Strength + MetCon Isn't Good Enough
Don’t hear me wrong. I am not saying it isn’t good. I am saying it is not good enough, there’s a difference.
Why do I say this? The answer, albeit simple to say, isn’t as cut-and-dry as I wish it was. To understand why we need to understand the methodology. The methodology is the reason why CrossFit works.
Essentially, Greg Glassman created many standards to determine fitness. Three big ones are the 10 General Physical Skills, the “view that fitness is about performing well at any and every task imaginable” and that the individual requires competency to perform and train within each of the three energy pathways. There are far too many others to note and for simplicity's sake we will call these the most important.
So how does that tie-in with Strength + MetCon and why that isn’t good enough? If we do the same thing every day we are failing to follow Glassman’s second standard. We can train incredibly effectively in one domain (Strength followed by MetCon), but lack in the reverse (MetCon followed by Strength) or are unable to perform to our max capacity if we do a Strength or MetCon only day.
If we don’t always do Strength first we are inherently training not only your body, but also your mind, for long-term success. When we do a Strength component after a MetCon we are training ourselves to lift heavy stuff no matter how tired we are. Let’s imagine two different scenarios:
Scenario 1 - you are running away from an attacker only to have them catch up to you. You only train strength first, never after a MetCon so you aren’t prepared to move heavy loads when exhausted. What happens when they catch you and are able to overpower you?
Scenario 2 - You include heavy lifting after a brutal MetCon. Same thing happens, they catch up to you, but now you are prepared to move heavy loads (like another person) to fend off the attack. Your mind and body has already done this sort of stuff before so you can handle the pressure.
These are wildly extreme scenarios that I truly hope NEVER happens to anyone, but it is a powerful and clear reason why breaking up the training routine is important. We become more prepared for crazy and weird scenarios.
Strength + MetCon is good. MetCon + Strength is good. Strength only is good. MetCon only is good. All of it is good (even other things I didn’t mention). None of them are better than the other and overfilling one bucket may lead to injury and burnout. That leads to avoidance further increasing our deficiencies in our overall fitness. Remember, we need to be able to do every task imaginable and do it well!
Strength work is fun, I know that. It is also beneficial and necessary. But doing strength work all the time does not mean improvement. There are multiple ways to build strength and muscle if that is what you truly crave. There have been A TON of studies showing how different methods of training for strength adaptations can be successful. One thing in common is the concept of effort (or intensity) output. It doesn’t matter if you do low weight - high rep or low rep - high weight. What matters is how many reps you do at and around max intensity levels. This means that if I want to get stronger in the Deadlift I can either do a couple of reps at a time near my 1RM or I could do a lot more reps at 50% of my 1RM. What matters is that I do enough reps to receive the same overall stimulus.
So even if there isn’t a specific strength component that day you can still get stronger by hanging on to the barbell for another 5 reps, or by trying to do another 3 push-ups or cranking out an extra rep of Toes-to-Bar before you take a break. Is that going to be hard? Absolutely. Will it be fun? Not always. But you will get stronger without a Strength Component if approached with the right mindset.
You joined CrossFit for your own reasons but at the heart of it all, improved fitness is the ultimate goal. Keeping things constantly varied is going to progress you closer to your end goal while maintaining well-rounded and healthy training habits. Following a routine eventually stagnates the process.
Speaking of being prepared for the unknown and changing up the training routine, don’t forget the Open is just around the corner! Officially, it begins on February 29th, 2024. That means we will be hosting Friday Night Lights on March 1st!
SIGN-UP for a heat to workout or judge and get the 2024 Evansville CrossFit T-Shirt! Heck, just come to Friday Night Lights and cheer on friends and family and help make this event SPECTACULAR and you get a Shirt (I think I’ve beat that dead horse enough but still gotta cover those bases). If you can’t make it to any of the Friday Night Lights we still got you covered so don’t worry. Also don’t forget to sign up for the Open
HERE. This will help us help CrossFit become even better! Bring your friends and family, show them what CrossFit is all about! Don’t forget to bring food and beverages for the Post-Open Celebration/Party! That’s where things get real fun, but only if you show up!!!!
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