“Strength is the ability to produce force, and it is possibly the most important component in athletics. It is dependent on muscle mass, on the nerves that make the muscles fire, and on the will that fires the nerves. Power depends on it, as does balance, coordination, speed, quickness, and endurance .”
At CrossFit, we aim to increase our athlete’s general physical preparedness. We do this by identifying and training 10 general physical skills.
- Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance: The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
- Stamina: The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
- Strength: The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
- Flexibility: the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint
- Power: The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
- Speed: The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
- Coordination: The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
- Agility: The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
- Balance: The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
- Accuracy: The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity
All 10 of these skills are incredibly important in a well-rounded athlete, but number 3, strength, may be the most important of all.
Rick Scarpulla, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at West Point wrote in this Tabata Times article, that ‘CrossFit is a strength sport that requires endurance, not an endurance sport that requires strength.’ The top athletes in the sport are very good because they are very strong, as well as very fit. They aren’t doing metcons day in and day out. Aerobic conditioning is fairly quick to develop; consequently, there are plenty of fit guys out there. Absolute strength gains take longer to develop, but it is strength that differentiates the fittest on earth from all the other firebreathers.
Strength gains don’t just make you strong. They will make you a more powerful, explosive athlete. The stronger you are, the higher your power output rating, and the more efficient you will be at WODs. Even if you are able to do workouts RX, the stronger your 1RM squat, deadlift and press are, the easier the weight will feel. An athlete may be able to achieve a competitive Diane (21-15-9 Deadlift 225lb; HSPU) time with a 400lb IRM deadlift, but if they increased that to a 500lb 1RM, that 225lb would feel much lighter and faster.
Strength is a limiting factor for many CrossFit athletes. RX weights are getting heavier in the Open, Regionals and the Games, as well as in local competitions and programming worldwide. We stress the importance of technique, and while excellent technique remains essential, it is true that you will reach a ‘cap’ on technical improvements before you reach the limits of your strength. Mark Rippetoe explains that technique is learnt through neurological and neuromuscular adaptations, and takes a few weeks to months to develop. Strength, on the other hand, requires profound physiological changes to muscle, bone, tissue and endocrine systems, as well as the neuromuscular system. Strength takes months to years to develop. Once technique is solid, it is developing your strength that will allow you to continue to lift more and more weight.
Getting strong supports everything we do in the gym and outside of it. Strength is force production, and increasing it will have positive impacts on all aspects of fitness and our quality of life. The CrossFit world is increasingly recognizing and embracing the importance of dedicated strength training, and producing better athletes as a consequence.
We are very excited to announce that CrossFit Bloomfield has a Strength Program in the works! We want to get you strong, and we’re going to do so with a heavy barbell and basic human movement patterns; the squat, deadlift, bench press and shoulder press. Stay tuned for more details over the next few weeks to secure your place in the program.
