Strength, Work Capacity, Power

Strength is the foundational skill essential for all others.  Good luck developing your cardio if you aren’t strong enough to support yourself or pedal a bike.  Strength is the base upon which all your other athletic skills and attributes are based.

Pull up?  Strength.  Box jump?  Strength.  Toes to bar?  Strength.  Handstand push ups?  Strength.  Sprinting?  Strength.  Double Unders?  Explosive strength. 

Your strength deficit will determine your limitations.  At CrossFit we want it all: cardiovascular respiratory endurance, flexibility, speed, power, accuracy, coordination, agility and balance.  And at the root of it all: strength.

Not just for athletic performance but for health and longevity.  Strength is one of the attributes most closely correlated with a decline in all cause mortality at every age!  Loss of strength is one of the key contributing factors in falls for the elderly.  A lack of strength results in a loss of balance.  One really cool feature of the InBody scan is that it does a segmental analysis of your muscle mass to determine whether you have sufficient muscle to support your frame.  Incredibly useful information that gives clear programming guidance to coaches allowing us to optimize your training to fit your needs!

Work capacity is a very accurate predictor of all cause mortality.  Work capacity is calculated simply as load x distance.  How much load did you move and how far.  CrossFitters demonstrate a work capacity unsurpassed in any other fitness or athletic discipline.  How?  We move large loads, long distances in every workout.  We can all agree that a 10K run demands great work capacity (your body weight x 10K) but how about a 10K ruck with 60lbs (your body weight + 60lbs x 10K)?  A 225lb deadlift is pretty good but what about sets of 21, 15 and 9 reps of deadlifts at 225lbs?  You cannot develop work capacity without strength.  10K with 20lbs is not the same.  Sets of 21, 15 and 9 deadlifts at 95lbs is a different animal altogether.  These lighter loads may train cardiovascular respiratory endurance but they do not develop significant work capacity. 

Power is work capacity as a function of time.  How long did it take to complete those sets of deadlifts?  How long to complete the 10K?  Faster = fitter.  A max height box jump or a snatch might represent the purest expression of power in CrossFit.  Maximum force production in the shortest possible time frame.  I’m not aware of any studies correlating power with longevity but I would bet you a good chunk of cash that power has a strong association with health and longevity.  Power = load x distance ÷ time.  A quick look at the equation demonstrates why you cannot be powerful if you are not first strong.  Power requires the ability to move large loads fast!

So, how do you get stronger?  Move heavier loads or perform more reps.  This is why for many workouts associated with work capacity we use a measure of total volume.  Either do few reps with a heavy load or more reps at a lighter load.  Either way will allow you to develop work capacity.  And once you have a great work capacity you can begin to develop power by performing the same work faster.

In all things, form matters most.  You must begin using loads and movement progressions that allow you to execute the movement with proper movement mechanics.  If this means using a lighter load for more reps, so be it.  But once your movement mechanics are dialled in, you must begin to challenge yourself.  Improvements are made at the threshold of your capacity.  Change only happens when you challenge yourself.  Not recklessly, mind you.  Calmly, rationally and systematically push your thresholds.  Do not fall into the habit of training in your comfort zone. 

You may not progress to the point that you can Rx every CrossFit workout but there are some base loads that you should be aiming to master.  These are not considered heavy and are doable by the majority of CrossFitters worldwide.  Not the elites, just average gym goers.  If you’re not there yet, then this should be your goal.  Do not rush toward them but build gradually and incrementally.  Strength development is a slow process.

Pull Up - 1 Strict

Thruster/OHS/Snatch - 10 @65/95lbs

Push Up - 10 Strict

Deadlift - 10 @155/225lbs

Wall Ball - 10 @14/20lbs

Front Squat/C&J - 10 @95/135lbs

Box Jump - 20/24”

DB Snatch - 35/50lbs

KB Swing - 10 @yellow/green

This is not simply about your performance in the gym.  This is about your health and longevity.  The stronger you are, the greater your work capacity, the more power you can produce, the lower your risk of all cause mortality.

To this end, I am excited to participate in Shades’ upcoming Summer Fitness Challenge which will focus on protein intake, a key ingredient for building the functional strength we most desire.  It’s not too late if you want to register to join us!

I am also happy that Shades and OG are offering the Lift Over 40 program which specifically targets strength development!  Register now if you’re interested, there are only 4 spaces remaining!   

Monday
Today’s barbell complex is prescribed at 105/155lbs.  I was disappointed to discover I am not yet strong enough (155lbs is about my 3 rep max hang power snatch).  Instead I had to complete it at 135lbs which was plenty challenging.  You may need to scale the load as well.  Rather than picking a load you can do easily, find a load that you find challenging but can complete a round with good form.  Then slow down, take your time, rest between rounds and enjoy ten rounds developing your capacity for handling heavy loads.  If, like me, you are not yet strong enough to complete this complex at the Rx’d weights, slow down and use it as a strength development day instead of a cardio complex!

For safety reasons, large classes may need to have members lifting off the platform.  We will set up tatame mats and drop boxes for this purpose.  Athletes lifting over 100lbs please use the lifting platform.

Warm Up
A.With PVC Pipe
2 Rounds:
1 min Snatch Grip RDL
1 min Hang Power Snatch
1 min OHS

Tech
3 Rounds
Starting with an empty barbell
4 Snatch Grip Deadlifts
3 Hang Power Snatch
2 OHS
Rest - add load during rest
(start light enough that you can add load each round)

WOD
10 Rounds:
4 Deadlift
3 Hang Power Snatch
2 OHS