CrossFit is full of standards, “full lock out,” “hip crease below the knee,” “the bar must be received in a squat position in one fluid motion,” etc. On top of that, every WOD you see in your box will have RX weight and movement specifications. These standards and specifications serve an important purpose and provide nice goals to shoot for. However, they should only be met if you can perform the movement properly and safely. This post aims to outline some of the issues that arise from athletes pushing to meet standards or “go RX” and some of the most problematic movements. WHAT IS A STANDARD? A standard, in my understanding, is put in place to ensure that movements are performed consistently by all athletes. This can vary from sport to sport (I.E. power lifting, Oly lifting, Crossfit), competition to competition (can you hold your opposite foot on a pistol? Does a squat clean thruster count as our first rep on this WOD?) and even gym to gym (Do we have to jump on the burpee or just open the hips?). HOW CAN STANDARDS BE PROBLEMATIC? Standards don’t care about technique, plain and simple. In the CrossFit judges course they … Read More