Finally after a very long wait, gymnastic guru Coach Jeff Tucker has lunched his own website Crossfit Gymnastics. The site will be a great tool for us all that want to improve our gymnastics skills.
I had the honor of training with Tucker and his team in 2009, and I have only positive things to say about his cert. You will learn to improve in all eras of your game.
We had a blast at Butcherslab training with Tucker
Tucker also relished his book The Gymnastic Solution
One of the best selling authors at the moment is Timothy Ferriss. He is the author of The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body.
He is a little trailer from the 4-hour body book with my favorite band Sevendust:
Tim Ferriss has a vast knowledge of training and is well known in the Crossfit community. He is a RKC Kettlebell level 2 instructor under Pavel Tsatsouline. Tim has put the last 10 or so years of his own experience in training into this book and there are some pretty amazing things in it. I highly recommend both his books.
By Anthony Roberts from www.anthonyroberts.info
Despite heavy marketing claims to the contrary, Progenex is far from being a wonder protein. It has been determined in multiple laboratory tests to not meet label claims, and furthermore, to not meet marketing and advertisement claims. I’ve said many times before, it’s just whey protein, with nothing special added.
According to lab tests, it doesn’t contain growth factors nor enhanced levels of amino acids, nor anything more than a commodity whey protein, the likes of which you can anywhere. When tested against Glanbia Nutritionals Thermax whey protein, it was found to have the same peaks and valleys. In other words, there is nothing in the lab data to suggest that Progenex has been fortified with anything extra, in terms of the label claims of having additional BCAA content (leucine, isoleucine, and valine).
Furthermore, laboratory testing has confirmed that, despite Progenex’s claims to the contrary, there is no basis for their claim that the product contains: ”…rare and elusive whey protein fractions found today…which are not available in any other product…”
Examining the financial evidence found in Progenex’s internal reports, an objective observer would need to question how a company with a research and development budget of $25k, would gain exclusive access to whey fractions that couldn’t be found in products manufactured by multi-billion dollar companies (for example, Glanbia Nutritionals, the dairy company whos own Optimum Nutrition and many other companies).
As you can see in the following lab test provided by San Rafael Chemical Services (Progenex, sample # 1101017 is the first graph, Glanbia Thermax, sample # 1101018 is the second), the peaks and valleys match:
What we see in both lab tests is a fairly steady climb, a major peak in the middle surrounded by lesser peaks, followed by a decline in peaks. The peaks in the retention windows are minimal and indicate sample constituents other than free amino acids – if an ergogenic or beneficial dose of BCAA were added, the retention window would look much different (as it would if there were “fractions” unavailable in any other product).
In other words, if Progenex contained something unavailable in other products, or extremely high levels of one or more BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, or valine), we’d see a huge spike in the first chart that would be absent on the second. As that is clearly not the case, we can safely conclude that Progenex does not contain a noteworthy amount of additional amino acids, BCAA or otherwise, above and beyond commodity whey hydrolysate.
And, as you can see from the following lab test, done by Ray-Biotech of Norcross, VA, it doesn’t contain any additional growth factors, either:
Quite frankly, although I’m willing to concede that Glanbia happens to produce a high quality whey hydrolysate, I’m also obligated to say that you can find this stuff in Optimum Nutrition’s HydroWhey, and you can get over ten pounds of the stuff for (120 servings) for less than a month’s supply of Progenex. Oh…and HydroWhey actually DOES contain added BCAAs, unlike Progenex.
Progenex is not a wonder supplement. It’s not worth the money. And it fails to meet label claims as well as the claims made on the website and by company representitives. While some people might want to give Progenex the benefit of the doubt, and speculate that their supplier(s) or manufacturer could be at fault, my intuition is that since the CEO (Darren Meade) has been sued successfully for over a million dollars in fraud, as has Adam Zuckerman (who plead guilty to criminal fraud of $20 million dollars), there is a much more obvious reason that the product fails to meet label claims.
by Johnny Pain
As many of you know, I am no stranger to the world of CrossFit. Since I resigned my affiliation with them, my involvement in the “movement” has far from ceased. I have had the good fortune of speaking to hundreds of CrossFitters at events, and in the consulting capacity via phone and internet. In addition, I have helped several CrossFit affiliates design programs for individuals and groups, and have remained an open door resource for many within the organization on a variety of topics. Besides consultation clients, I have had many CrossFit “refugees” join the ranks of Greyskull over the past few years. It is through these experiences that I have observed some major problems in the design and implementation of a “CrossFit” program. The following list is a collection of eight of the more prevalent ones. If attended to, these items can help make for a much better and more valuable CrossFit practice. I do acknowledge the fact that there are some decent programs out there and I do not believe that this represents the affiliates as a whole. However, stereotypes originate from somewhere, I wouldn’t mention any of these things if hadn’t observed them to be woefully deficient in so many cases. If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it.
Here they are, in no particular order:
Work the Fundamentals
Look, there is no reason to do handstand pushups, muscle ups, or ring dips in any sort of band-assisted or “scaled” manner if the client cannot do a legitimate pushup yet. Scratch that – if the client cannot do a whole lot of legitimate pushups yet. You may laugh if you can’t imagine this, but I have trained people who were all but berated for their inability to perform ring dips and handstand pushups (while still significantly overweight I may add) because they had been “CrossFitting” for two years. It was, however, acceptable for them to perform pushups from their knees if they came up in the “WOD”. Why should this person be working on a much more difficult skill if the simpler and more easily attainable skill has not been worked on, or has not been worked on consistently enough for the simple skill to be attained? Every single sporting event or activity with an organized curriculum follows this concept; I have no idea why it is apparently not applicable to CrossFit methods. I have another male refugee in the gym who could not perform a single legitimate parallel bar dip, yet not only “CrossFitted” for years, but was an assistant coach at an affiliate. The place in question only uses the rings for dips, and when this individual suggested getting some bars in there to work dips in order to “build up to the rings” he was chastised and told that the beauty of the rings was their effect on the “stabilizers.” That sounds wonderful, but if a person lacks the basic strength to dip themselves on a non-moving apparatus, how much work can their “core” or their “stabilizers” get on the rings? Work the fundamental skills. CrossFitters overuse the term “progression” all of the time. Apply it.
Do Strict Chins and Pull-ups
This horse has been beaten, buried, exhumed, desecrated, cremated, and buried at sea already, but for the love of God have your people do strict chins and pull-ups. The benefits of the chin up are immense, and the upper body strength required to perform them is both impressive, and an attribute that virtually everyone walking into your facility on day one will be lacking. Once when I was still a CrossFit affiliate I had a female come to me who could kip her way through all 45 reps of Fran yet could not do one single dead hang chin. Kipping pull-ups are not a “progression” to dead hang pull-ups. Likewise, do not use band assisted pull-ups for the same reason – they make you tremendously good at performing band assisted pull-ups and little else. The refugee horror stories I’ve heard of the slingshot apparatus used to hoist developing and sometimes overweight CrossFitters over the bar rapidly as part of the “WOD” are disturbing at best. It is still impressive to see a female perform dead hang reps and I can tell you from experience that little will excite a female (and therefore bring you more clients) in the gym more than accomplishing that first rep. If you have people who want to compete in CrossFit competitions and need to be able to perform the kipping version later, make sure they have a firm base of dead hang pull-ups before they start working it (at least 10-12 for a male and 6-8 for a female).
Keep it simple
I have a saying that I use here all of the time with regards to a variety of different subjects. I can’t lay claim to coining it, but I have certainly promoted it. The saying is, “An expert is a master of the basics”. It is all too easy and tempting for a trainer (particularly one who is new to the game) to feel the need to vomit all of their knowledge all over their trainees. In keeping with our theme here, the fundamentals are what get the job done. 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. I fully encourage continuing education in the field, and feel that it is a key to developing your own strengths as a trainer and as a gym. However, do not abandon the basics for the newest gimmick in town, and do not try to overload your clients with overly complex programming or movements. Work the fundamental skills, do the basic lifts, keep the conditioning work simple and intense. Much can be accomplished with a very small arsenal of tools and movements. I know; I started my business with virtually nothing in terms of equipment. The most common remark from new visitors to Greyskull is “Wow, I thought it would be much bigger.” They always leave with a new perspective on what is necessary and what are simply “pieces of flair.”
Greyskull in it’s earliest incarnation
Stick with a challenge
This is one that will outright guarantee you success in the word of mouth arena as a trainer. Create a challenge, and have your clients work towards it until it is completed. You can see this logic applied in our Villain Challenges. Take for example the first challenge of 100 burpees in 5 minutes. I have previously outlined how I recommend conquering this one, and there is no reason that any client cannot undertake this challenge (or an understandably modified one in the case of an elderly or disabled individual). Working towards a goal like that will yield tremendous results in many ways. For one, the sense of accomplishment one gains from doing something they previously thought impossible is beyond empowering. Second, the positive physical changes one will undoubtedly experience in terms of stamina, body composition, etc. are staggering, and are precisely in line with the clients goals upon joining in more cases than not. Assigning “homework” for these challenges adds another layer of commitment for the individual and further pushes them down the lane towards success. I have a young lady who came to me a CrossFit refugee after two years of abysmal handling who is working on that very challenge and has coincidentally lost over 30lbs in the few short months we’ve been working together. Set a goal, stick to it, knock it out, and set another one. It will pay off in more ways than one.
Think outside the Zone
Yes, to each their own, but for most, the Zone sucks. Granted it is a decent general health template for a sick person who is grossly overweight and bedridden, but for a hard training individual it is, in my opinion, nothing more than a version of “Quick Books” for an anorexic. Eat. Food is a good thing. There are many good sources of information on responsible nutrition available to help understand what is needed for a multitude of individuals with a variety of goals. Don’t limit yourself to one source of information because of its endorsement. Remember, there is absolutely no such thing as a one-size-fits-all program whether it be diet, training, supplementation, or anything else. If you are unsure or have a particularly unique case or client, pay someone to shorten the distance for you. Your clients are paying you. It’s no secret that I offer this type of service, but I am not only endorsing my own methods. Robb Wolf is a terrific resource for those dealing with clients with general health and longevity needs as well. Read, experiment, do some research; your clients are depending on you to help them, not to recite what someone else told you during your weekend course.
Strength Train
By this point, most of you have caught on to this one. There is a need for traditional strength training in any good strength and conditioning program. It is way too easy to simply pump some music and get people sweaty for an hour. You have heard from day one that strength loss is what debilitates an individual in their later years, that it is what takes their independence. A squat is how you get off of the toilet by yourself; you know what I mean. The well-known lack of strength training in CrossFit curriculums has led to the creation of several “hybrid” programs with various cool sounding acronyms. It has become fashionable to offer classes in these programs, or adopt the program as the “WOD” for a period in time. Hey, it’s better than nothing. I don’t care how you do it to be honest. Obviously I have my own methods that I use with my clients, but whose method you use is irrelevant so long as your clients are performing basic strength training movements (press, squat, deadlift, bench press, chin ups) on a regular basis in a recorded and progressive manner. Remember, your clients will be weak when they come through your doors more often than not. Getting them strong will be the most valuable service that you can provide for them as a trainer from both a health/longevity/independence standpoint and also an aesthetics aspect. “Conditioning” or getting someone “in shape” in the cardiovascular sense is significantly easier to do, and can certainly be pursued while the client is working on developing basic strength as well. Also remember that strength training and powerlifting are two different things. Keep it simple. I swear, if I get one more picture in my inbox of a CrossFit with a new MonoLift…
If you can’t do at least 20 bar dips, you have no business on the rings.
Get rid of the “one size fits all” program
The worst violators of this one are the gyms who charge people money in order to allow them to use their facility to perform the prescribed “WOD” from the main site. There is no more complete acknowledgement of one’s inability to teach and provide a valuable service in my opinion than this practice. The notion that all of your clients will need the same things in the same amounts is asinine at best. This is where the concept of “scaling” comes in to play. This is one that more people get wrong than get right. Remove the notion that there needs to be a “WOD” for everyone to do, and that if they can’t do it as prescribed then they should do some lesser version of it. Understand that your clients will be diverse and will have a variety of needs. Address their needs on an individual level and design their training accordingly. If you are using a class format, that is fine, just make sure that all get equal attention and receive the same level of concern for their progress. The majority of the hour should be being spent performing a lift or lifts, and skill practice. If there is a “WOD”, make sure that each person is doing what represents a valuable stress for them, not just something that looks like what the “firebreathers” (did I really just type that?) are doing plus some bands or half range of motion movements. Longer duration events such as 5k runs are easily “scaled” for those who cannot complete them in a manner that makes them practical or mirrors the stimulus received by others, so those days are simple to adjust for. Remember, your bills are being paid by your clients, ensure that they are getting something of significant value for their inflated monthly rate. Avoid putting all of your attention into the few who came into the gym from a sports background and are therefore good athletes. Remember that the overweight middle-aged woman will always be the number one demographic in any training market. Make sure that all are getting their money’s worth and then some.
Have some standards
This one should go without saying, but unfortunately it does not. Set standards for the movements done in your gym and enforce them. Do not appease clients by allowing high squats or counting repetitions of pull-ups or pushups which do not complete a full range of motion. You would not allow someone to run two miles of a 5k race and still give them a time as if they had completed it so why do it with anything else? As the old saying goes, if you cheat you’re only cheating yourself, and that is true; but remember that you are being paid to help these people change for the better, and you are not doing that if you are letting them get away with cutting corners. Your clients and anyone observing your practice will respect you a whole lot more if you set some standards and hold everyone, including yourself, accountable to them.
That’s the short list for now. I should add that in addition to the normal schedule of Greyskull Methods, and other StrengthVillain Seminars this year, we will be conducting a “Seven Habits of Highly Successful CrossFit Gyms” seminar series as well. Drop me an email for more information or to inquire about scheduling an event at your location.
It was amazing seeing so many people at this weekends crossfit competition. It was an amazing event with lots of hard competitors and strong athletes.
The workouts look hard, but the mood and atmosphere at the gym was amazing and every one was cheering.
The 6 events looked like this:
Events 1 & 2
Event 1 – Front Squat/Ring Dip
10 Minute Cutoff
7 Rounds for time of:
5 Front Squats 165#/105#
7/5 High Ring Dips
Rings are at fingertip height for competitors – they must muscle-up to get to the top of the rings to perform their dips.
Event 2 – Ground-to-Overhead
Immediately following Event 1
As many reps as possible in 2 minutes of: Ground-to-Overhead 165#/105#
Events 3 & 4
Event 3 – Farmers Walk & Deadlift
As many reps as possible in 8 minutes of: Deadlift 315#/205#
On the 0, 3 and 6 minute marks competitors must Farmers Walk 100 feet with a barbell in each hand (135#/95#).
Event 4 – Sandbag Love
With a 70#/50# sandbag
As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of:
10 Muscle Snatch
10 Zercher Clean
Events 5 & 6
Event 5a – HSPU/C-2-B/OHS/Burpee Broad Jump
20 minute cutoff
Four rounds for time of:
8 Handstand Pushups
12 Chest-to-Bar Pullups
8 Overhead Squats 135#/95#
12 Burpee Broad Jumps 6ft/4ft
Event 5b – HSPU/C-2-B/OHS
With the time remaining in the 20 minute cutoff max reps of HSPU/C-2-B/OHS all reps scored equally.
Here are the top 10
Top 10 Males:
1. Jason Cain
2. Matthew Lefave
3. Jay Rhodes
4. Pete D’Amore
5. Chris Cristini
5. Jon Robichaud
7. Raul Cano
8. Andrew Gawley
9. Matthew Barnett
10. Chris Baillie
Top 10 Females
1. Angie Gauthier
2. Elma Ducic
3. Danielle Sullivan
4. Whitney Pagnucco
5. Jennifer Morris
6. Tarasa Barnett
6. Leea Wood
8. Holly McIlroy
9. Courtney Bowman
10. Mel Pirie
It was a truly amazing event and I can’t wait for the next one in June. My deepest respect goes out to all the competitors amazing performance to all.
On Saturday 29 of Jan, Element Crossfit will host the Crossfit competition “Overdose”. I will go to support the community and also support fellow Dane Nikolaj Jacobsen who is competing at the event. Nikolaj owns Crossfit Ignition in Cambridge, Ontario.
If you live in Toronto, please come and support the event.
If you, like me love to do handstands, muscle-ups and other gymnastic movements, then I have the blog for you to read.
I have been following Gymnastics Wod for some months now and I can see an overall improvement in my gymnastic skills, coordination, flexibility (remember also to do your M-WOD every day), agility and strength. On the site there are many good explanations and demos of how to do many of the gymnastics moves like L-sit, ring work, handstand and walking on your hands. The way I use Gymnastics Wod, is that I incorprate it into my daily workout. It would look something like this:
10-15min Mobility Wod, working on flexibility and better range of motion. Will look at what WOD i’m doing and then work on those bodyparts.
Gymnastics Wod, as a warm-up or skill work, before the WOD itself. You could do the MWOD, then the GYM-WOD and then do the HQ main site WOD.
There are some amazing workouts and skill sets on Gym-Wod, so go try it out and let me know how your progress on your journey.
I finally got around to trying some new protein powder. When I was in Denmark and training I used the protein powder from Bodylab. To me this protein powder tasted good, it is a good quality and it was a good price pr.kg.
There are many protein brands especially when you are in North America then the sky is the limit. But finding something that is pure in quality with no additives is a bit harder. The next trick is to find protein powder from cows that are grass feed and not corn feed. The reason for this is the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio. Through our modern food we get a lot of omega 6, but not as much omega 3. Our physiology is wired for an, n-3/n-6 ratio from 1-1 or 1-2. The levels of n-3/n-6 in the North American diet is today approximately 1-40.
Omega 3 is one of the best natural anti-inflammatory remedies to reduce what Barry Sears, founder of The Zone Diet calls, silent inflammation. If the cows are corn feed the ratio of omega 6 will be higher and you risk getting to much omega 6 and therefor you risk many of the lifestyle deceases out there including silent inflammation. To learn more about the omega fatty acids there is a excellent chapter in Robb Wolf’s book The Paleo Solution page.111-113.
I found a protein powder made from New Sealand Whey Isolate. New Sealand Whey has for years been know for its purity and no pesticides policy. Probiotic Whey Isolate from Quantum Nutrition Inc, is a new all-natural product that meets all the guidelines for quality (100% New Zealand whey; non GMO; antibiotic, hormone and pesticide-free) and it contains 5 billion CFU Prolife probiotics in each serving. Probiotics are friendly bacteria, and help us absorb more daily nutrients and aid in protein absorption. Unless you’re eating naturally-fermented sauerkraut on a regular basis, you could probably use some more probiotics in your life!
When I have tried it for some time I will let you guys know what I think about it. If any of you have any other products you would like me to try out and write a review about feel free to email me.
It’s been a while since I wrote on my blog sorry for that. I was lucky to get hit by a very bad flu, the day before New Years and I have been sick for 5-6 straight days not being able to get out of bed, the only thing I could do was lie in bed and think. It gave me time to look back at 2010 and to look at what I liked about 2010 and what I disliked. 2011 will be a new beginning for me, in more ways then one. I will start to train seriously again and I will start to teach again.
I got the official permission by my Grandmaster Andreas Hoffmann, to open the first Chi Sim Weng Chun School here in Toronto, Canada. This is a great honor for me and a big step for Chi Sim Weng Chun world wide. It is my dream to share this wonderful art with all of you and show the values and virtues of a Shaolin monk. Here is a small clip of Sifu Cesario showing this wonderful art.
Having the chance to move to another country put ones life into another perspective. Things change, you change. You see beauty in things you once were blind to. It has tough me a lot to be an “immigrant” in a new country. It has giving me strength and a new passion for what I do. 2011 will be an amazing year. I will try to learn as much as humanly possible and try to apply it into my daily life. One of my goals in 2011 is to get more Crossfit certs and attend more seminars for training. I will be looking into learning Movnat from Erwan Le Corre and to meet Robb Wolf to talk more about The Paleo Solution.
I will close this post, with two of the most amazing people I have ever seen. I hope You also, like these two people, will make 2011 a year to remember for everyone.
SECOND WIND
AGATSU KETTLEBELL ENDURANCE TRAINING
Great athletes hit the wall; great athletes persevere, push through the pain and gain their “second wind.” In this volume Shawn Mozen brings you a host of dynamic bodyweight and Kettlebell endurance routines that will redefine your notion of fitness. Each routine has been skillfully crafted with a variety of compound exercises that will increase endurance, burn calories, and push you beyond cardio training and into the world of endurance. If you want to take your skills to the next level this DVD is for you.
This DVD Contains three Kettlebell endurance circuits– plus bonus routines- a copy of the Agatsu Kettlebell E-Book and a copy of Agatsu Kettlebell Magazine!
Second Wind Kettlebell DVD
click here to order Second Wind-Agatsu Kettlebell Training DVD
If you are interested in attending a 2-day Agatsu Kettlebell Certification. Shawn will be hosting the next US Cert on Jan 22′th and 23′th in St. Louis, Missouri. Here are some of the things you can expect to learn at the cert:
