Whitney and Fran are such great friends that we haven’t see Whitney since. Where are you and Eric?
Thursday
Conditioning: On the minute for 15 minutes….
- 5 Deadlifts (95/65)
- 5 Hang Power Cleans
- 5 Thrusters
Coach’s Corner: How To Make Your Coach Happy or Why Form Matters
Part 1 of 3 by EmerFit Founder Chris Brown
Observed and paraphrased from the noon class Tuesday July 5th:
Jeff: Sean, how are you wrists?
Sean: Sometimes they still hurt, I have to tape them. Thrusters can be particularly bad. Would you mind checking a few reps before we start?
Jeff: Of course.
[Sean does 1 thruster and is lowering the bar.]
Jeff: Get your head through on the next one, open your shoulder!
[Sean does another thruster with full extension and his ear visible in front of his arm.]
Jeff: Much better, now tighten your wrists at the top.
[Sean does another thruster this type punching through at the top, puts the bar down, and awaits further feedback.]
Jeff: Good, that was better. Your wrists looked stronger. Feel the difference?
Sean: Yes, thanks for checking.
Jeff: No problem. Okay gang, we ready? 10 seconds…3-2-1-GO!
I have been attending regular EmerFit classes for a week now. I have lots of notes and observations that will probably be the stuff of many future Coach’s Corners. The thing that stands out the most though is that many people are cheating themselves by cheating on their form. How do I know? I have watched some of you do it. But what is even more frustrating is that I see some of your times on the board and I know they are B.S.
I have been doing CrossFit or CrossFit-style training for six years now. Give me any workout and I can tell you how long it will take. I can tell you how much faster you might get the second time through. And if I know your ability I can tell you just from your time whether you were cheating the reps or using form that counts, reps you took pride in. If some of the times on the board were legit we would have the next CrossFit Games winner on our hands. But those reps would not count in the Games and they should not count at EmerFit either.
Before you tune out because I start ranting about values and integrity (I will save that for part 3) think about the money you are wasting if you are not using good form. You have trainers and coaches at every class who would love to help you perfect your form. But if you do not ask for help or at least show some interest it is difficult for us to help you.
It is extremely demotivating as a coach to be forced to tell you for the 100th time that your squat isn’t low enough, your shoulders aren’t open, your chest did not touch the floor, or your chin is not really over the bar only to watch you do it wrong, again. When I was a novice coach I would beat myself up over this situation. I would attribute it to me not knowing how to coach you. Then at a CrossFit Level 2 certification an experienced coach noted: “You can only want a little more from people than they want for themselves.”
If you only make it this far please consider this one suggestion:
If you care about your form tell each of your coaches and trainers on a regular basis. Or, better yet, ask for a form check (before the workout, not during) or ask questions about proper mechanics. Our classes are probably always going to have a mix of people with different commitment levels. But if we know you are committed, if we know you want more, we will give you all we have.
Furthermore, all EmerFitters have an open invitation to contact me directly for help with your form or with questions about movement mechanics. My answer may come in the form of a quick coaching session the next time I see you, a recommendation you schedule a one-on-one, a written response, or a video but I will do what I can to help you. And I will help the rest of the EmerFit coaches and trainers get better so they can help you directly.
I will also point out that if you know that you are own of those people that just cannot get a certain movement or groups of movements down then you might need to be proactive and schedule a 30 or 60 minute one-on-one and you might have homework. Unfortunately we only have so much time in a group class and we cannot do much individualized instruction.
Yes, private coaching will cost you more money but you do get a members only discount. And what is better: Spend $50 now to do the next thousand reps correctly or wait until you’ve ingrained a bad habit and possibly hurt yourself? And if you really cannot afford it at least ask and maybe we can recommend some videos and/or homework.
If you are still with me I would like to describe three reasons why the pursuit of good form is worthwhile:
Reason #1: Create joint stability.
Every rep is a chance to maintain or even re-gain the range of motion that age and repetitive motion (like sitting all day) are trying to take away. When doing any movement you will only get stronger in the range of motion that you use. Here are the three great examples of the ramifications of not using a full range of motion:
1. The athlete that never goes into a full hang on his pull-ups. As he ages he will lose the range of motion he is not using. Then he will do something that requires the full range. Maybe its an obstacle at the Warrior Dash. Maybe its hanging from the monkey bar with his kid. Or maybe he slips on ice and grabs a pole to keep from falling. Regardless, he just tore his rotator cuff or one of the other ligaments in his shoulder because his shoulder had to fully extend into a range of motion he hasn’t used in years. He will likely undergo surgery and will probably have shoulder pain for the rest of his life.
2. The athlete that never goes to depth in her squat. Same deal only this example athlete goes skiing. She comes off a bump a little off balance and finds herself in an ass-to-ankles squat as she tries to recover before crashing. She manages not to crash but notices that her knee is extremely painful. She spends the rest of the day in the lodge icing her knee which swells up later that evening. A week later the MRI show she tore her ACL.
3. The athlete that allows his knees to cave in and his torso to incline forward while air squatting. Its funny what you can learn about a person by watching a few squats. I would be willing to be this person is a distance runner, a triathlete, or a beginner with no athletic background. While the athlete in number 2 might just be lazy this athlete is imbalanced and possibly also lazy. His joints are unstable and his muscles are imbalanced from millions of repetitions running. Those imbalances could be fixed by perfecting the squat thereby strengthening the muscles not used when running. Or, by not perfecting the squat each rep will just make things worse until eventually knee pain makes it increasingly difficult to even run or for the beginner to get out of a chair without using one’s arms.
What can we do to prevent these problems? Use every inch of range of motion that you can get while maintaining joint integrity. That last part it where things can get tricky and why you often need the extra set of eyes and experience that a coach can provide. There is such a thing as too much shoulder extension (like in the bottom of a poorly executed kipping pull-up).
Now, some of you are thinking: But wait, how can I have perfect form and go fast? Next week in part 2 we will look at how good form actually allows you to go faster and longer. In the meantime make your coach happy and ask them to check your form. Let them know that you would appreciate their honesty. This is one case where the benefit of clarity might be worth the risk of insult. Remember to leave your ego at the door, we are all here to get better.
