The first two events of the 2019 CanWest Games were released this week providing our Empower athletes with a healthy dose of panic. Competition stresses people out. So many people avoid competition because it scares them. And this is probably because they focus too much on the things they can't control. In competition your strengths [...]
Great coaches aren't often great self-promoters. Because I usually train alone I rarely receive coaching feedback. This sometimes makes it difficult to progress athletically. Muscle ups are a case in point. I love them but I've never managed to develop an efficient kip so, though I can do them, I struggle to string them [...]
We were all told it wouldn't work. CrossFit programming is too random to produce results. Exercise scientists and critics of CrossFit have said this from the start. And yet, it does work. You can't argue with results. Now they're left baffled as to why. First off, it's not random. CrossFit programming is constantly varied but [...]
As a coach there are a couple words that I hate to hear from an athlete, words that make me question the long term success of the person who speaks them: Inspiration. Motivation. Sure, both those things feel great but if you're riding a wave of inspiration or motivation into the gym, you need to [...]
You can't blame CrossFitters for getting a bit excited. CrossFit gave me a new lease on life. It gave me 5 more years of competitive Judo when I thought my body could no longer keep up with the rigours of competition, including a trip to the World Judo Masters Championships in Brussels. And it has [...]
Our CrossFit Empower Alma Street gym in Vancouver is unique among local gyms in that we have huge windows on all four sides including the south side windows which roll all the way open to let in the fresh air. With so many windows, it is common for passersby to stop and peer in to [...]
The way I picture it, Coach Glassman, having recently reclaimed the CrossFit programming reigns from his wayward apprentice, is standing over Dave Castro wagging a stern finger as the Castro slumps glumly in his chair receiving his chastisement. "This is how it's done young Padawan," Glassman says, "You don't just program a marathon row out [...]
A good fitness program must be effective, efficient and safe. These are the criteria by which every program must be evaluated. 1. Effective This simply means it works. It makes you fitter. You could have a safe and efficient program like standing on a vibrating platform for 15 minutes 3 times per week. It won't [...]
Since founder Greg Glassman reclaimed the programming reigns January 2019, there has been a lot of speculation about CrossFit’s new direction. The back-to-basics programming combined with the change in the CrossFit Games competition format has shaken some CrossFitters to the core. Understanding History To understand where we’re going, it helps to know where we came [...]
In his 1964, US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart popularized the phrase “I know it when I see it,” as he attempted to categorize pornography despite its’ subjective nature and the lack of clearly defined parameters. The same phrase can be as easily applied today to most people’s understanding of fitness. And like Stewart, [...]
