There are so many strength programs out there, where are you to begin with making a choice? Mike Hedlesky, an accomplished American powerlifter and coach, wrote a great article where he talks about how you should choose a strength program. His 3 criteria for making that choice are: Is this going to make me stronger? Can I change things up (variation) when training stalls? Most importantly, is this something that I can follow for 10 years straight? Our current program, the Conjugate Method answers yes to all three of those. The conjugate method is the name of the strength program that we’re currently following at both of our gyms. And it looks much different than the more standard, linear structure that we’ve followed in the past. By the looks of it, it sometimes may seem that we’re not following a system at all! I can assure you though, that there is a method to the madness. I’d like to explain a bit about it, where it came from and how we’re implementing it at CrossFit Committed and CrossFit Committed South. The Conjugate method was originally designed by Louie Simmons, the owner of arguably the strongest gym in … Read More
Building mental fortitude to reach new heights
Better safe than sorry Before I go into the topic of mental toughness I want to emphasise what many couches mentioned before and is part of our introduction to CrossFit. Safety, technique, consistency and then intensity are important to us. This is especially true in the beginning of your CrossFit journey. Notice the word journey – it is not a sprint. Make sure to stay within your physical capacity to not get injured. As soon as technique breaks, in any movement, scale it! ☺ In your first 3 months to one year you will most likely make leaps and bounds of improvements. This however is not only due to increased metabolic capacity and strength but more likely due to technique which makes it possible to ‘catch’ the new PRs. So always remember, if you were not exposed to this kind of weight training before (especially with repetitive movements), your muscles might be able to lift the weight however, your joints, ligaments and bones take longer to adapt to the new challenge. Mental toughness This does not mean that you cannot work on your mental toughness from the very get go of your journey. Mental toughness is individual resilience and confidence … Read More