Heavy Days and Maxing Out In the pursuit of fitness, capacity must be raised in both strength and metabolic conditioning as well as a range of sport-specific skills. Some of these objectives are more readily achieved than others through a standard CrossFit program; but above all others, strength is considered to take the longest. Former CrossFit Games finalist and CrossFit Strongman, Rob Orlando, famously states the tagline “Strength Takes a Lifetime to Acquire” giving reference both to the sheer length of time that it takes to truly maximise strength but also to the notion that the acquisition of strength is effectively never done. While the hormonal and nervous system adaptations that come about through maximising intensity in general WODs will contribute to the development of strength over time, more deliberate attention can be given to the development of strength as a single entity by employing dedicated strength sessions or ‘heavy days’. At CrossFit Glasgow we program these twice a week. When programming to develop strength we look to the best strength programs in the world; utilised by the best strength athletes in the world. Generally, we lean toward the methodology employed by Westside Barbell in Columbus Ohio, a multi World Record holding gym, fronted by strength training legend Louie Simmons. Westside Barbell advocate the use of the “Conjugate Method” - a training system employed by some of the most successful Russian athletics and Weightlifting clubs in the world during the 1970’s. Louie and his athletes have taken [...]

It is beginning to feel like the worm is featured in team competition finals as consistently as thrusters are in the Open.  At CFG we are in a unique position. We have 50 competitors, all eager to learn and make use of our three OG 6-person worms. The purpose of this article is to offer some advice and make some suggestions so your time with the worm is as efficient and productive as possible. Training: Perhaps a bit obvious, it is still worth noting that we are training. This is a safe space to experiment, an environment to learn from our mistakes as well as our successes. We are preparing for the unknown, as such it helps to approach each session with the goal of finishing a little wiser than when we started. Oakley: Try switching up positions and height orders. For example being on the front is much harder than being in the middle. If you have a small female between two larger males it is an issue for the two larger males. Chain of command: Establishing a leader before the workout can make for a much smoother execution. This individual’s roles could include dictating when to lift the worm and when to take breaks.  In training it would be ideal to have everyone attempt this role, you never know when you may be required to take charge. If you are not the leader, your time will come, playing your part as a good teammate means we [...]

Have you heard the common phrase, ‘lifting weight over the age of 50 is dangerous?’  Let’s find out why it’s not . . . . Beyond a certain age, some people believe that they need to take it easy, that they are ‘over the  hill’, or simply feel less capable than they once did. Scientifically, after our 30’s our bodies do begin to decline: we begin to lose muscle, our bones become weaker and our energy levels can seem lower.  But, does this need to be the case? Do we need to accept this? Actually no.  We know from experience and from centuries of data that remaining active and increasing activity levels will preserve our muscle, strengthen our bones and increase our energy levels.  Even if you haven’t exercised for a long time, it is not too late to start and by making even moderate increases to your activity you are able to immediately reap the benefits of a younger feeling, more energetic body.   Imagine being able to: Climb stairs quickly Stand up easily Carry shopping bags Lift and play with your grandchildren Get outdoors Lift big weights Do a pull up Lose weight Whilst also managing or reducing risk of: High Blood pressure Elevated Blood sugar Blood cholesterol levels Cardiovascular Disease Osteoporosis Type 2 diabetes Arthritis Depression Insomnia Low Bone density The proof is in the pudding . . . . We have been operating our ‘CFG Silver’s’ group now for almost 2 [...]

Accountability Chart 1.0 This Accountability Chart has been designed to offer aspiring athletes an opportunity to begin tracking some important variables to ensure steady progression in training. The duration, 30 days, is not too long as to lose motivation but long enough to see trends in nutrition, sleep, alcohol consumption, training frequency and it's impact on performance. The goal: to achieve 80% adherence on all factors. That's 24 days of training, sticking to your diet, abstaining from alcohol and sleeping at least 8 hours a night. Once you achieve this on all 4 segments you can move on to Accountability Chart 2.0 which increases in detail for nutrition as described below: Link to downloadable PDF - Accountability Chart1.0 Accountability Chart 2.0 The new accountability chart layers on another level of complexity for those who have successfully completed the first chart at 80% compliance or more. In this version we ask that you adhere to CrossFit’s recommendation of a protein intake of 2g of protein per kg of ‘lean’ body weight per day in order to maintain lean mass and provide adequate protein for building and repairing muscle. For Instance a large male athlete weighing 90kg with a body fat percentage of 22% would do the following maths: Lean mass = Total Body Mass - Fat Mass Lean Mass = 90kg - 22% of 90kg Fat mass = 90x .22 = 19.8kg Lean Mass = 90 - 19.8 = 70.2kg CrossFit’s protein prescription for this athlete is [...]

What is the Open? The CrossFit Games Open was, and can still be, the beginning of the competitive CrossFitter’s journey to the CrossFit Games Finals in Madison, USA.  It’s an opportunity for everyone to test their fitness. Games athletes aside it's the most fun time of year for CFG, the whole gym comes together, crammed into the one arch and screams support for one another.  The format is simple, register online with a small fee (cost), and wait for 5 workouts to be released over 5 weeks between February and March.  You have 4 days per week to give each workout your best shot and get your score online. During this time you can follow your global, continental, nationwide or even local gym ranking as the weeks go by.  At the end your score is saved online, providing you with a snapshot of your fitness levels at that time. Why do the Open? For most of us, it’s a chance to test our fitness.  This may sound scary, but CrossFit as a training program and the Sport of Fitness are inextricably linked.  As Greg Glassman says: ‘we fail at the margins of our experience’ and CrossFit’s effectiveness is due to its aim of forging broad, general and all inclusive fitness in order to prepare you for the unknown and the unknowable (everything life can throw at you.)  The Open is hard, the movements and scaling are out of our control with the reps and standards counted/judged by our peers. This keeps us honest and accountable, stretches our capacity and, at times, tests our [...]

With the introduction of a long-term training plan alongside the acquisition of Wodify; training consistency and performance tracking have proved invaluable to monitoring and improving performance.In order to take some of the guesswork out of our training we can also consider managing recovery between training sessions, primarily by managing sleep.  Every athlete requires a minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night. Reducing this duration has significant repercussions on performance, consistency and adaptation and produces negative effects on training and health. Just some of these negative effects include: up to 30% decrease  In cardiovascular power output, significantly increased risk of injury, impaired learning/memory, reduced rate of adaptation, increased inflammatory markers and a significantly lowered immune system ie. more sick days. So with sleep being a cornerstone to our program; here are a few tips to aid you in getting the right amount of sleep. SLEEP SCHEDULE Just like training and nutrition: the most effective results come from consistency. Set an alarm for bedtime and avoid large disparities in your bedtimes from workweeks to weekends. It’s important to note that you can’t catch up on missed sleep: lying in on the weekend doesn’t help recoup missed sleep during the week. TRAINING LATE If you train within 2 hours of bedtime, the rise in body temperature can make it difficult to nod off, your body needs to cool to induce sleep, having a bath or shower can help manage your core temperature by sending blood to the extremities. CAFFEINE AND [...]