Six Resistance Training Myths That Just Won't Die

1) High Reps Gets You Toned While Heavy Weight and Low Reps Makes You Bulky

There is no such thing as “toning” muscle.  It doesn’t exist; please drop it from your vocabulary immediately.  The toned look that most people desire comes from a combination of muscle growth and a reduction in body fat.  To understand why this is the case, one must first understand how muscle growth works. 

Building muscle is a product of hypertrophy, a process where the muscle is under load for a period of time that forces microscopic tears in the muscle, which must be repaired by the body, causing growth as the body prepares itself so that the tearing of the muscle, (considered trauma by the brain) doesn’t occur again.  Therefore, in order to continue building muscle, you must increase the load on the muscle in order to force the body to repair it and grow.  Doing the same or less weight over and over will be unsuccessful because the body will adapt to the stimulus (weight being used) and the gains you saw initially will no longer occur. 

According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the ideal number of repetitions to achieve muscular hypertrophy is between seven and 15.  This amount of time under tension, when progressively overloaded (more weight is added over time) will result in the most muscular growth.  There is a ceiling.  Past 15 reps, muscular endurance becomes the main training result, and because the load being lifted is not great enough, there will be little muscular growth achieved. 

So, now that we’ve established that the ideal rep range for building muscle is between seven and 15 reps per set with moderate to heavy weights, where do low rep sets with heavy weight fit in?  Well, compound movements like squats, deadlifts and overhead presses, done between one and six reps with heavy loads, are ideal for building muscular and neurological strength, while releasing natural growth hormones in the body charged with helping the body prepare for future work.  The upshot, heavy loads handled between one and six reps in a set help to build pure strength.  If you build strength, you will be able to handle heavier loads when performing exercises for the purpose of building muscle.  As was discussed earlier, the more weight you are able to handle between seven and 15 reps, the greater the adaptation in muscle growth will be.

Therefore, low reps and heavy weight will not make you bulky, but rather will help you build the strength necessary to overload muscles to a greater extent with more weight when training to build muscle.  The “bulky” look that some people get is due to improper nutrition and over-eating while in conjunction with resistance training.  In order to look “toned” or “ripped” it is necessary to build strength by training with compound exercises and heavy weight between 1-6 reps, achieve hypertrophy by training moderate to heavy weights between 7-15 reps, and finally, eat properly so you do not add excess body fat. 

The Main Point—Build strength with heavy weights and reps between 1-6, build muscle with moderate to heavy weights and reps between 7-15, and eat properly.  Sets above 15 reps will result in improvements in muscular endurance NOT muscle growth.

Christmas Abbott

2) Heavy Weightlifting Will Make Women Big and Bulky

Ladies, you cannot get big and bulky.  I repeat, it is not possible for lifting weights to make you big and bulky or jacked without the use of steroids.  The only things that will happen when you lift weights are as follows:

1) Increased strength

2) Fat loss, YES FAT LOSS from lifting heavy weights

3) Decrease in the occurrence of osteoporosis later in life due to increased bone density from resistance training, in addition to a decrease in other chronic illnesses associated with a sedentary lifestyle, age, and/or obesity

4) Muscle growth, which in turn causes the body to burn fat even after the weight training session is done

5) Increase in self-esteem through gains in strength and muscle, while fat is reduced, and as a result of the body’s positive hormone response to resistance training

6) Injury prevention and improvement of long-term health.  Do you want to be the 60 or 70-year-old woman who can’t stand up out of your seat?  Can’t walk up the steps?  Can’t leave your home because your body is failing you?  The older you get the MORE you should use resistance training to keep your body functioning properly!

The jacked or bulky look that women are afraid of is actually physically possible for the average woman to achieve regardless of how heavy they lift.  The main hormone responsible for muscle growth is testosterone, the dominant hormone in men.  Fortunately for women, they don’t have nearly as much testosterone as they do estrogen, the dominant female hormone.  Without testosterone, muscle growth on a large scale won’t occur. 

Female powerlifters and bodybuilders, who look masculine and jacked, don’t get that way from lifting weights.  They get that way by taking performance-enhancing drugs that block their natural hormones and introduce synthetic testosterone into their bodies.

The upshot--don’t worry about getting big from weight lifting ladies, but if you want to burn fat, build SOME muscle and strength, decrease the chances of serious health problems as you age, and just build overall self-confidence, lifting weights, HEAVY weights, is the way to go.

Main Point—There are numerous health benefits to heavy weightlifting for women.  While most women are afraid of building an unattractive and bulky physique, there is no real danger of this occurring.  Weight training helps to build strength, muscle, bone density, ligament strength, burn fat and decreases the chances of serious chronic diseases associated with obesity and sedentary lifestyles.  Straight up if you are a female looking for ways to change your body composition and lose unwanted body fat, you need to include resistance training in your workouts.  

Dmitry Klokov Push Pressing Over 400 pounds
The push press is a great overhead variation for building strength
that will translate to the bench press

3) The Best Way to Increase Your Bench Press is to Bench Press All The Time 

I will admit I used to think this way.  I used to bench press three times a week.  My bench would stall out and id wonder why I wasn’t seeing gains anymore.  I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve flat benched in the last two years.  Not only do I hate the bench press, but I also found that my bench press went up even though I was never doing it.

This past fall, I finally had a concrete example of exactly what I’m talking about.  After not bench-pressing once all summer, I came back to football and sustained a knee injury the first game of the season.  Part of my rehab was upper body training.  However, not once did I perform a flat bench press.  My training consisted of incline presses, overhead presses like military presses and push presses, and jerks, in addition to direct triceps work and upper back work through pushups, dips, pull ups and rows.

At the end of the season after a couple months of heavy overhead work and heavy incline pressing, in addition to upper back work, my buddy Dimi challenged me to max out my flat bench press the last Sunday workout of the season.  After not having flat benched even once in SEVEN MONTHS, I hit a lifetime personal record of 345 pounds for 3 easy reps.  Since then, I have never used the flat bench in my programming or the programming of other athletes, and so far, everyone’s flat bench has increased as a result.  Another example is Dimi Artale, who hit 375 for an easy single on flat bench after months of my programming that included no flat benching.

The reason is this:  most people think that the pectorals (chest muscles) are the prime movers in the bench press.  They set up entire days devoted to the chest muscles, spending hours working their chest from every angle with every exercise imaginable.  Then they are in shock when their bench press stalls or even decreases.  Not only are they over-working their chest muscles, but even more important than the chest muscles in the bench press are the shoulders, upper back, and triceps. 

Simply put, if you want to press big weight, you need to build strength and power in your shoulders, upper back, and triceps.  There is an old saying, a big overhead press can build a big bench, but a big bench won’t build a big overhead press.  All of my athletes do a ton of overhead work including military presses, push presses and heavy jerks, as well as incline presses, heavy rows, pull ups, and direct triceps work.  Building these muscles and movements directly improves the athlete’s bench press, without ever getting on a flat bench. 

Main Point—Building the shoulders, upper back and triceps through heavy overhead presses, incline presses, pull ups, rows, and triceps work like dips and pushups has shown to improve the bench press strength of myself and other athletes I’ve worked with, without ever actually performing a flat bench press.  Direct chest work like chest flies and constant, repeated flat bench presses will not improve bench press strength as effectively.

4) Deadlifting is Bad for Your Back

There are few exercises better than the
deadlift for adding strength and muscle to the whole
body while burning fat

The deadlift and its variations are some of the best ways to build strength and muscle in the entire body.   The deadlift allows for the handling of extremely heavy loads while utilizing nearly every muscle in the body.  Because the deadlift includes so many muscles and motor patterns in one movement, the hormonal and neurological response to heavy deadlifting is among the greatest of any movement in all of resistance training.  Most people don’t realize this, but strength and muscle growth are as much a product of the brain as anything else.  Heavy loads that utilize a large number of muscles groups at once create a tremendous neurological response, including the release of growth hormones like testosterone in the blood to help build muscle.  Additionally, the neurological response to having to coordinate so many muscles to move a heavy load like is often lifted in the deadlift forces the brain to adapt and learn to coordinate your muscles efficiently in order to complete the lift.  Through training, without even building muscle, this neurological adaptation will on its own lead to strength gains.  Another advantage to the deadlift is that when large muscle groups are coordinated and used simultaneously in one movement, more calories are burned because the body is doing more work.  The work needed to perform a deadlift is MUCH greater then that needed to perform a bicep curl due to the deadlift requiring more muscle action and allowing for the use of heavier weight.  Therefore, those looking to lose weight or burn fat should also be deadlifting heavy, because the movement will use more calories and energy then most other resistance training movements.

Safe to say, regardless of your goal in the gym, you should be deadlifting.  Some believe that deadlifting is bad for your back.  Simply put, any movement you do in the gym or with resistance can be dangerous if performed improperly.  The deadlift is only dangerous if it is not practiced or performed with proper technique using loads that allow for proper technique.  When done properly, the deadlift will actually build the spinal erectors and stabilizers, which are the muscles responsible for stabilizing and protecting the spine and for the natural human movement of standing up.  Most times, back injuries occur when people deadlift with a rounded lumbar spine or over-extended spine, or with weights that is too heavy for them to maintain the positions necessary to do the lift properly.  The muscles primarily responsible for moving the weight in the deadlift are the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and hips.  While there are many other muscles involved, those other muscles are accessory muscles, and serve to stabilize the rest of the body while the primary movers do the work of moving the bar.  If you find yourself feeling like your back is incredibly sore from deadlifting, the likelihood is that you are using your lower back to move the bar that is improper and dangerous.  Check your ego at the door, lower the weight, and learn how to do the movement properly by utilizing your legs, which are made up of the strongest muscles in the human body   If you are capable of doing it properly, regardless of your goals, you should be deadlifting, or at the very least, doing movements that involve you lifting a loaded bar off the ground. 

The Main Point—Deadlifts are among the best resistance training movements for building muscle, strength and power of the entire body, as well as burning body fat.  Deadlifts are only unsafe when performed incorrectly under loads that don’t allow the individual to maintain proper technique. 

5) You Can Spot Reduce Fat

This is one of my favorites.  Guys and girls who want to get rid of their love handles stand in the mirror at the gym with a weight bending back and forth.  Let me be clear, you cannot, CANNOT decide what fat you get rid of.  Whether it’s your arms, your love handles, belly fat, or your hips and butt if you’re a girl, you don’t get to decide what fat you burn.  Each person stores body fat in different amounts and different locations depending sex, age, genetics, etc.  No matter how hard you try, those pesky love handles won’t go away no matter how many weighted side bends you do.

“Toning” as it is often referred to, is simply building muscle and burning fat so that the muscle is defined and visible.  Unfortunately, you have no control over where your body stores its fat or where you burn it first.  All you can do is lift heavy weight and eat properly, adding in some cardio or circuit style resistance training to try to increase fat burning.  As much as I wish I could tell you that you can get rid of your love handles, fat on the back or your arm, hip or butt fat, that’s just not how it works.  Your body stores fat where it seems fit, and will burn fat from where it wants to.  Trying to do a movement that squeezes an area of unwanted fat will do absolutely nothing get rid of it.

The reality is, that if you really want to burn fat, the best way is a combination of heavy, moderate, and circuit style resistance training.  Heavy and moderate resistance training helps to build muscle and strength, which compliment each other.  Performing movements like squats, deadlifts, RDLs, overhead presses, and rows are great bang-for-your-buck exercises to build strength and muscle, as well as free more muscle building testosterone and growth hormones in your blood.  Additionally, as I’ve mentioned earlier, resistance training that results in muscle growth turns the body into a fat burning machine long after you leave the gym.

Main Point—You can’t choose where your body stores fat or where you burn it.  You also can’t get rid of specific fat storage sites by doing exercises that isolate the muscle or muscles in that area.  The best way to burn fat throughout the whole body is to build muscle throughout the whole body through heavy compound movements like squats, deadlifts, cleans and presses.

6) You Can Target and Build Different Parts of a Muscle Through Different Exercises at Various Angles.

I see it and hear it all the time.  Guys in the gym spending two hours or more on a single body part.  Stop and think about that.  A single, small muscle like the bicep, or the pectorals (chest), receives TWO HOURS OF YOUR TIME.  On “arms day” they’ll stand in the mirror and do hammer curls, dumbbell curls, preacher curls, lying curls, barbell curls, twisting curls, reverse curls, the list goes on and on.  When I finally crack and ask why they’re doing all of this they say something to the affect of, “I’m trying to hit all the parts of the bicep, right now I’m trying to build up my lower bicep…”

The reason that this is a huge waste of your time is the “All or None Principle.”  The simple explanation of the “all or none principle” of muscle action is that a muscle either contracts or it doesn’t.  This includes so-called “groups” of muscles like the abdominals.  Therefore, when you do ANY kind of curl at ANY angle, your bicep muscle is the prime mover.  You can’t isolate a certain part of the bicep or target it.  When you do a curl, your whole bicep contracts, it’s that simple.  When you do an abdominal exercise, like a sit up, straight leg raise, crunch, etc. your abdominals contract.  You cannot isolate your lower abdominals, upper abdominals, etc.  I know this flies in the face of so much of the horrendous information that is out there on fitness, but it is reality.  Seeing the “cuts” and “tone” of muscles that so many people are trying to achieve by isolating various parts of their body is done by building the muscle and cutting body fat through proper nutrition, weight training, and cardiovascular training.

Other examples of misunderstood exercises are the various bench press movements.  No, the incline bench press does not work the upper chest, the flat bench work the whole chest, and the decline work the lower chest.  The incline bench press, due to the angle at which you press, utilizes the shoulders to a greater extent then the flat bench, but regardless of the angle, the pectoral muscles either contract fully or they don’t.  The amount of force they produce is another matter, but the fact is changing the angle of the bench press has NOTHING to do with what part of the chest muscle is used because…drum roll please, when a muscle contracts THE WHOLE MUSCLE CONTRACTS. 

Main Point—Due to the “All or None Principle,” which states that a muscle or “muscle group” either contracts or it doesn’t, it is impossible to isolate one part of a muscle by changing the angle of the exercises.  Simply put, either the muscle contracts or it doesn’t.

CrossFit: An Objective Look At The World's Fastest Growing Sport/Fitness Trend

Crossfit has absolutely exploded in recent years as a fitness craze, recreational activity, and sport.  The Crossfit Games, the annual competition pitting the best Crossfitters in the world against one another in a number of grueling events has achieved mainstream status through a lucrative sponsorship deal with Reebok, as well as ESPN 2 coverage and replays throughout the year.  In a broader sense, Crossfit has become wildly popular with fitness enthusiasts of all ages, and in my own experience, most people who try Crossfit become absolutely addicted.  They tell anyone and everyone they can find about Crossfit and gush about how it’s the best workout ever.

Admittedly, my outlook on Crossfit has been relatively negative over the years.  As someone whose goal is to be a strength and conditioning professional, serious Olympic weightlifter, and possibly a weightlifting coach one day, some of the things I’ve seen in Crossfit have made me cringe.  30-rep snatch workouts for time?  People dropping barbells on their head (it’s on Youtube)?  Kipping and butterfly pull-ups?  Safe to say for all the good Crossfit has done for fitness and weightlifting there are a number of serious drawbacks. 

I’ve decided to write this article from a completely unbiased, objective perspective.  I will seek to not inject any of my own thoughts or opinions, and to simply list and describe the pros and cons of Crossfit, so that you can formulate your own opinions.

Lucas Parker is an elite Crossfitter who has also
competed at a high level of weightlifting.  345 lb split jerk
at the 2013 Games...and an awesome beard.

Pros

I’ll even start with the pros so that some of my Crossfit friends can’t point to me starting out with the negatives as a bias.  Actually, hell, no one probably reads this thing anyway so, yeah.  Anyway, here we go:

1) Entertainment

Many people hate Crossfit and refuse to give it a chance, but the fact of the matter is, when it comes to the Crossfit Open and Regional Season, and especially when the Games come around, I pay attention.  As a sport in itself, Crossfit is extremely entertaining.  Recently, I came to the realization that Crossfit is much like the X Games but with fitness.  Watching these athletes compete at the highest level is not only impressive, but also captivating.  While some of the workouts may be uninteresting, (hitting blocks across a slide isn’t that cool, nor is a triathlon) some of the workouts are nothing short of unbelievable.  1,000 meter rows, handstand pushups, handstand walks, clean and jerks, 400+ pound deadlifts, pistol squats, muscle ups etc. all in the same day? Incredible.  The upshot is that Crossfit can be pretty fun to watch at its highest level, and I imagine as the sport becomes more lucrative and continues to grow, the presentation of the Crossfit Games will also improve.

2) Exposure for the Sport of Weightlifting

Rich Froning, 300 lb snatch

There is nothing more impressive, powerful, athletic, and elegant than a masterfully executed snatch or clean & jerk.  Unfortunately, in today’s American society, it seems all anyone cares about is how big their biceps and chest are.  This sad state of affairs could be an article topic all on its own, but it is what it is.  However, with the rise in popularity of Crossfit, has come a rise in visibility and popularity of Olympic weightlifting in the United States.  Perennially we have struggled as a country to produce Olympic weightlifters that can compete on the international stage.  While there are a number of great weightlifters in our country, the reality is there just hasn’t been enough attention paid to weightlifting to draw out enough athletes and enough funding to make us a strong international competitor.  However, because athletes are starting to lift at a younger age, sometimes through Crossfit, and athletes learn the lifts through Crossfit and get good at them, there are a number of rising young weightlifters in our country.  After watching the American Open of Weightlifting a couple months ago, it became quite clear:  there are a number of elite Crossfitters who are becoming seriously competitive Olympic Weightlifters.  Rich Froning, Lucas Parker, and Aja Barto have all lifted some serious numbers in the snatch and clean & jerk, and while none of them are even close to the elite levels of weightlifting, the point is that the future looks bright for American Weightlifting, thanks in part (maybe large part) to the popularity of Crossfit.

3) Community

I have never taken a Crossfit class and the likelihood is I never will.  However, having observed Crossfit competitions, spoken to Crossfitters from around the tri-state region, and done research of my own for a sports marketing project, I have come to the realization that the Crossfit community is a large, strong, and relatively positive one.  Coaches, competitors, and even fitness enthusiasts support one another, help one another, and push one another to achieve.  As someone who feels that there is not enough support and positivity towards fitness, working out, weightlifting, and physical health, this is great.  It’s great that so many people are getting off the couch and away from the television to improve themselves mentally and physically through exercise, meet new people, and find passion, motivation, and self-esteem in a positive activity and environment.

4) Activity

Two of the biggest obstacles that people face everyday that stops them from working out or trying to be healthy and physically active are lack of motivation from having no one to work out with and push them, and a lack of knowledge in terms of where to begin and what to do.  Crossfit solves both of these problems.  Crossfit is an institution that gives individuals a gym worth of people of all ages and ability levels to train with.  Having a group of people training with you and around you, feeling your pain, and fighting to finish and succeed with you can be a powerfully motivating factor, and can lead individuals to stay with training and working out on a regular basis.  Additionally, Crossfit has its own system of programming, and as in any environment, each coach approaches programming in his or her own way.  However, no matter where you go, each Crossfit gym will have a coach, and will likely have classes set up to get the individual started.  Having a starting point, a path, a goal, and a support group can do wonders for a person’s commitment and confidence.

5) Intensity

There is really nothing that bothers me more than people who go into the gym a few times a week and hop on the treadmill for an hour, do a few weight exercises, then leave and swear up and down that they work out.  The simple fact is, the harder you work, the greater your results will be, (to an extent).  Crossfit creates an environment of intensity and hard work that is a breath of fresh air in the face of classic boring cardio work and traditional fitness.  Additionally, Crossfit teaches and incorporates a number of functional movements that, when TAUGHT AND PROGRAMMED PROPERLY, can significantly improve the movement, fitness, health, and strength of individuals of all ages.  Young athletes can learn proper movement patterns and basic strength exercises like squats, pushups, pull-ups, and Olympic movements, while older Crossfitters can improve their health and movement patterns so that even as they age they can prevent injuries and do the things they want to do.

While I’ve never done a Crossfit “WOD” the exact way it’s written, I have used hybrid training and circuit training for years.  This type of training combines various disciplines to maximize athletic, strength, and/or conditioning results.  It provides the opportunity for you to mix up your workouts, get a great deal of work done in a relatively short amount of time, challenge your mental and physical toughness, and have some fun with training! 

Cons

Before you start thinking, “Wow, Justin’s a Crossfit convert,” it’s time to look at the flip side of the coin.  Some of Crossfit’s pros can also be negative, inefficient, and flat out dangerous when implemented improperly or in the wrong situation.

1) Programming

Dangerous form for the sake
of moving more weight.  A clean should
never look like this

Programming is the systematic design of workouts over a period of time to maximize performance and help athletes or individuals reach their goal or goals.  At best, Crossfit programming is chaotic, at worst; it can be hazardous and detrimental to the individual’s progress.  As someone who wants to work in strength and conditioning on a professional level, a great deal of my class work and research has been centered around understanding movements, what their purpose is, and how to implement them properly into a program.  Certain movements, like the Olympic lifts, box jumps, and power lifts like deadlifts and squats were created to improve power and strength.  Additionally, in the case of the Olympic lifts and power lifts, these are movements that are competed in, in a sport of their own, with the Olympic lifts being the most technically difficult lifts in the world.  They are not meant to be performed for extremely high reps, and they are not meant to be done in conjunction with other strength movements like pushups, handstand pushups, running, etc.  They are meant to be performed using heavy weight, for reps no greater then five, and ideally less.  The chaotic, constantly changing nature of Crossfit programming, which often lacks progression, structure, and purpose, does not maximize movements, and puts individuals at a risk of injury due to fatigue or technical breakdown.  While I’ve brought this point up to many Crossfitters who swear their coaches pay close attention to basic programming principles, the reality is I’ve seen some excellent Crossfit coaches who know hot to create well thought out and properly designed programs, but I’ve seen more erratic, senseless programming.

2) Lack of Proper Technical Coaching/Prioritizing Weight or Speed Over Technique

Crossfitters tell me all the time that their box and their coaches preach technique and coach it hard and coach it well.  Unfortunately, Crossfit coaches are not Olympic Weightlifting, Powerlifting, or gymnastic coaches, yet Crossfit utilizes complex movements from all three of these disciplines.  The result: bad form is rampant.  The fact of the matter is, even when you watch the Crossfit Games, the highest level the sport is competed at, you will see athletes performing cleans by trying to pull the bar as high as they can with their arms, then catch it with their hips tucked under them and their feet almost as wide as the plates on the bar.  This starfish-looking position is incorrect, inefficient, and flat out dangerous.  Additionally, you’ll see athletes pressing out and falling all over trying to do high rep snatches as fast as possible, as well as horribly pressed out and unsafe jerks.

Now, sometimes Crossfit coaches really do coach technique, and athletes learn it through hard work and attention to detail.  However, even though they know the technique, it all goes out the window in the competitive environment of Crossfit.  Some “benchmark” workouts include Isabel, 30 snatches from the ground as fast as possible at 135 pounds, and King Kong, which combines 455 pound deadlifts with muscle ups, 250 pound cleans and handstand pushups (for men).  Whether athletes know how to properly perform these movements individually or not, when it comes time to race against the clock or each other, technique goes out the window in favor the fastest reps possible.

Other times, coaches simply don’t teach technique or stress its importance.  If you can’t do one good snatch, deadlift, jerk, clean, squat, pushup, etc. you should not be doing them under load in a competitive environment!  Regardless of the reason, the end result is dangerous technique being practiced by Crossfitters around the world.  This is certainly not the case with everyone who participates in Crossfit, but it is there.

This is not just a mean-hearted or overblown criticism of Crossfit.  Recently, a Crossfitter from Colorado was paralyzed when he failed on a snatch in competition and the bar landed on his back, severing his spine, (Google it).  He may never walk again.  I don’t know what caused him to fail, but I think it’s safe to assume he was pushing the weight or time of the competitive workout, and failed to properly miss his rep, (yes there is a right way to miss a snatch).  The point is, there is nothing inherently dangerous about these movements when they are performed properly.  Unfortunately, there are just too many cases where they are not.

Despite the fact that Rob Orlando may be considered an
elite Crossfitter, this is a horrendous power clean.  Feet too wide,
one knee inside the toes, starfish style.

3) Crossfit is NOT for everyone

Straight up, Crossfit is not for everyone.  Crossfit advertises itself as a new way to get fit and have fun doing it that is great for people of all ages, athletic backgrounds and fitness levels.  I’m sorry, but if you are 60, never played sports, are out of shape, and have never done any serious training, you should not be doing Crossfit.  Crossfit requires a high level of physical preparedness, and jumping right into it with no experience in basic fitness or physical endurance is a recipe for disaster. 

It’s great to encourage older individuals to become active.  I fully support the idea that no matter how old you are, you can benefit from proper movement training, endurance exercises and resistance training.  People of all ages, from kids to senior citizens should be able to control their own bodyweight in movements like bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, pull ups, sit ups, movements that require a hip hinge and running with proper form.  These movements build a base of strength and endurance, and help to ingrain proper movement patterns when taught properly.  Before anyone picks up a barbell or any weight for that matter, they should MASTER these basic movements. 

It is a serious problem when young kids are performing improper snatches before he/she can even perform a proper bodyweight squat, or when a middle-aged individual, just trying to change a sedentary lifestyle, is loading up a barbell to do deadlifts when he/she can’t perform a proper hip-hinge. 

The movements utilized in Crossfit are technical and require strength, coordination and athleticism.  They are not to be taken lightly.  A good coach understands the risk of injury, and makes sure that every athlete he or she works with is properly prepared before moving on to more advanced movements and workouts.  To put it simply, you must crawl before you can walk.

4) Cost

Crossfit is ridiculously over priced. Period.

5) Ignorance

When you talk to a Crossfitter, they will more often then not swear up and down that Crossfit is the greatest thing on the planet.  To the regular Crossfitter, Crossfit is the greatest workout ever put to paper.  That’s fine, I completely understand how it is to be passionate about something.  Where I lose patience, is when people talk about movements, or styles of working out as being native to Crossfit.  I’ve had people walk up to me while I was doing high-rep bodyweight circuits in the gym or teaching movements like the snatch, clean, jerk, and/or push press, and say, “Are you doing Crossfit now??” or “Oh, that’s Crossfit right?”  Again, this isn’t the case with every Crossfitter, but it is there.  No, Crossfit did not invent ANY of the movements it utilizes.  And no, Crossfit did not invent circuit training or hybrid training.  For decades, athletes and fitness enthusiasts have been doing double unders, Turkish get ups, snatches, jerks, muscle ups, toes to bar, etc. as part of their training.  Additionally, the concept of combining movements into circuits for conditioning and doing high-rep sets to improve strength-endurance and work capacity is NOTHING new.  Crossfit gave it a name, but the type of training done in Crossfit has been around forever.

Conclusion

Snatch sequence from Christmas Abbott,
CrossFit Games competitor and
weightlifter, at the 2013 American Open

With each passing year, Crossfit grows in popularity, visibility and value.  It is getting harder and harder to call Crossfit a fad, because the reality is I believe it is here to stay.  Now that Crossfit has a major sponsor like Reebok and coverage on ESPN it has reached mainstream status.  I’ll admit, as a sport on its own, Crossfit is entertaining.  Some of the feats of strength and endurance performed by elite Crossfitters are admittedly incredible.  Additionally, some of the athletes that compete in Crossfit have also shown an ability to compete at a serious level nationally in weightlifting.  I have a great deal of respect for Crossfit athletes who take the various disciplines used in Crossfit seriously, (Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, powerlifting, strongman, etc.) and commit the time to perform the movements properly. 

However, while there are a number of upsides to Crossfit, the reality is, when done improperly, with the wrong coaches, in the wrong situation, it can be extremely dangerous and inefficient.  Crossfit is not for athletes in other sports trying to improve their power and strength for their sport.  Crossfit is not for adults who haven’t been taught proper movements patterns and basic bodyweight control.

This article is not meant to praise or bash Crossfit, it is simply a way to get my thoughts on Crossfit on paper, and hopefully educate people about the positives and negatives of Crossfit.  Whether you participate in Crossfit, watch it, or hate it is up to you, I just hope this will help you as a reader gain a better understanding of the various perspectives on Crossfit, and why they exist.  For my part, I am indifferent.  I won’t be competing or even training in Crossfit, but as I’ve articulated some of my training is similar to the training utilized in Crossfit, and I will admit that I follow the sport at its highest level.  To each his/her own, just make sure you’re not doing it due to a lack of education about what Crossfit really is.

Finding Success in One of the Most Challenging Years of My Life

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It’s been quite awhile since I posted on the blog, in large part because I just haven’t felt I’ve had a significant topic to write about.  However, now that 2013 has come to an end, I feel like it’s the perfect time to reflect on 2013, and share my experience and what I’ve taken away from it.

2013 was one of the most challenging and difficult years of my life.  I trained hard and made incredible progress all spring.  I rediscovered my love for Olympic Weightlifting and made great strides in strength and technique.  I set the school offensive line record in the snatch at 105 kg (231 lbs), cleaned 145 kg (319 lbs), and squatted 190 kg (418 lbs), all lifetime PRs.  I felt healthy and strong and was excited to enter my summer training and build on what I had accomplished.  I had also worked an internship as a strength and conditioning coach at Seton Hall, which gave me valuable coaching experience and in general, was a great opportunity to learn and grow.

It seems like anytime in life when everything is going your way, it all falls apart out of nowhere.  Just two days after coming home from FDU for the summer, I became very sick.  I had a raging fever, chills abdominal pain, and overall weakness among other symptoms.  When things did not improve, I went to the doctor who then sent me to the hospital.  Through five days in the hospital, in which I was tested and retested daily, all the while fighting a fever that spiked at 105 degrees, no doctor could find anything wrong with me.  To make a long story short, it was determined that I had a very serious Staph infection in my right knee, the same knee I had had three ACL reconstructions in.  The infection required two knee surgeries in two days to remove and a 10-day hospital stay, followed by a month of giving myself antibiotics through an IV that was inserted into my arm and ran up into my chest.

While this was a tremendous setback, I was still determined to play my final season of college football in the fall.  So, before the IV line came out and only a few weeks after surgery, I began to return to training.  As soon as the IV line came out, I went back to the gym and began to train in Olympic Weightlifting once again.  My numbers were returning, and I was feeling stronger.  I actually PRed my snatch at 111 kg (244 lbs), and was very excited about training again.

However, this is where I learned my first lesson.  I later learned, while working with weightlifting coaches at FDU, that in part because of the knee surgeries and the weakness in my legs, I had sacrificed technique, and compensated by pulling entirely with my back, a terrible habit that would have to be broken before my lifting could improve once again.

Simultaneously, I finally was cleared to return to football and after an awful summer of fighting to appeal my eligibility to the NCAA, with very little to no assistance from FDU or the coaching staff, I finally received word that I was eligible to play in my 6^th and final season of college football.  Finally, after a trying summer, I had reached my goal and playing football at FDU one last time.  My goals of being a captain, making 1^st team all conference, helping the team win at least five games, and walking out for Senior Day with some of my best friends including Mike Mancino, who I’ve been close with since his freshmen year, were all still attainable.

Everything was back on track.  I was motivated, excited, and thankful for the opportunity to play again under the Friday night lights.  Finally, opening night came.  We were away at TCNJ, our most intense rivalry.  The lights were on, the stands were packed, and my adrenaline was pumping like crazy throughout warm ups.  The first hit of the game relieved my nerves and I was back where I belonged.

On the third play of the game, I was blocking on the backside of a run play, when a defender dove and landed on the back of my left knee in the process of making a tackle, and I felt a pop and went down.  Turns out I had torn my MCL.  For six weeks I rehabbed and lifted, preparing myself to return to the field all while helping to coach the young lineman forced to play due to injuries.  In week seven I returned to the field against Widener University.  Playing against one of the best defensive lines I’d ever faced I played well in the first half, scoring an 88% on assignment, technique, and effort.  Nearing the end of the half, however, I was thrown to the ground and the pile landed on my knee, re-tearing my MCL. 

It seemed my career was over.  I was devastated.  But I returned to rehab and lifting regardless, hopeful that I would at least be able to suit up for my final game on Senior Day against Misericordia. 

440 lb ATG Squat

Senior Day came, and it was determined that I was capable of playing.  I braced my knee, said a prayer, and strapped up my pads for the final time, determined to play the entire game.  I played very well.  Physically, aggressively, and more confidently then I have in some time.  Nearing the end of the third quarter, I threw a cut block on a linebacker.  I mistimed the cut and had to throw my elbow out in front of my body to take his legs out.  I landed on my elbow, and felt searing, gut-wrenching pain throughout my arm and entire body.  I had dislocated my shoulder, but after it was popped back into place on the field, I returned to the game.  We lost, and I was in tremendous pain, but I had persevered, and had finished what I had set out to do.

I returned to lifting and working with athletes, doing whatever I was able to do while my shoulder healed and I waited to find out what the damage was.  An MRI revealed that I had anterior and posterior labrum tears, tearing of the shoulder capsule, and small tears in my rotator cuff.  The upshot was there was a significant amount of damage, and if I wanted to take lifting seriously again, I would require surgery.

The last thing I wanted to go through was another operation, but I knew it was necessary in the long run.  While I waited to schedule surgery, I returned to training, and set a somewhat lofty goal for myself:  to hit a PR squat before surgery.  So I set to training, squatting with a higher frequency then ever before, sometimes 5 days per week.  While some will cry overtraining, I found that my body responded incredibly well to the high frequency.  My leg strength grew at a high pace, my clean technique improved as a result, and soon I was setting a number of squat PRs.  I made 345 lbs for a PR double on the front squat, 400 lbs for a PR triple on the back squat, and finally two days before shoulder  

surgery, I far surpassed my goal by making a 200 kg (440 lb) back squat (videos on Facebook and instagram @jmsb_strengthtraining).  This was a 22 lb lifetime personal record!

The point of this story is not to complain or gain sympathy, but to show the reader what can be done when you set your mind to something.  I hope to inspire at least one person to reach their goals by flat out refusing to be defeated.  Whether it was the Staph infection and knee surgeries, the torn MCLs that took away most of my final season, or the dislocated shoulder that forced me to undergo a 7^th surgery in just 6 years, I persevered, fought back, and stayed on track to achieving my goals.  Regardless of the obstacle, if you want something go and get it, and let nothing stand in your way.  As I type this article with one hand, my other arm in a sling post surgery, I am mentally preparing myself to attack rehab and return to lifting again as soon as possible.  Whatever it is in your life, go get it!