The CrossFit Curse
Your First Competition
CrossFit as a sport is growing beyond what we can comprehend.
In that we're starting to see a lot of localised competitions; European specific competitions - British specific - and all formats of teams/ partnership competitions. While they're great for the sport, we also have a rise of "Beginner" Level competitions; which can be a threat.
CrossFit gets this false reputation of being the sport for injury when it's studied that CrossFit is no more dangerous for injury than other forms of exercise; in terms of participant injury rate (Hak, 2013).
When we look at the highest level of competitors, or even the "mediocre"; for lack of a better word, injury levels are extremely slim - and rare at best. Athletes that have been training in this way know that technique, and form will only better their performances and go a long way in aiding recovery in between events.
When we look at The CrossFit Games Open, a significant majority of athletes adopt a "one and done" approach to their attempts. Only giving the qualifiers one shot; in understanding that you get no second chances on a competition floor. Some will find themselves doing the workout twice - and very rarely; extremely rarely, will athletes do a workout three times.
The stress that competitive "TEST" workouts place on your body are significant, and need to be understood - and I promise you, saying "it's just five minutes" means it's a lot more of a stress on you than if it was an hour.
So why are Beginner Level comps a threat?
Simple. While they provide an excellent platform for new athletes to get their first feel of competition - their target audience is those that have never approached this in their training experience.
To those reading this; and partaking in beginner competitions, that have previously competed, and taken part in "In House Throw Downs", and have genuinely trained for competitive purposes for over a year... this really doesn't apply to you.
It applies to those that are completely fresh to the sport of CrossFit. I've been training for over 5 years in total and I'm still trying to get technical with my Olympic lifting. I'm going way back to basics to perfect the foundations. And this year I've fully stepped back from too much competing in understanding the stress' it brings.
Having looked into an ongoing beginners competition, I've seen some athletes step back from their regular day to day training - to attack qualifiers a minimum of three times - to a maximum of five attempts. These five attempts are done within a week. The stress that puts on the athletes' bodies, and the niggles they pick up - complain about - and in a very human nature way, try to blame on someone or something else - is extremely interrelated.
I'm not picking out individuals, and I'm not trying to cause a ruckus. What I'm saying is that when someone has been running on a treadmill for six months, you don't go signing them up for a Marathon. When someone has barely had a barbell in their hand for less than 12 months, you don't send them into a British Weightlifting Competition.
Experience is a HUGE and SIGNIFICANT part to any athlete's toolkit. Beginner competitions aren't "experience" per say - due to their Weekly Qualifier and Open Leaderboard Formats. Experience is quality training with quality coaches, local level gym based throwdowns - with scaling options designed for you as an individual.
This is my opinion, make of it what you will!
Alexander Yagoub
CrossFit as a sport is growing beyond what we can comprehend.
In that we're starting to see a lot of localised competitions; European specific competitions - British specific - and all formats of teams/ partnership competitions. While they're great for the sport, we also have a rise of "Beginner" Level competitions; which can be a threat.CrossFit gets this false reputation of being the sport for injury when it's studied that CrossFit is no more dangerous for injury than other forms of exercise; in terms of participant injury rate (Hak, 2013).
When we look at the highest level of competitors, or even the "mediocre"; for lack of a better word, injury levels are extremely slim - and rare at best. Athletes that have been training in this way know that technique, and form will only better their performances and go a long way in aiding recovery in between events.
When we look at The CrossFit Games Open, a significant majority of athletes adopt a "one and done" approach to their attempts. Only giving the qualifiers one shot; in understanding that you get no second chances on a competition floor. Some will find themselves doing the workout twice - and very rarely; extremely rarely, will athletes do a workout three times.The stress that competitive "TEST" workouts place on your body are significant, and need to be understood - and I promise you, saying "it's just five minutes" means it's a lot more of a stress on you than if it was an hour.
So why are Beginner Level comps a threat?
Simple. While they provide an excellent platform for new athletes to get their first feel of competition - their target audience is those that have never approached this in their training experience.
To those reading this; and partaking in beginner competitions, that have previously competed, and taken part in "In House Throw Downs", and have genuinely trained for competitive purposes for over a year... this really doesn't apply to you.
It applies to those that are completely fresh to the sport of CrossFit. I've been training for over 5 years in total and I'm still trying to get technical with my Olympic lifting. I'm going way back to basics to perfect the foundations. And this year I've fully stepped back from too much competing in understanding the stress' it brings.
Having looked into an ongoing beginners competition, I've seen some athletes step back from their regular day to day training - to attack qualifiers a minimum of three times - to a maximum of five attempts. These five attempts are done within a week. The stress that puts on the athletes' bodies, and the niggles they pick up - complain about - and in a very human nature way, try to blame on someone or something else - is extremely interrelated.
I'm not picking out individuals, and I'm not trying to cause a ruckus. What I'm saying is that when someone has been running on a treadmill for six months, you don't go signing them up for a Marathon. When someone has barely had a barbell in their hand for less than 12 months, you don't send them into a British Weightlifting Competition.
Experience is a HUGE and SIGNIFICANT part to any athlete's toolkit. Beginner competitions aren't "experience" per say - due to their Weekly Qualifier and Open Leaderboard Formats. Experience is quality training with quality coaches, local level gym based throwdowns - with scaling options designed for you as an individual.
This is my opinion, make of it what you will!
Alexander Yagoub
Comments
Post a Comment