A Hiller Rant on Movement Standards

Generally I’m not a huge fan of Andrew Hiller’s rants.  But in this case I feel like he and I are in alignment.  Standards matter.  One of the things CrossFit introduced that the world of fitness training lacked was standards. Standards have long been alien to the fitness industry but in sport they have always been essential.

You can witness this firsthand by looking at the Guiness Book of World Records push up record.  They do have stated standards, they just do not enforce them.  The movement criteria is vague enough to leave room for interpretation.  Rather than rely on protractors, CrossFit avoids loose interpretation in the push up by setting the standard at the end ranges of motion.  Simple to judge.  

As Andrew Hiller points out, you can’t score a running competition if one contestant calls his finish at the 300m mark of a 400m race.  Or if a triathlete completes the swim portion of the Iron Man wearing flippers.  Why then should we be rewarding functional fitness athletes who fail to meet the minimum movement criteria?

In the following Hyrox controversy, the case was made that the athlete was physically incapable of meeting the established movement standards so it is unfair to penalize her for failing to do so.  Well, how is this fair to her competitors who are being held to a higher standard?  I’m all about inclusivity but that is what scaled divisions are for.    

In all the emotional outrage about fairness, and compassion for the athlete another piece is forgotten: the fact that the standards are in place to protect the athlete and make sure they derive the most complete fitness benefits from performing the movements.  Partial squats aren’t just cheating they are cheating the athlete of the knee protective benefit of performing full range of motion squats.  Just like failure to stand to full extension on top of the box step up constitutes a failure to train athletes to achieve complete, effective glute engagement, a movement error that over time and reps can result in tightened hip flexors, sciatic pain, imbalanced pelvis and low back pain. 

Especially as we age, a lot of us encounter mobility challenges.  Encouraging us to compete with movement deficiencies however is not doing us any favours but is in fact exposing us to long term harm.  It’s like letting a Nascar driver start the race short one wheel.  Sure, inclusivity is a great ideal but when you’re driving a car at speeds up to 200 miles per hour, that brand of inclusivity is going to result in a crash. Stop making excuses and pretending that standards don’t matter.  Master the basic functional movements first.  Instead of wishing it were easier, train to be better.

Monday WOD

Dumbbell Deadlifts:
At 70/100lbs, the load is light but the range of motion is extreme.  For many of us it is difficult to maintain a neutral lumbar spine while reaching the floor with the dumbbell.  If this describes you, you may be better off doing kettlebell deadlifts.  For taller, stiffer athletes, these may still be too low.  In this case, I suggest using dumbbells while standing between two 45lb plates which you will use as the target.  You will not need to modify load today but you may need to modify range of motion to maintain correct spinal mechanics.

GHD Sit Ups
I love the partial GHD sit up but, in large classes, we are not all going to be able to access the GHD stations.  Try to get 10-15 reps per round at the GHD station then substitute the rest with V-Ups. Abmat sit ups are not an appropriate substitute, if you need alternatives, please ask your coach for a suggestion.

800m Run
Today we will give the airbikes a rest.  If you are unable to run, we will provide a selection of toys that you can carry 400m in place of the run.  Today we want you to mix it up, try to carry a different implement each round in order to get some variety.  You will be able to select between kettlebells, dumbbells, sandbags, farmer’s carry bars and, weather permitting, the Torque Tank (set on Level 1 resistance).  Have fun!

Warm Up
2 min Each:
Banded RDL
Torque Tank Push
GHD Hold with spotter
March
V-Up
Skip

WOD
3 Rounds:
35 DB Deadlifts
35 GHD Sit Ups
800m Run