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Competition Motivation Theory

two volleyball athletes using competition motivation theory passing a ball over a net

Competition motivation theory is the idea that we perform better when we compete with others. Put simply, competition drives results.

Working out alone has pros and cons

Over the last 4-ish years, I’ve done the majority of my daily fitness by myself. I sometimes enjoy this because it is just me, and I can use it to plan my day, consider a topic at hand. It lets me think through a problem I have in life, or go into zen mode.

For most people, working out alone is tough. You have to be very self motivated and highly dedicated. There is no one there to peer pressure you into getting up, or pushing yourself in the workout. 

Being alone makes it easy to back off of the intensity. No one is expecting to see you thrive. And while you may get the time to yourself no one is cheering for you or your accomplishments. It can become very lonesome.

One of the biggest issues training alone is that there is no competition. It is just you, you don’t have anyone to help push you and no one to gauge your pace. 

CrossFit thrives off competition motivation theory

I don’t know if this is true but it makes for a good story. I remember hearing someone talk about something Greg Glassman (founder of CrossFit) said. Supposedly it was something along the lines of, ‘put two people in a room with a clock and a task to complete and they will kill themselves to beat each other.’

I can’t seem to find if he actually said that or not but it brings up a good point. If you want to get better, you need competition. It is one of the reasons CrossFit allows affiliates to open right across the street from each other. The best ones win. 

Healthy competition is good. It helps produce the best results. Many people struggle to stay motivated, and competition really helps.Without competition, results become stagnant and fall to the lowest point allowed.

Competition also drives innovation and new ideas. Why did the butterfly pull up become a thing? It was the innovation of athletes trying to fit in more work in less time, because they wanted to beat their competition.

Use your competitive nature

I love seeing a competitive nature in people, particularly in the gym. I can watch people work out and tell who has it and who doesn’t.  

Some people just move at their pace. It doesn’t matter if they could beat the person next to them or not, they are steadfast in their own pace. I honestly admire these types, I think they are mentally and emotionally strong in a certain sense. They don’t allow others to persuade them easily. It is a trait I find attractive.

Equally as attractive is that push and fight that others show. I am definitely this type. You might be a new athlete scaling every movement and weight while I am doing Rx, I don’t care, I still want to finish before you. 

Watching these types brings me joy. You see the glances at their competition, and then to the clock. You see them pick the pace up. Their faces usually have a pained expression, and they are gasping for breath but they continue to push. Usually, at this point, their competitor is onto them, and they start pushing harder. It soon becomes an all out sprint to the death. This is competition motivation theory in practice.

Luckily, I have yet to see anyone actually die from this. What actually happens is both athletes win. They used each other to push and finish a WOD they may otherwise have backed off of and just gone through the motions to complete. 

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Picking The Right CrossFit Box

one man sitting and one standing as they talk together at the right crossfit box with equipment in the background

So I have been debating writing this for a while. But due to recent events, I decided it was the right time. I am tired of seeing inadequate coaching in the CrossFit world. And I am tired of members not picking the right CrossFit box and being shocked when they come to us and actually receive coaching or corrections. I am tired of people complaining of knees, hips, backs, and more hurting because for months or years the person/people who were supposed to be coaching them gave them no attention. When others in the CrossFit world give people a poor perception of CrossFit, my box becomes guilty by association. 

CrossFit has an outsider’s perspective of being dangerous, injury prone, only for elite level athletes, and that to even join you must “be in shape”. Luckily, most of the bad coaches/boxes do not last long. After a couple of months or maybe a few years they close up shop. Notice I said most, not all. There are still poor coaches and troublesome boxes out there.

Enough is enough

Hopefully this article helps those who are looking for a box, no matter if they new or if they have done hundreds of WODs. I seriously doubt this is the case, but hopefully it also reaches those box owners and coaches who have low standards and realize it’s time to change. 

Heck, they can even message or call me if they need help (my box isn’t perfect, but in my opinion we have the highest standard around). I’ve realized other boxes are not competition instead they are an extended family. 

Our goal should not be to take members from one another, but instead to build CrossFit and help make people healthy. If that means someone goes to another box they like better than ours, fine. They are hopefully getting healthier than they were and now I get to work a little harder.

Here is what to know, or what matters, when looking for the right CrossFit box

Do your research

Google, Facebook, Instagram are your friends here. To find the right box, look at pictures, read reviews and comments. Forget the actual website. The website is simply there to get you in contact with the business. Ask friends, family or coworkers about the box you are considering. Seriously – you can’t get enough information!

Visit with the owners/coaches

People in the fitness world love this quote, “Your health is an investment, not an expense.” Yes, it is true. But those same people won’t take 10 minutes to talk to an owner or a coach of the box they are looking at joining. 

At Buffalo Nickel CrossFit, we meet in person or at least chat with all prospective members. Most times I personally do this myself. It gives me a chance to know them, learn about their goals, and for both of us to put a face to a name. Most coaches and owners are doing something similar now, but if they don’t offer it, ask! 

*Warning, if a coach and especially an owner is unwilling to meet with you before you join, that is a red flag* 

Get a feel for the box/members

If you walk into a box and the members act like you don’t exist, this is another red flag. CrossFit is about getting fit and healthy; but the only reason CrossFit continues to exist is the community. 

One of my biggest pet peeves is when you go to a CrossFit, as as a drop in or a new member, and the current members act stuck up. Okay, they might have veins and bulging biceps, but I promise you they aren’t THAT good at CrossFit. Any box with that much ego will have that much drama as well. 

The right CrossFit box is one with a welcoming community.

Observe a class

Some places will offer a trial class. People jump at this opportunity because they feel like they are getting something for free. You are not. To me, this trial class is the magicians illusion. You are too distracted by the actual workout to even observe how well the coach does their job. 

Instead, observe a class. Watch the coach, see which members they correct. Is it overly serious or does the coach make it fun? Do they pay attention to everyone or only the better athletes? Are they on their phone or actually coaching? All of these are things that it is more difficult to pick up on when you are actually in a class instead of observing one.

Coaching matters 

You need a great coach. A coach that is only a cheerleader is not an effective coach. Coaching requires a skill most people lack. Confrontation. 

A coach has to tell members that a movement should be done differently, or a weight should be lighter, or a metcon needs to be scaled. They must do this gently enough to not be a tyrant, firm enough to make it happen. They need to do it in a tone that lets the member know it is okay, and big results are built on small achievements. 

Some members are very coach-able, they just say okay and do what they are told. Some members however are not as coach-able. Pay attention to how the coach handles both types of member.    

How safe are they?

If you are new to CrossFit, or have never been told/coached in proper form, then don’t expect to see minute safety details coaches should correct. But there are some very overt things you can watch for. 

Does the coach provide each member enough room to work in, or is the class packed like sardines? Is an athlete noticeably extremely exhausted and does the coach scale for them? Does the coach go over each movement, talk about proper weight choices, and what to be careful of? All of these and more will help you see if they are a safe coach/box. 

Cleanliness

This is another pet peeve of mine. Now, trust me, I know how difficult it is to keep a box clean. We have been in an industrial warehouse since the day we opened. We have no AC, so the garage doors are open a lot. Even when closed the building is definitely not air tight. 

But, we go above and beyond to make sure everything is clean. And we always have, not just because of Covid, and not just on Mondays, but all the time and everyday. I have been to more than one CrossFit that when a medball or plate hit the floor a cloud of dust blossomed. This is unacceptable in my opinion. Cleanliness shouldn’t be anything special – it should be the minimal standard for a box.

Things that absolutely do not matter:

How many members a box has

A new member walks into a box and sees a class of 20+ people. They think wow this is a big class, lots of people must like this box, therefore they must be good. Not saying a box with lots of members is necessarily bad or does not coach well. But the ratio of coach to member is important. 

Let’s be honest, the actual coaching and sharing of technical information is cheap. The internet is free, worldwide, and provides limitless information. But if a coach has 19 other people to pay attention to, how much time per class will you actually be seen, and corrected? Therefore an in-person coach is not so much about how knowledgeable they are but how well they can connect with and correct the members. 

The price

Free/cheap coaching ain’t good. And good coaching ain’t cheap/free. On the flip side, just because someone is charging the most doesn’t automatically make them the very best. But it is definitely a good indicator that they value their service. 

I get asked a lot, “do you offer discounts”? The answer is no. Our coaches do not give half price service, therefore we don’t discount our prices. In fact we always try to overdeliver. We try to give more value than what our members are paying for, no matter what they are charged. CrossFit is not about the space and equipment, it is about the coaching, the personal connection. If you want to take your health and fitness seriously, go to the best and find a way to fit it in your budget.

If they have a 6 pack or big muscles

Alright, so yes, I think a coach should practice what they preach. A coach should take care of themselves and be fit. No one wants advice from someone who obviously doesn’t follow the advice they give others. Going to a marriage counselor who is in the middle of a divorce does not invoke great confidence. Same thing with a CrossFit coach.

But that should not be the deciding factor when you’re looking for the right CrossFit box. It should be important, but all in all I would rather have a knowledgeable coach rather than a fit coach.

How much equipment they have

Atlas stones, handstand ramps, peg boards, and air runners are all really cool. But how often do they actually get used? Is the average class able to use those, or would they be better off with basic strength and fitness equipment? Just like with members, more does not automatically mean better. If you are a raccoon, tons of cool looking equipment is the shiny nickel in the trap that gets your attention.

The right CrossFit box does exist

Last but not least, find a box you enjoy, that provides coaching, and has a great community. With some hard searching, you’ll be able to find the right CrossFit box for you.

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When To Take Workout Supplements

when to take workout supplements arranged in a question mark on a gray background

I need to preface: I am not a dietitian or a doctor. Therefore none of the following is meant to cure or treat any illness, ailment or disease. In this post I’ll tell you what I know about workout supplements. When to take workout supplements, which to take, and if you need them.

Supplements

Lots of people ask a lot of questions about supplements. This isn’t a guide to what each and every supplement does or if they actually follow through on their claims. This is just a list of questions I get asked the most about supplements.

  • Do I need workout supplements?
  • What should my first supplement be?
  • When to take workout supplements?
  • Should I check with my doctor?
  • Is there anything else to be aware of with supplements?

Do I need workout supplements?

It depends, and everyone is different. 

Here is my mindset: I want to experience the most undiluted, unfiltered, unassisted version of myself as possible. Personally, I do very well when I can “feel”, meaning if I am tired or low on energy, I want to feel that. To me, it is about checks and balances.

If I didn’t get enough sleep, made poor food choices, and am stressed I want my workout to be my purge valve. I want a bad workout to be my wake up call and say you should really be going to sleep earlier, eating better, or need to take some time off. That’s for me, but what do I recommend for you?

If you are new to CrossFit/fitness (less than 3-4 months) I would say that you don’t NEED to focus on supplements. You should focus on building healthy habits and involving them in your schedule. This builds consistency, and that is a better investment than supplements. You should also focus on the basics. Not only the basic CrossFit movements, but things like getting enough water, proper nutrition, good rest, and mobility. 

What should my first supplement be?

So after a few months in CrossFit you have been consistent and are making healthier life choices, now what? 

Now might be a good time to add in a supplement, but what is the right answer? A quick Google search leads to a list of 1000s of different ones, it is overwhelming! Many people choose to start with vitamins or protein.

Vitamins

There are different schools of thoughts over daily vitamins. Some say they do nothing, and most of the nutrients are filtered out in your body, and that you pay for expensive urine. The extreme of this is your kidneys have to work more and can lead to kidney issues later in life.

Yeah, maybe that’s true, but I would say a poor diet and life choices (which most people make) are much harder on one’s organs than some multivitamins. I also think it’s better to have too many nutrients rather than not enough.

Protein

Protein is going to help your muscles, which I know are sore, tired, and probably starting to feel exhausted during hard WODs. 

You are getting better, stronger, and faster. Your muscles are now struggling to keep up compared to when you first started. So, you need extra protein to help repair your muscles and help you get stronger. Of course you can get more protein by eating more, but that takes more time and also increases your overall caloric intake. 

So, a protein shake is a perfect solution. This will keep calories lower, but give you a high concentration of protein in fluid form, therefore you can intake it faster than eating, it also makes it easier for your body to digest.

When to take workout supplements?

Another one of those ‘it depends’ answers. For protein, there are many factors to consider, type of protein, amount, if you worked out or not. Basically there can be lots of answers, but we want simple, so let’s keep it simple.

For protein, I would suggest right after your workout. Your muscles are hungry, they are looking for help. Don’t leave them hanging, give them some protein and make them happy muscles!

For the multivitamin (and personally all my other supplements), I take mine before bed. Here is why; when I go to bed it is my body’s time to rest, slow down and recover. So by taking my supplements then, I believe my body is able to use and absorb  the supplements and nutrients without being distracted by anything else. It sounds silly, and I don’t know if there is any actual science to it. But that’s what I do!

Should I check with my doctor?

Yes, of course. It is smart to always check with a doctor before adding supplements or vitamins. With that being said, do I check with my doctor? What doctor?

BUT… I also have read, and researched lots and lots of information over years and years. So I have complete (over)confidence in my decisions.

Is there anything else to be aware of with supplements?

The biggest thing to be aware of is the supplement and vitamin industry is not regulated. Meaning anything can be put in them. Now this is talked about in the mainstream media every once in a while because we LOVE regulation. We want everyone to be held accountable.

However, is there any real need to be concerned that something bad might be in your vitamin or supplement? Highly doubtful. More than likely it will be something like this: you pay good money believing you are getting high quality supplements or vitamins and it’s low quality stuff, or highly diluted with binders and/or rice flour. Do your research before buying.

But good reputable brands that have been around for a while are that way for a reason. They carry good quality products that are not diluted and they actually work. Stick to reputable brands and supplements can be an awesome part of your fitness lifestyle.

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Find Your Motivation

people swimming to find your motivation in large lake

CrossFit is hard work. It’s important to find your motivation – your why. You need to have a reason to get up and go to class every day. If you have a reason to cling to that’s personal to you, you’ll thrive so much more than you would otherwise.

I still remember my very first CrossFit class. I had just turned 24. For a long time, I had no interest in CrossFit. But one day, I realized the routine I had been doing was not working. So, I decided to give it a try.

I walked in and was surprised by who I saw. A pot bellied man in his 40s or 50s, a skinny kid who looked about 12, and a mom that looked like she had never worked out a day in her life. I’ll be honest, I looked at them and thought “If they are doing CrossFit, how hard can it be”?  I was quickly and aggressively humbled…

I don’t remember the WOD, probably due to lack of oxygen to my brain. But, I do remember feeling like my heart was going to explode. My muscles were about to give out and my lungs were burning so bad that I couldn’t stop coughing. I looked around and the three people I had previously thought were easy competition were lapping me. They were beating me so bad it made it look like I was standing still.

I assumed these people must have been doing CrossFit for a few months, so I asked. No one there had been doing CrossFit for more than 2 weeks! Humility slapped me again. A 24 year old who had played sports and worked out for his whole life couldn’t hang with middle aged adults and a pre-teen! It was a wake up call. I instantly became committed to this new lifestyle.

Starting vs. finishing

As many have before me and as many have since that day, I started. But here is the thing, starting is easy. Anyone, literally ANYONE can start something. And yes, starting new things takes courage and it is impressive to see people start down the road of self improvement. But, I have learned that becoming strong enough to go through trials and tribulations is much more impressive than starting.

A lot of people want to lose weight, get stronger, work out a little bit, or whatever their goal might be. And many of those people start down that road. They try it out for a few days, weeks, maybe even months. But then an obstacle pops up. Maybe they tweak their back, their work schedule changes, they take a couple weeks off which turns into a couple months. Eventually, they end up quitting all together.

Guess what. Given enough time, adversity comes for everyone. Life steps in front of everyone’s goal. Your goal might be to get in shape, or have a family, earn a million dollars, or restore a car. It does not matter what it is, but you will have to stay committed if you want to finish. 

And the further down the road to your dream you go, the further that finish line gets. You will reach checkpoints, but the finish line you originally pictured is a false peak. You have to keep pushing.

Many times in my CrossFit career both as a member and as an owner that finish line has moved on me.

Fail, cry, rest, or break down

If you want to succeed, you need to take quit out of your vocabulary. Seriously, do not even let it enter your mind. 

There can be no quitting if you want to reach your goal. You might fail, you might break down and cry. You might need to rest, you might need to seek out help. All of these are fine and, if you have worked towards your goal long enough, all of these will happen.  

The only thing not allowed is quitting. If you need to slow down from a sprint to a walk that’s okay. If you need to stop and catch your breath, okay. But you will continue forward, there is no turning back. 

You just have to realize pushing towards your goal is the only way. It won’t be easy. There will be tough challenges and situations that make you rethink your goal. But you must find your motivation, your why, and hold onto it.

My why helps me when I have had surgery, an injury or wasn’t sure if the business would make it. I remember my why and it drives me to not give up.

Find your motivation

To find your motivation, think to yourself: WHY am I doing this? Let it come to you.

Everyone’s why is different. Some people want to be the best, and win gold. Others want to be the top earner in a company. Maybe they just want to lose a certain amount of weight. Maybe they want to provide a great life for their kids. Some people have people relying on them to accomplish this goal, and their why drives them to it. 

Your why is that internal motivation. It is what makes it possible to keep going when you are tired or broken. Your why is what tells you to keep going even when you physically and mentally feel like you have given all. Your why isn’t mental, or physical, or logical…it is pure emotion. You can’t always rely on the physical, mental, or logical avenues. Why?

On the road to achievement you can’t let logic tell you what to do. Because logic will rationalize quitting. Logic will allow you to give up, and tell you it’s okay that you didn’t accomplish what you set out to do. Emotion will push your limits beyond what you logically or physically or mentally knew was possible. Your why is an ace up your sleeve. No one and nothing can take it from you. Doesn’t matter how big, or intimidating the challenge is – your ace can beat it.

If you don’t know your why, start trying to find your motivation. And once you do, hold onto it. Sometimes you may not need it, but when you do let it carry you towards that finish line.

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Learning to be Human Part II

women doing human fitness throughout evolution wearing activewear and standing in yoga poses in gym

So in part 1 (click here to read) we talked human fitness throughout evolution. We discussed the idea that maybe, in our modern, artificial, and domesticated lives, there is something missing. 

Some of these missing pieces are things that, throughout evolution, we have given up in the name of progress. Some things haven’t been taught, due to them being seen as old, outdated, savage, or improper. 

We also reviewed some ways to be more human and reconnect with that deep part of our brain. These things were:

  • Change your routine
  • Start back at step one
  • Remember what playing is
  • Immerse yourself in nature
  • Reconnect with your tribe
  • Leave the shoes at the door
  • Learn about your food
  • Observe without distractions
  • Gain old skills

Revert back

The quickest way to go back to our roots as humans and allowing your daily life to be what keeps you fit, healthy and strong is to give up everything. 

I’m talking about your house, job, transportation, plumbing, shoes, clothing, medicines, any processed foods. You are no longer allowed to go to the store…you get the idea. Now, as freeing and unchained as this may sound, not many people want to do this extreme of a change. This includes myself. 

Like we discussed a few weeks ago, humans and other animals have an old, deep part of the brain that is responsible for basic tasks mainly built around survival. This is a very deeply rooted system. Its sole purpose is to make the best decision possible for you to continue living. It is truly a fascinating system.  

What this means is basically your mind knows that by giving up all of our comforts, our chance for survival would dramatically decrease. This fires up the lizard inside of us and says “no way, don’t do that”.

But, we can implement a few minor things that will help us be healthier and hopefully be more fulfilled as a human, while still allowing our lizard self to not fear for our safety.

How to reconnect with human fitness throughout evolution

Change your routine

Switch up your routine in the gym, your morning routine, the way you get home or get to the store. Change forces you to think. It forces us to learn new ways to do things. Are you right hand dominant? Brush your teeth with your left hand for a few days.  

We build habits and our ancient ancestors had habits too, like using a favorite hunting spot, or a stream that always had water. But on the way to the stream, they may have had to deal with a giant tree that fell across their usual path. Or maybe they had to take a different way because an animal was in the spot they usually went to. The point is, human fitness throughout evolution has been affected by humans having little control over their routine. They had to be able to adjust and adapt to their environment much more so than we do now. 

Start back at step one

If you have been a member with us at Buffalo Nickel CrossFit you have undoubtedly done crawls/walks. Bear crawls, crab walks, farmers carries, etc. These are some of my favorite pieces of torture movement. They always look so simple and easy because they are so basic. I mean, a child can crawl! 

But it never takes long for the muscles to start burning and these simple movements to become excruciating and difficult. Snatches, DU, muscle ups, lifting heavy weight, and handstands are all cool and fun. Today we want to do things that look cool on Instagram, but I promise you our that old world humans did not have to do snatches or muscle ups to live.

I can also promise you, with the same confidence, that they did have to crawl, walk and carry to survive. Human fitness throughout evolution has been shaped by these simple, basic movements. We shouldn’t forget just how beneficial and tough these movements can be.  

Remember what playing is

One of the certifications I have attended was called Movnat. I absolutely loved it and learned a ton. Movnat does things very different than most other athletic programs. One of these things is instead of using the words ‘train’ or ‘practice’ they use the word ‘play’. This is to serve as a reminder that humans have only recently begun to ‘train’ athletic movements.  

As a child you don’t realize that by falling to the ground and getting back up that you are doing a burpee. To you, you are just playing. You aren’t doing pull ups – you are climbing trees, or doing monkey bars. Playing invokes creativity, and fun. Sure, a CrossFit WOD can mimic this and is fun for a lot of people including myself, but play is different. 

For example, a few weeks ago we went to float the Illinois River. The river bed and banks are rock/gravel. We pulled over on a gravel bar to relax and in no time there was a competition to see who could throw a rock to the other side, or who could hit the tree branch in the water with a rock. No one was “working out”, we were all just playing.

Being in nature is a key part of human fitness through evolution

I think most of us agree that after spending time outdoors in nature we feel happier, more optimistic and simply better. Nature has the magical ability to, for lack of a better term, heal us. Listening to the sounds, seeing wide open spaces or tall mountains, crossing a cool stream, feeling the shade of a tree, or counting stars…nature is magical.

There are tons of studies which show nature benefits humans. People who live in or near nature and outdoors are generally healthier, the risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, premature death, blood pressure, and stress levels are all reduced. They are also generally more active which only helps with the above conditions, as well as many other benefits.

You may not have a national park or ocean in your backyard but you don’t need to. Just being able to walk in the grass, see trees, hear birds, or smell flowers can be enough to feel mental and physical health benefits.

Reconnect with your tribe 

Humans formed tribes for survival. Tribes meant protection, safety, sharing of resources, and a bigger gene pool. In the ancient times, you didn’t get to choose your tribe. Today we are lucky enough to not only choose who our tribe is but we have many tribes!

We have our home tribe, our work tribe, our gym tribe, we have lots of tribes. But how often do we truly connect with them? Do we just ask basic questions and move on or do we put down our phones, talk, listen, and engage each other?

A great way to connect with your tribe is over a meal. Humans have shared food with each other for eons. Share a meal and conversation with your loved ones. Learn about your tribe, get to know them. Put your phone down, turn off the TV and just talk. Enjoy your tribe and reconnect with them.

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Learning to be Human: Part I

ape sitting on hill thinks to reconnect with our deep brain
chimpanzee sitting on a log and thinking, in zoo

This is a topic I LOVE, but will be extremely boring for most (you have been warned). I will be talking about human evolution, fitness, and how to reconnect with our deep brain. It will also be long and split up into a few different parts (once again, you have been warned).

There was a time and age where gyms did not exist. People didn’t do WODs. They just lived. Their daily lives required them to be functional, strong, mobile, healthy, fit humans. Homo sapiens are a species of animal, and the human body we all occupy today is a subspecies of homo sapiens.

The first human ancestor appeared on earth 5 million to 7 million years ago. Our modern human subspecies is believed to be about 200,000 years old. 

So, for a good long while, humans were like every other animal out there. We were walking around, licking rocks and mouth breathing just trying not to die. 

About 10,000 years ago humans learned how to farm and domesticate animals, and roughly 3,000 years ago “sports” were ‘invented’. The more time between humans and their animal roots, the more artificial our lives become. This especially applies to our training lives.

Just living without connecting to our deep brain

Most modern humans have it pretty easy. We don’t have to seek out shelter, food, water. Our needs are mostly taken care of. Even when we do have to see out the basics, it’s not too difficult. 

We have transportation, stores, our meat is already hunted and our produce already gathered. If we even have to cook, we have controlled fire (ovens, stoves, instant pots) in the safety and comfort of our own dwellings.  

We buy, cook, and eat this food, then we go to the gym and workout in an air conditioned building, with perfectly balanced weights that come in perfectly round plates. We can run on a perfectly flat treadmill, or swim in a perfectly calm body of water. Our Peloton creates a nice gradual slope to pedal up, instead of something so steep or obstacle filled you have to dismount and walk/climb up. 

We don’t do any crawling or odd obstacle movements, we don’t duck under, climb on or over. We don’t have to go out in the cold, the hot, the rain, the sun, or the snow if we don’t want to. Our time is spent mostly indoors, our feet rarely touch anything but socks, and our entertainment comes from multiple black boxes of varying sizes.

Just living has become easy, domesticated, simple, and artificial.

Progress above all else

There’s a reason humans are at the top of the food chain (for now). We are smart compared to most other animals. We can critically think and analyze. 

Humans take joy from progress and when we become better at things. Because of this it comes as no surprise that we would rather push progress and move further down the road of betterment instead of looking back to where we came from.

Where did we come from? Well, being a CrossFit coach, my view is that humans came from fitness. It is literally in our DNA. You are descended from the fittest, healthiest, and smartest humans. 

Sometimes that is VERY hard to believe, but it’s true. All of us alive and who have lived in the past only did so because the ones who came before them ran faster, hunted better, gathered more, or were smart enough to remember where clean water was. That’s a crazy thing to think about, but that’s why I think we each need to reconnect with our deep brain.

Transcend Domestication

I have a shirt that reads the above title.  It’s one of my favorite shirts, due to the message, and also the images it has on it. The message is trying to bring focus to ourselves.  

Are we living how we are supposed to be living?  

Is this the best time to be a human?

Of course, we have tons of technology. Our life expectancy is higher than ever. We have the ability to travel. We are bigger, stronger, and faster. Our lives allow us time to relax and enjoy things for fun. On a whole, our lives are very peaceful.

But are peaceful and fulfillment the same thing? I would argue they are not. I would also argue that most modern humans are not truly fulfilled.  

Reconnect with our deep brain

Everyone is different, and I’m not trying to generalize or make the suggestion serious conditions or issues could be fixed this simply. But I honestly think we humans are missing a huge part of being fulfilled. We have forgotten the primal, animal side of ourselves.

Here are ways we can relearn, reconnect with our deep brain, and hopefully become more fulfilled. We can do these things to remember a little of the humans we once were.

  • Change your routine
  • Start back at step one
  • Remember what playing is
  • Immerse yourself in nature
  • Reconnect with your tribe
  • Leave the shoes at the door
  • Learn about your food
  • Observe without distractions
  • Gain old skills

In the future parts of this post (here, and here) I will explore these ideas further. I will discuss what these actions can do to help you feel more connected to your inner self, boost your fitness, and feel more fulfilled.

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Is CrossFit Bad For You?

woman wearing a tank top and shorts hanging from gym equipment is crossfit bad for you

The draw to CrossFit, especially in the early days, was that you were receiving a ton of actual coaching for a fraction of the price of personal training. As CrossFit’s popularity exploded, boxes started opening up on every corner. Now CrossFit is a household name, but people still wonder: is CrossFit bad for you? Will it cause injuries?

The issues

In the early days, because CrossFit got so popular, some people who didn’t actually care about helping members just saw an opportunity to make a quick buck. 

These people really did not put much time or effort into becoming a coach. They didn’t have any knowledge of proper movements, form, and so on. And problems followed…

This situation caused major issues for the CrossFit community. A problem it created was the notion that CrossFit is bad for you and can even be dangerous.

Could a person get injured doing CrossFit? Of course, but a person can also get injured doing any sport, or not doing sports at all.  

Were all CrossFits a hotbed for injuries and a lifetime of knee issues like your doctor told you would happen if you did CrossFit? Absolutely not. It all came down to the coaching.

The rise of YouTube

Another thing that was happening during the early days was that the popularity of YouTube, Facebook and other social media was starting to rocket. 

CrossFit was new, different, exciting and unique. Seeing average people swing on rings, throw bars and weights around, jump over boxes and climb ropes grabbed people’s attention. I’m not sure CrossFit would be where it is today without the help of social media and YouTube in the early times.

However this attention was not all good, because if there’s one thing humans love to see more than someone do something amazing it is to see carnage and violence. Videos of people falling off rings, dropping bars on themselves, destroying their shins on boxes or plummeting 15 feet to the ground after a rope climb was too good to miss.  

The baggage: is CrossFit bad for you!?

Once this happened, CrossFit became known as a surefire way to get injured. And yes, many people were injured. 

Thankfully that has changed. Most of the coaches that didn’t actually coach are gone and this has benefited the CrossFit community greatly. However, there are still some poor coaches out there who don’t really coach or coach poorly.  

There are three types of coaches, and for today’s subject we will divide them only by their abilities to prevent, address and understand injuries. Having a great coach is such an important part of your fitness journey.

A bad coaches:

  • Doesn’t review movements, scaling or modifications.
  • Doesn’t pay attention to members during class.
  • Gives the same cue 5 times even though it has not fixed the issue the previous 5 times.
  • Allows members to move poorly without any corrections.
  • Tries to make every person move exactly the same way. Age, skill level, height, weight, etc do not matter to these people.

A good coach:

  • Goes over the WOD.
  • Has knowledge but overloads the athlete with it.
  • Breaks down complex movements the same way for everyone.
  • Watches movements but can only offer a number of cues which may or may not help.
  • Knows when people move poorly but does not research and learn why they are and how to correct it.
  • Gives members attention, but allows their attention to be drawn everywhere all the time instead of focusing on one or two people at a time.

A great coach:

  • Goes over every movement, scaling options, and modifications.
  • Implements those in the class for members of all different skill levels, ages, etc.
  • Modifies so all athletes are getting the same stimulus without being pushed to injury or pain.
  • Knows that change takes time, and understands deeply ingrained movement issues will take time to adjust and heal.
  • Gives each member at least one correction or approval each class.
  • Helps members understand their skill level might be different than they believe and adjust the difficulty to help progress an athlete.
  • Does not allow poor movement patterns, scales the movement, weight, reps, time or time to keep athlete moving properly.
  • Has a variety of cues they are able to use and change based on the athlete they are with at the time.
  • Not only can do certain movements, T2B, MU, butterflies, but can teach them as well.
  • Studies and learns about how to improve people’s athleticism while sifting through “snake-oil” fixes and movements while keeping the time tested models in place,
  • Pays attention to all members, not taking favor to more advanced athletes or those who show potential.
  • Actually coaches, answers questions, offers movement advice and fixes, and creates a learning environment.

So is CrossFit bad for you? Not if you have the right coaching and environment for your growth.

Finding a box you love and a coach who will help you advance not only as an athlete but a human should be your top priority. There are thousands of CrossFit boxes out there. Try them all until you find the right match.

At Buffalo Nickel CrossFit, we’re proud to say we’re a box full of great coaches. Contact us to try out our coaching style today.

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Keeping Track Of Math During CrossFit WODs

woman writing complex math on whiteboard to show doing math during crossfit is difficult

Ever been mid-WOD and all of a sudden it seems like you can’t remember if you are on round 3 or 4? Or you decide to record your back squat weight after the metcon and now you can’t remember what that number was? If math is hard, math during CrossFit is truly awful. But, like everything in CrossFit, we can find out and how to improve.

Memory loss

You are 12 reps in on Grace. Then, all of a sudden, you can’t remember if you are on rep 13 or 18…what happened?!  

When our bodies are placed under high levels of stress the brain turns off the areas responsible for creativity, contemplation, planning, and critical thinking. It does this because years and years of evolution gave us the ability to form thoughts, create, and think, but it has yet to get rid of the ‘lizard brain’.

Lizard brain

The deepest, most basic part of our brain stem is often referred to as our lizard brain or reptilian brain. It is responsible for the most primitive stimulus: thirst, hunger, limb movement, habits and fight or flight. As we become more and more stressed, our brain reverts to this deep lizard brain and it shuts off the functions of the other parts. 

Your mind is basically saying, “we are under attack and your safety is in danger! You either need to stand, fight and kill the danger, or you need to run and get away from the danger!” 

Now, hopefully during a WOD your safety is not truly in danger, but your brain doesn’t really know that. All it recognizes is the stress it has been placed under. It doesn’t need to know if you are on rep 13 or 18 to survive, so the mind throws that little useless piece of information away. It will stay like this until the stress has been relieved and our breathing/heart rate has lowered to a normal level. 

Lizard brain to lizard king: tips for math during CrossFit

You may never sing like Morrison but you can train your brain to think more critically during stressful situations.  How do we do this?

Widen your view

Count how many people are in class, or look around and pick out everything that is a certain color. Widening your view forces your brain to power on, think through the stress, and pick up important details.

Concentrate on your breathing

Focus on how you are breathing. Is it short and fast? Or deep and controlled? Start breathing better and get oxygen to your brain so it can expand and get back to thinking beyond basic survival.

Don’t focus on one thing

Allowing yourself to have self imposed blinders will give you tunnel vision. This is great for survival because it allows us to take in every detail about the danger that is coming for us. But, it’s not so great for math during CrossFit. So, we want to break that. Keep your vision broad and don’t let it get too locked on one thing.

Give it time

You will find that sometimes you do these things really well and other times you don’t. It is like getting better at double-unders. Practice and time is the only way to get better at math during CrossFit. So don’t be too hard on yourself and just continue to practice.

Okay but how about fixing my math during CrossFit TODAY?

Well you probably won’t ‘fix’ it today, but we do have some tricks of the trade to help remember how to keep track of reps/rounds/weights/etc.

Write it down

At Buffalo Nickel CrossFit we use small personal white boards with expo markers. During metcons we make tallies for every rep/round or mark off the numbers and movements we have completed. There are some shorthand tips for keeping a workout log, if that’s something you want to try.

You can also write down your time when you are done, then roll around on the floor sucking wind for the next 5 minutes. Once you’ve finished your immediate recovery and come back to the world, you have your time already recorded!

Switchin sides

I remember being new to CrossFit and I saw an athlete completing Grace. She would do a C&J drop the bar, step over it, turn around and then hit her next rep. Not only was it giving her a moment to breath and keep a working pace, but it also allowed her to narrow down the rep she was on in case she forgot.

If she was facing one way she was on even reps, if she was facing the opposite way she was on odd reps.  This can be helpful for movements like box jumps, pull ups, deadlifts, and more.

Checkpoints

Karen is a single movement high rep metcon, 150 wallballs for time. It can become very easy to forget where you are. Deciding beforehand that you will break every 20, 30, or 50 reps allows you to have a checkpoint. 

You might forget if you are on rep 60 or 80 but if you can think back through your big numbers it makes it a little easier to get caught back up.

Try some of these tips for math during CrossFit during your next WOD and let us know what you think!

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Getting Stronger: Energy, Fat And Protein

woman in white tank top getting stronger flexing her arm and standing on path

There are a few topics that people bring up to me and have questions about quite often. These are fat or weight levels, energy during WODs, and overall health or getting stronger. Today I thought we could hopefully offer some guidance about these issues and how to keep your fitness goals on track.

I’m lacking energy in my workouts

Or, a similar issue: it takes me a long time to recover from a WOD.

A lack of energy could be for a number of reasons. Sleep, hydration, nutrition, stress, getting over being sick, not being active for a while, age, the list goes on. 

If you’re a generally healthy athlete that is used to CrossFit-style workouts, gets adequate sleep, water, and so forth, then the answer could be calorie levels.  

Your body needs fuel. Even if you were to lay on the couch and not move a muscle your body is still working. Your lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, liver, digestive system. All of these organs take energy to keep working properly.

Now take into consideration all the hard work and exertion your body does during a typical WOD. If you want to get stronger, you have to make sure you’re refuelling your energy levels.

What do you mean “refuel energy levels”? 

First, food is energy. 

Our bodies are able to convert food into an energy source our body uses to function. We call this energy source ‘calories’. For your body to function, complete WODs, and recover in a timely manner, then you must have calories to burn. 

Think of a car. When the fuel level on a car is low or empty, then that car can’t go, or at least it can’t go very far. Same thing with your body. 

So how do humans refuel? We eat!  

I like getting stronger, but I don’t want to get fat

To make this easier, let’s just say “gain weight” instead of “get fat”. That means we could be gaining fat, or getting stronger and gaining muscle, but the point is that our weight is increasing.

First, gaining weight for an active healthy human who eats healthy is hard. Like really hard. For an inactive human eating poorly it is not hard. Yes, age, gender, genetics can all play roles, but for most people it is difficult. 

Think about losing weight. It is a process. You can’t eat one or two healthy meals and expect to drop those extra 20 pounds. Same goes for eating one or two unhealthy meals. They won’t make you fat.

Second, if you are active in some form of exercise that requires moving weight you will most likely see increased energy levels, firmness of muscles, and strength gains before seeing much actual weight change. You’ll also notice your clothing fitting better, improved rest, and more definition of your muscles. Most, if not all, of these changes will happen before you gain weight or get fat.

But I am a female and I don’t want to get “bulky”

I wish I got paid every time I heard this. Most times it is a female worrying lifting weights will make her bulky, and the simple answer is, “don’t worry you won’t”. 

Here’s the rub. Most females don’t naturally produce enough testosterone to get bulky. Males do produce more testosterone, but even then you probably won’t look like the people on the cover of fitness magazines without some help. And in this case, help means performance enhancing drugs, estrogen blockers, testosterone boosters, etc.

You will put on muscle, but this will be good solid toned muscle that will make you wonder why you didn’t start working out sooner. Also, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn and the easier it is to shed fat. 

Lastly, by eating plenty of protein and getting stronger you will be able to lift/move more weight. This will show you how awesome you are because you will be doing things you didn’t know you could do. You will feel very accomplished and confident in your fitness abilities.

Getting stronger in review

  • If you are lacking energy, or it takes a while to recover after an intense WOD, try eating more. Focus especially on good fats, carbs, and proteins.
  • Your body and muscles use these proteins, fats, and carbs as building blocks and fuel. Proteins help the muscles get strong, carbs and fats help the muscles actually move and function.
  • Gaining weight is much harder than you think. If you are active, healthy, and eat nutritious foods then it will take a lot of time, effort and energy.
  • Females don’t produce enough testosterone to get bulky. And muscle helps burn calories and shed fat. You will look/feel better, and be able to lift more weight. All of these will help boost confidence and you’ll feel great about your accomplishments.

Hopefully this will help you relax about the rumors that come with stepping into the health and fitness arena. 

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Consistency Vs Intensity When Working Out

man wondering about consistency vs intensity running on a road and wearing headphones and shorts and a tshirt

It’s a difficult balance, consistency vs intensity. Intensity is a cornerstone of CrossFit methodology. And yes, it is important that certain workouts are high intensity. But another key to actually seeing results from a fitness or diet plan is consistency. 

For some people consistency is easy. They like routine and structure in their day to day lives. For others, it can be more difficult to maintain and follow a plan. And while the stimulus of an individual WOD might be intensity, the goal for health and fitness is to be consistent with your effort.

Is consistency better than intensity?

When it comes to your fitness and you’re wondering about consistency vs intensity, the answer is to go with consistency. Here is why.

Choosing a health/fitness/diet plan shouldn’t be difficult but it is. With literally hundreds of different options out there, who knows what to pick?! Do you go with intermittent fasting, keto, macros, CrossFit, cycling, weightlifting, movnat, yoga…? And the list goes on and on.  

A large majority of us are attracted to the latest and greatest. When anything new comes out or some sort of exercise gains popularity, people flock to it. 

Most of these ‘fireworks’ are very fickle. I say fireworks because these are the people who start something and have tons of enthusiasm and are overly excited. But, for most of these people, that excitement and enthusiasm is hot and fast burning. They quickly lose interest. With a bang, pop or fizzle they are gone. Onto the next thing.

I think it is important to try and experience every opportunity one gets. However if you want to see results it is important to stay consistent and with a program long enough to see those results. 

This philosophy means that when starting a program it should be easy, practical, and enjoyable. This helps most people to become consistent. These principles allow the large majority to see regular and steady progress over a long period of time. As much as people like new and shiny things, they are addicted to results. Fitness helps you feel and look amazing.

Intensity can be dangerous

I think every member at Buffalo Nickel CrossFit has had a period of absences at some point. Vacation, work, surgeries, and life in general can keep people busy. Sometimes a week or two from the gym just happens. This is probably the case with anyone reading this as well.  

We all know how it feels that first day or two back after being gone for a week or so. It is rough, we feel slow, or like we have lost everything we worked so hard for. Our joints feel tight, and we probably breathe a little harder than we did when we were consistent.  

When you are consistent, and exercise 3-5 times a week, you might be sore and tired, but after a warm up you probably feel okay and ready to work out. That is the consistency doing its job. 

Remember how you felt after 2 weeks off, and now imagine that you are going to try a 1 rep max deadlift. After your attempt you will take 2 weeks off, and try it again. You will continue to do this for 8 weeks total. I think anyone would agree this can be dangerous. You could get seriously injured not doing anything for 2 weeks, walking in and trying to move heavy weight.

Intensity probably won’t get you the results you want

Let’s flip the coin now. You have just started a new training program from Buff-flex-stud-muffin that promises you will be strong, have a 6 pack, and only have to work out 30 minutes a day for 4 weeks. 

So you complete your 4 weeks. It was really hard but you made it and now you are wiped out and just need a couple days to rest. But a couple days turns into a week, which turns into a month, and then 3 months.  

You fireworked! You came in hot and fast, but it was too hot, you couldn’t maintain that heat for very long. And now you are so burned out that it’s hard to start again. Your results are gone, and you are left feeling demotivated instead of inspired to keep going.

Consistency vs intensity: what to take away

Be consistent. Some days you may not feel like exercising or you look at the WOD before leaving the house and decide that looks hard and you don’t want to do it. But go do it anyway. You will feel better and you will have checked off one more consistency box. Plus, the great thing about CrossFit is that it promotes variation across workouts. We recommend getting in cardio, strength training, bodyweight fitness, team sports…anything you want, just to stay active.

When and if you choose a new program, make sure it is easy, practical, and enjoyable starting out. When I say easy I mean easy to follow. If your program looks like an IKEA instruction manual you might have to try even harder to be consistent with it. Try to find a balance of consistency vs intensity, and you’ll be an unstoppable force.

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