G.R.A.S. – Generally Regarded As Safe. I heard this acronym recently, and I think it does a great job of summing up one of my key programming philosophies as a coach. There are a ton of cool exercises performed in CrossFit, in particular at competitions like the CrossFit Games. However, many of these movements are complex in nature and require a high degree of skill and ability. Therefore, throwing some of these movements into the average CrossFit workout at the gym is not a great idea considering the varying levels of skill in a typical class. Additionally, one must consider the difference between performing CrossFit as a fitness routine, and CrossFit as a sport. Learning how to do a muscle up may be cool, but does it magically improve your fitness in any appreciable way that pull ups and dips do not?
Generally speaking, the younger the athlete, the more aggressive you can be in your training methods. Young athletes tend to be much more teachable, adaptable to stress, better movers, and overall are more capable of learning a broad spectrum of exercises quickly. It is important for us as coaches to look at both the training age (experience level) and biological age of our athletes when writing programs and workouts. Just because you want to learn the kipping pull up and overhead kettlebell swing because you saw it online the CrossFit mainpage is not reason enough for me to teach it to you. Will learning those skills really help you in the direction of your goals?
Put simply, there are well accepted guidelines when it comes to training and physiological principles that exist for good reason- to help us as coaches make informed decisions about how to train our athletes. There’s no reason to break the mold simply for the sake of being different and ignoring convention. Instead, I’d rather learn from great coaches and implement concepts that fit my vision of training and athletic population.
Generally speaking, the younger the athlete, the more aggressive you can be in your training methods. Young athletes tend to be much more teachable, adaptable to stress, better movers, and overall are more capable of learning a broad spectrum of exercises quickly. It is important for us as coaches to look at both the training age (experience level) and biological age of our athletes when writing programs and workouts. Just because you want to learn the kipping pull up and overhead kettlebell swing because you saw it online the CrossFit mainpage is not reason enough for me to teach it to you. Will learning those skills really help you in the direction of your goals?
Put simply, there are well accepted guidelines when it comes to training and physiological principles that exist for good reason- to help us as coaches make informed decisions about how to train our athletes. There’s no reason to break the mold simply for the sake of being different and ignoring convention. Instead, I’d rather learn from great coaches and implement concepts that fit my vision of training and athletic population.
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