston, TX

What Will You Be Doing: Everything!

You will have the opportunity to do a little bit of everything, and learn more in those 3 months of work than what most strength coaches, trainers, or facility owners do in the first 2-3 years in the business.

Your actual duties will mainly consist of:

Answering phones & explaining our training system to athletes and parents
Scheduling appointments
Keeping the facility clean (taking out trash, putting up and wiping down equipment, cleaning floors or even toilets, plus whatever else is needed to maintain a professional facility) If you think you are better than a little cleaning, then do not apply as I have been doing grunt work for years and still do it this day.
Training with our athletes to learn the program, and then training athletes from all different backgrounds and levels.Help with video film, pictures, and media of our athletes training.
Probably making multiple Starbucks runs because our summers are BUSY!!
Plus much more!

If you are interested, send a short video under 4 minutes (preferred), or a less than 1-page description to David@GenesisStrength.com “Summer Internship” in the subject line.

Video or 1-Page description should include:

Your name
Education
Athletic Background and History
Biggest influences in the industry
Professional experience (if any)
Why you would be an asset and good fit for Genesis Athletic Performance

If you’re interested in this internship, you must:

Be responsible for your own housing and transportation to/from the gym. (Having your own car is preferred/recommended.)

Exercise Science students are preferred, but it is NOT mandatory. (We would rather have a student or someone craving to learn with an awesome personality and desire to learn, compared to the normal Exercise Science student who lives in a lab and will do nothing but argue what the research says with no personality or actual training experience.)

I am only interested in interns who would like the opportunity to become a member of our team, and it is not for those who own their own gym or are just looking to “learn from us & bail”.

If our intern does a great job and impresses us with his/her knowledge, work ethic, and the ability to learn our business, there is potential for a job offer at the end of the summer.

NOTE: This is NOT a paid internship. We feel that the knowledge & experience that you will gain from your stay at Genesis is invaluable towards your career in strength & conditioning.

Video and 1-page emails must be sent in by Friday March 2^nd! Any entries received after this date will not even be opened!

I can’t wait to work with you this summer and am really looking forward to hearing from some extremely motivated people.

The TRUTH Most Coaches and Trainers Dont Want You to Know

DC — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:00:39 +0000

DC here and I hope your week is ending in a way that leaves you feeling a sense of accomplishment and success.

The easiest way to enjoy the weekend, is by making sure you totally crushed the week before…

He Crushed It All Week Long, So Now It’s Chill Time

Wanted to get another video out to you that talks about how we train our athletes and CrossFit groups at the facility to make sure they a) get the best results possible, b) stay as healthy as possible, and c) never plateau no matter what their goals are.

Check it out below and let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you have any comments or ideas on how you increase work capacity please drop them below so we can all learn.

I can’t wait to get more of these out to you… If you like these videos and think they are worth while, then let me know by either sharing it or commenting below. I want to make sure you are learning and enjoying what I’m posting, so if you want to see more of these or like the format, let me know so I can either ditch them or keep them rolling.

Have a great weekend!!

PS: If you are interested in learning even more about how we train our athletes and clients at the facility, and want to grow your business in a way that you always love what you do, then sign up on the link below for the Genesis Strength Seminar that is being put on April 20th and 21st.

I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed…

Hell if you think the seminar wasn’t worth the cost of signing up and travel, I’ll reimburse you for the seminar and travel fee right out of my own pocket!!

I Was Threatened by a Gang of Strength and CrossFit Coaches

DC — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:30:27 +0000

Hey it’s DC here and I hope you are having a killer week.

I have some big news this morning, but I thought I would explain first why I was threatened…

If you didn’t check out my post from a few weeks ago about the CrossFit community, then I recommend giving it a read here.

So anyways, after writing that little article, the hate mail started to roll in. Don’t worry though. I got tons of support from people who didn’t want to post their support publicly, but did agree with me.

But the hate mail really got to me… I know it shouldn’t have, but it wasn’t just coming from CrossFit coaches or CrossFit Kool-Aiders (you like that new name)?

It was even coming from regular strength coaches who realized the business opportunity CrossFit brought and were mad at me because I was threatening how easy it was for them to take advantage of it.

That was when I realized that so many people are looking to not just become better themselves, but a lot of CrossFit coaches, strength coaches, and personal trainers, are scared that their passion in helping clients/athletes, isn’t going to ever support them financially even though it is their dream.

Once I realized the deeper meaning behind the hate mail, Facebook messages, Twitter @ reply thingies (I’m not a big Twitter guy), I started thinking of how I can help those people out.

How can I make them enjoy their passions again, while making it profitable, and giving their clients the best results possible?

I think I found a way…

Check out this video and let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you are interested in getting your clients better results, growing your business the way you dream of growing it, and never have to worry about taking in clients that you hate training again, then be sure to sign up for the Genesis Strength Seminar on April 20th & 21st.

You can check out more details here – http://www.GenesisStrengthSeminar.com

If you sign up before March 1st, I’m offering a $100 off early bird discount as a way of saying thanks to the action takers.

There is only space available for 12 diehard action taking CrossFit coaches, Strength coaches, personal trainers, or those whose dream is to train clients/athletes and run their own facility.

So sign up before those 12 spots fill up.

I already had 3 people sign-up just from seeing that video you watched upload to YouTube.

The best part about those 3…

2 of them were from the hate mail group.

So I look forward to helping you crush your training and business methods, by giving you what has turned Genesis into such a successful training facility and family.

See you in April…

PS: Here is that link again and this will sell out, so you better act now if you want to make sure you get a spot.

*** http://www.GenesisStrengthSeminar.com ***

PPS: Also if you have a buddy, friend, business partner, or work with another coach or trainer who would be interested in attending this with you, if you sign up together, you both will receive $100 off the seminar price.

*** http://www.GenesisStrengthSeminar.com ***

4 Simple Strength Building Tips

DC — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:54 +0000

Fernando Gomes liked this post

It has been an unusually busy past few weeks for me and because of that I haven’t much chance to actually get to sit down and write… For that I apologize, but next week I’m going to have some more time on my hands, and I have a mirror of article ideas that I need to get down on paper/video (I’ll get a post up soon about my mirror).

One thing I definitely want to start doing is shooting more video of exercises, techniques, and workouts at the facility and get it on here so be looking for that.

So let’s kick it off with…

4 Simple Strength Tips

Tip #1: Overhead Squat

Not Just the Only Way to Get it Overhead… Jeez Those Chinese Weight Lifters are Lazy

If you have never done overhead squat, then you are in for a shock. Welcome to the world where you can find and feel nearly every mobility flaw your body has and every weakness that needs to be worked on.

Lack of ankle mobility? – Check
Lack of hip mobility? – Check
Lack of shoulder mobility? – Check

The list could go on and on, but it’s more of a have to try it out (even with just a barbell) and see.

Incorporating the overhead squat into your training program, not only develops insane mobility, but also builds massive amounts of core strength that allows for the force to pass from all the way from your feet to the bar.

Starting off I like to use it as an assistance exercise to my normal lower body days, but it helps so much with core strength, mobility, and keeping things tight, that your normal back squat blows up.

Here is the great Dan John overhead squatting back in his early 40′s

Tip #2: Change Up Your Thought Process

You don’t always have to continually overload the bar to get stronger. Sometimes forcing the body to adapt to a different type of stimulus is going to help keep things progressing.

So trim down rest periods, switch exercise implements (kettlebells for dumbbells, trapbar for straight bar, etc). add or take away sets or reps, or even workout days.

Changing variables often while still increasing weight on the lifts is going to increase your overall strength no matter what lift you are performing.

Tip #3: 100% Full Body Warm-Up

When you perform an upper body training session, does the lower body stay at home? If you lift correctly then it sure doesn’t.

From driving with your legs in a bench, stabilizing your body during overhead presses, or being mobile enough to allow you to maintain a flat back during rows, your lower body is involved in every lift just as much as your upper body is.

When you perform a lower body training day, does your upper body not do anything? Does it not hold the bar during deadlifts, or support the bar when squatting?

Unless your lower body warm-up consists of nothing but a belt around your waist tied to sled, then your upper body is being used during your lower body days as well.

So warm up that way… Thinking that you are warmed up because you cranked out a lot of upper body or lower body exercises for your training day isn’t 100% accurate.

Instead get a good solid full body warm-up routine that you follow every day you train. Then add in a few extra upper or lower body exercises that help prime whatever it is you are training that day.

Tip #4: Stop Lifting Weights

Crazy I know, but you can’t just go 110% in the gym as hard as possible day in day out for years without hitting plateaus, or even worse, having a plateau hit you by way of injury.

Take a day or more off for recovery sessions, mobility work, or lighten your workout up to just hit one or two problem areas you have or learn on teaching certain muscles to activate and fire better. Doing this your body can stay healthy, recover, and get ready to kill it in the gym again.

I have taken up to 6 weeks “off” before where I did nothing but a full body warm-up, mobility work, and muscle activation exercises, to help my body heal, move better, and rest.

Learning & Practicing Some Basic & Advanced Yoga Poses Can Only Benefit Your Training

I’ve always come back recovered not just physically, but also mentally with a new fire. My lifts might have taken a slight hit starting back, but they always feel a ton better, which has always allowed for me to bust through strength plateaus and really push it in the gym.

Also, saying you are taking a recovery day by throwing in a “recovery” workout on what would normally be your off day, and then training the rest of the time like normal does not count.

So change things up, get your entire body warm, learn to overhead squat and incorporate it into your training, and take some time off and your strength will continue to increase and you will be able to utilize and enjoy it in everything you do.

PS: Because I got so busy this week, I decided to push back the contest on the best comment about setting goals. If you are interested in getting a Genesis t-shirt, then click here read and post your goals.

The Question YOU Need to Ask Yourself

DC — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:30:25 +0000

Hey DC here. I hope you had a killer weekend and were able to get rested up so you crush this week in your training and routine.

I’m headed home from Phoenix here in a few hours, as I just spent a weekend with some of the smartest people I will ever meet at the I Love Marketing Platinum Members Mastermind group.

Talk about not just a business changing but a huge life changing experience, that has gotten me so fired up to not just bring you guys some awesome info, but also bring myself some info that will help make my training, business, and life more beneficial to myself, my wife and kid, and others around me.

People like Dan Sullivan, Joe Polish, Dean Jackson, Tim Paulson, and other high level entrepreneurs from multiple industries talked and helped everyone else in the room figure out a plan.

One of the biggest things I got out of the weekend, was how you need to measure progress and identifying exactly what your idea of progress is and recording it.

So with that being said, I have a question for you…

I know that a few people read this blog, so before I even post this question, I am asking for a minimum of 10 answers before the Wednesday morning.

But more with that in a second…

Here is the question…

“If we were having this discussion 3 years from today, looking back over those 3 years what has to have happened during that period for you to feel happy about your progress in your training, business, and lifestyle?”

Read it again and tell me if it doesn’t really strike a chord with you.

So here it is one more time – “If we were having this discussion 3 years from today, looking back over those 3 years, what has to have happened during that period for you to feel happy about your progress in your training, business, and lifestyle?”

If you don’t feel comfortable about posting a reply down below, and actually maybe being held accountable to achieving your measurable goals that come out of this question, then you are probably reading the wrong blog…

I want to build a family of people who don’t just seek advice, but are willing to help push, motivate, and hold the other family members accountable so everyone benefits.

BUT…

Just in case you are too scared to comment below, here is a link to email me directly with your answer… Just click here, type it up, and shoot it over.

I not only want to see what your goals turn out to be, but I want people to comment so I can see if there is anyway I can help you out to reach those goals.

So comment below, and if you really want to be held accountable so you continue to push and stay motivated, then after you comment, share this by clicking one of the links below.

Share it on your Facebook wall, Twitter, Google Plus, or where ever… I don’t care. Just share it so your friends, family, and co-workers see your goals and can help not just hold you accountable to them, but also help you achieve them.

So drop me a comment below.

The person who actually digs deep and posts the best response is going to get a Genesis T-Shirt from me, so please drop your thoughts below.

No related posts.

The Only Ab Exercise You Ever Need

DC — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:30:26 +0000

Hy it’s DC here…

I hope you are crushing an awesome week.

Now that my training has been bumped back up to full go, it’s time to talk more about some of the actual training and exercises I use at the facility to help make sure our athletes never plateau and turn into freaks.

I took this ab exercise from Barry Ross, because if it is the only one he uses with his sprinters and athletes, then I think it’s worth using in the facility.

Side Note: If you haven’t purchased his book “Underground Secrets to Faster Running” and you train athletes, then you are doing them a disservice!!

In a few interviews he talks about performing what iso static holds and rotations with your upper body off hanging off a bench and your feet tucked under a squat rack safety. Well after tweaking it a tad to accomodate for comfort and shorter athletes, we moved that exercise straight to our GHR.

Needless to say, this exercise is an absolute killer… Especially when done correctly. Your abs aren’t just getting worked, but it forces your entire core to remain engaged, stiff, strong and powerful.

You have 2 variations, the rotation where you remain out and rotate as SLOWLY and in a big of range of motion as possible, and the hold. With the hold you just lay out and hold for a set period of time.

We typically go 2-3 sets of 30 seconds on the rotations, and then we go 2:00 on the hold.

We have yet to have anyone go 2 straight minutes on the hold, so the goal is 2 minutes total as fast as possible. When you come up to take a break, the clock stops. Start it again when you go back down.

Check Out Cushing’s Face… He Was Only 30 Seconds Into The Hold…

So what are some cues for performing and coaching this exercise?

Set up the GHR so the base of the butt is still touching the outside of the pad. Any shorter than that you aren’t doing enough work, any more than that the lower back gets overworked.
Lay back until the upper body is slightly above parallel with the ground.
When rotating, rotate as slowly as possible and as big as possible making sure your shoulders turn. If we go for 30 seconds, we average 25-30 total rotations.
When holding, remain in that parallel position until you have to take a break.

This is KEY: Make sure you and/or your athletes hips and legs aren’t flexed. If they lock their legs or do nothing but flex their hips and quads during the movement, the abs and core aren’t getting the full amount of work needed.

Here is a short video shot a few days ago of me and one of my coaches performing the exercise. The exercise is very boring to watch, so I only included 1 set of rotations and 1 60 second hold. It appears that I also included one of my coaches thumbs who can’t operate a camera very well.

Check it out and please let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ll talk to you guys on Monday, as I’m flying out early tomorrow morning to Phoenix for some awesome business masterminding and won’t be back until late Sunday night.

Enjoy the weekend and feel free to direct all your cuss words when performing this exercise (especially the holds) at either myself or Barry.

No related posts.

CrossFit Biz and Training… Quality or Quantity? – Pt. 1

DC — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:00:11 +0000

Paul Evans liked this post

One of the biggest questions in life, is what came first… the chicken or the egg?

Well the same thing can be said about CrossFit… which came first the workout or the business model?

With how eerily similar they are, both seem to either be referred as a) the most awesome thing in the world, or b) business and workout that the Anti-Christ himself works in.

In a CrossFit workout, the goal is to accomplish the most “work” as possible and some times sacrificing form/quality if necessary to get the needed reps/quantity in.

In the current CrossFit biz model, the goal is to get as many affiliate owners in the program, and max out 6 seminars a weekend of 60 attendees, 4 weekends a month, for 12 months/quantity by sacrificing education, business knowledge, or in-depth training/quality to achieve that goal.

I want to mainly talk about the business side in this post, and how awesome it was starting out, and how it needs to be changed before it blows up in all these hard working people’s faces…

Why is there such a huge difference opinion both inside and outside the CrossFit community regarding the certification and affiliate process, and how the actual business should be run?

I think it is mostly because lack of education by all parties.

There are 3 groups of people that 99% of people fall into regarding CF business ideas, and they can be broken down like so:

The Old Timer - You are what made CrossFit so popular. You never sacrificed any part of the CrossFit motto to progress, and although you used to be referred to as the Kool-Aid drinker, you have started mellowing out and allowing others to talk to you about outside business models.
The New Timer - You are what is making CrossFit so annoying but profitable. You take all the bells and whistles of CrossFit, are trying new things to grow and market the program, You are the best, your box is the best, and those other boxes around who don’t do things like you or your friends boxes are old and don’t know whats up.
The Outsider - You have known about and followed CrossFit for a few years and every time it seems like you want to dive in and become part of it, someone else not in CrossFit is able to talk you out of it by pointing out all the flaws that may or may not be true.

“Coach” Glassman’s Halloween Costume

So why so much confusion?

Mostly because the old timers don’t know how CrossFit is doing and changing things on the business side. The new timers don’t know how a box was successfully run back when there were just a few out there and instead depend on Twitter, Facebook, marketing, and advertising more so than building a solid community and referrals. The outsider has no place to go to learn more about the CrossFit business, if its profitable, worth investing in, how CrossFit helps a new box owner get started, or anything else most businesses put together in a welcome packet.

So here are a few key things that need to be talked about from all 3 sides to help see where CrossFit is going as a business, things it should do to change to remain successful, and how to stay on top of its growth.

1) The Cheap & Easy Entry Point -

If you have $4k and a free weekend to spare, you are allowed to open a CrossFit box. Those are the only requirements to becoming a part of CrossFit…

You only need $1k for the certification (or lack of) weekend, and $3k to pay CrossFit to use its name.

Did you know that just in 2011 alone, something like 3500 affiliates were started, and that is supposed to double or even triple in 2012 now that Reebok, ESPN, and other big name companies are promoting it?

This wouldn’t be so bad if it still happened how the old timers remember. They had already been training themselves or others for years, found CrossFit through the website looking for something new, loved it, got certified with just a few others, and opened up a local box and spent the rest of the time trying to get the word out about how different CrossFit is.

Here is a good example…

When I did my cert, it was max capacity (60+ attendees) and when they asked how you found out about CrossFit, 8 people raised their hands saying they saw it on ESPN thought it looked cool and signed up for the cert.

On Sunday these people were now not just qualified to train people using CrossFit methods, but also open up their own affiliate… Which after finding and talking to these people over the course of the weekend, 5-6 of them had goals to do so.

It blows my mind how I could actually go sign up to train at a box where the owner and “head trainer” had only performed 2 CrossFit workouts in his/her life… Fran and the team one they make you do on Sunday…

Simple Fix: Finally offer a level 2 and even a level 3 cert instead of coming out with all these specialty seminars that make trainers think they are specialists in things like powerlifting, football, strongman, mobility, endurance, etc. that typically takes years of study and training to master.

Level 1 Cert:

Pay $1k to learn all about CrossFit, the 9 basic movements, how to eat, etc.

Pass the test? Congrats… now spend 200 hours shadowing a list of trainers in successful boxes before being allowed to sign up for your Level 2 Cert.

Level 2 Cert:

Pay $2k to learn how to teach the 9 basic movements, and the majority of the accessory movements that pop up in WoD’s but never get taught.

Pass the test? Congrats you can now train others, but only under the guidance of an approved box or trainer.

Level 3 Cert:

Pay $2k + affiliation fee to learn how to run a business, market it, program workouts, hire people, etc.

Pass the test? Congrats… You can now open your very own box, but you have a 6 month probation period where you will be check up on to make sure you are doing things correctly. You fail your check ins? Congrats you have an awesome gym, but it can’t be a part of CrossFit.

This brings us to #2…

2) The Lack of Checks and Balances, and Regulations -

Sometimes when I want to feel really good about my training and programming, I will just browse the affiliate page on the main site and look at different boxes workouts… Then after I stop throwing up everywhere, I realize just how out of control this has gotten.

Want to do 1000 push-ups, 2000 jumping negative pull-ups, run 3 miles on the moon, and swim the English Channel? Good… because that is tomorrow’s workout.

CrossFit is hard… the training is hard… the coaching is harder because you have to find that medium of pushing someone vs holding them back if things go south.

Unfortunately no one will ever know if you are doing it correctly or not.

Simple Fix: Take those same instructors who teach the seminars, since they will have more time on their hands since less people will be filling up their certs since it’s now harder to affiliate, and have them travel around visiting boxes, seeing their programming, participating in the workouts, getting coached by the boxes trainers, etc to make sure they are giving CrossFit a good name and maintaining quality in their business.

3) The Lack of Support From CrossFit HQ -

What do you get from CrossFit HQ when you affiliate? A welcome packet with steps to help you get started? What about a phone call asking if you have any questions or concerns? Maybe even a post on the main site saying Welcome to the Family so people see that a new affiliate opened up in their area?

Unfortunately it is none of the above…

The only thing you get from CFHQ when you affiliate is an email with a pdf that tells you everything you can’t do with the CrossFit name, all the steps needed to get your name listed under the affiliate tab, and your affiliate fee schedule.

I know they aren’t a franchise, and they aren’t set up to help you run your business or put systems in place… But is putting together a basic packet to help get people started down the right path so hard to do?

Simple Fix: Take your most successful affiliate owners and have them spend a weekend at CFHQ coming up with the basic things/knowledge that if they had when they first started, would have made things a ton easier and turn it into a CF Welcome “We Actually Care If You Succeed In Your Business” Packet.

I could write more and more about this, but these are just a few of the very basic things that need to be addressed before CrossFit gets so big that the market gets over saturated, flooded, and it becomes the next local global gym business that fails…

Empty CrossFit Boxes Could Become The Future…

I’m not saying my fixes are right or the best way to go about the few issues I talked about, I mainly just want to help open some eyes and get what most affiliate owners say behind closed doors to me when we talk business out in the open.

I would love your thoughts, comments, ideas, and suggestions on this especially if you currently or in the near future are looking towards opening and running your own box.

Stay tuned, because in part 2 I’m going to get into the training side of things… It should be fun.

No related posts.

The Only 2 Olympic Lifting Variations You Ever Need

DC — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:30:15 +0000

Disclaimer: If you are at all interested in competing in Olympic lifting, or think they are the absolute shizzle, and are one of those people who love to argue about them being the bees knees and better than any and every other lift known to man combined, then I recommend you skip this article because it isn’t for you.

If that is you, then here is a picture of some puppies running through the grass to help make your day warm and fuzzy.

Ok so for everyone else who made it past the puppy picture, lets get on with it…

Muscle snatch, hanging snatch, snatch balance, clean, power clean, hang clean, etc…

The list of different Olympic lifting variations can go on and on, and way too many coaches, trainers, and people looking to get bigger, stronger, and faster get too caught up in all the different variations.

After experimenting with Oly lifting on myself, my coaches, my athletes, and others who are just looking for results, I have weeded the variations down to just 2.

Narrow or Clean Grip Snatch & Hang Squat Clean

I’m not going to get into the absolute technical details on how to perform each one, but I am going to talk about what each one accomplishes and how when used together they can increase your strength, power, and performance more than other variations or combinations out there.

Narrow or Clean Grip Snatch

I was first introduced to the narrow grip snatch about 3 years ago when reading some of Dan John’s material. He (along with quite a few other strength coaches), talk about how not only the narrow grip snatch is better on the shoulders than the regular snatch but also how it requires more speed and due to the increased distance the bar has to travel.

That last part consisting of how it requires more speed and power is what first got me started down this path…

Anytime you can help an athlete increase speed and power by utilizing an exercise that is simple to teach, then to me it needs to become part of your coaching arsenal.

The clean/narrow grip snatch was just that.

The gist of the clean grip snatch is simple…

Start off with the bar on the ground holding it as if you were to perform a conventional deadlift
Begin your 1st pull by driving through your heels, keeping the bar path close to your body, and chest held high.
Initiate your 2nd pull after the bar crosses the knees, and by 2nd pull I mean jump as hard and as high as you can trying to throw the bar through the roof directly above you.
Catch the bar overhead with knees bent like you just performed a push press

See how simple that is? No worrying about snatch grip width, shoulder mobility allowing bar to end up directly in your center of mass, or any other of the 10,000 cues there are to teach a true Olympic snatch.

By keeping a clean/narrow grip you eliminate the need for those cues for a few reasons.

1) The catch is more natural so the end position of the bar has already been hammered into your movement patterns by (hopefully) tons of overhead presses in your training.

2) If you aren’t producing enough speed or power, then you will know it because with the more narrow grip, the ability to drop into a deeper squat to catch the bar isn’t happening. So you can’t “cheat” the purpose of the move just to get more weight up.

After a few months of experimenting with the clean grip snatch, my mind started wandering looking for ways to make it better…

“If the clean grip snatch works so well because of the increased distance the bar has to travel, then what if we trained the total opposite end of the spectrum as well? What if you hammered a variation that consisted of the absolute shortest distance the bar has to travel to be a successful lift?”

So out into the facility I went to start playing around and testing some variations that I had pulled from more research than I care to think about in Olympic lifting log books, articles, and texts. This brought me to the hang squat clean.

Hang Squat Clean

So now the goal is to not just move the bar as fast and as powerful as possible, we also have to move our body as fast as possible to be able to catch the bar in a front squat position.

By starting it from the hang position, we not only focus purely on reaching triple extension but also in forcing the body to change direction in the shortest time possible.

This is why it ended up being the perfect partner to the clean grip snatch.

Although the hang squat clean is a tad more complex to teach, once athletes learn the catch and bottom position it truly turns into an awesome exercise. Most athletes already know the catch and bottom position though from tons of front squats (if they are taught correctly from day 1).

The gist of the hang squat clean goes a like this…

Grab the bar with a normal clean/deadlift grip and stand up with it so it is touching your mid thigh.
Begin the movement just like a narrow grip snatch, by trying to jump, explode, and throw the bar through the roof.
Once the bar begins moving up, pull yourself under the bar by dropping into a squat position with your feet moving slightly wider.
Front squat it up to the standing position.

Don't Do It Like This Kid... His Foot Positioning Is All Wrong

The thought process behind only needing to utilize only these 2 Olympic lifting variations is pretty simple.

Take the variation that requires the most power needed to complete due to the long distance the bar has to travel (narrow/clean grip snatch), and pair it up with the lift that requires the most speed to complete due to the short amount of time you have to get underneath the bar (hang squat clean), so that you have 2 explosive lifts that cover both ends of the Olympic lift spectrum, but are simpler to teach.

One thing I noticed that does apply to Olympic weight lifters or those training in it, is that by taking these 2 variations and incorporating overhead squats into your squat work, your Olympic lift numbers tend to dramatically increase even without hammering the exact lifts.

I would love to hear your thoughts behind these two lifts, or if you have any comments about other variations you have tried and like more than these 2.

I hope you are having a great week, and keep on killing everything you do.

If you know a true Olympic lifting homer who you know this would piss off and want to have some fun, then be sure to share and like this article or pass it along to them.