elite fitness & elite coaching

In the past several months, I have had the privilege of meeting and talking to a handful of awesome CrossFit athletes. The majority of these individuals trained out of an actual CrossFit gym, ran by certified CrossFit trainers and coaches. I have also met regular, everyday run-of-the-mill type's that train and religiously perform the Workout of the Day at home or at their local gym. What I found similar is that both groups of people have the same love and passion for the program itself. The mental toughness, discipline, and tenacity to give all they have each and every workout continues to inspire my own motivation and training.

There is a huge difference, however, between the two groups of people. The two groups are:
1) CrossFit gym members
2) 'Soloists' or those that do CrossFit on their own

The athletes that do CrossFit on their own are severely deficient in several aspects of the program. The main deficiency lies in form and technique. The second disparity is the lack of fine motor skills that are very important to many of the movements required in CrossFit.

In my humble and honest opinion, the number one reason for this is due to an important factor that cannot be dismissed: COACHING.

Finding a coach means that one would have to seek someone that specializes in a particular skill and/or sport. Finding a good coach is even harder to find, not to mention the cost of hiring such a person. Hiring an Olympic-lifting coach can sometimes cost as much as hiring a lawyer - and that's just one coach. You would need a powerlifting coach, track & field coach, gymnastic coach etc in order to have the equivalent in an experienced and knowledgeable CrossFit trainer and coach. Finding an elite coach that is well versed in several aspects in fitness AND sport, not to mention sound nutritional advice is even harder to come by. Finding an elite CrossFit trainer and coach is, well — priceless.

Elite Fitness is analogous to a black belt in martial arts. It takes years to achieve elite, high ranking status in order to be fit and in shape across the 10 General Physical Characteristics of Fitness as well as broad time/modal domains. Having elite coaching is required in order to attain such levels and goals.

In regular gyms across the country, there is hardly any coaching that goes on. The globo-gym member by default has to learn how to perform the movements by themselves without a watchful keen-eye observing. The importance behind having someone who has the visual and verbal perspicacity is three-fold:

1) Safety
2) Efficacy
3) Efficiency

All three elements are crucial to CrossFit. Without one, you are not reaching your true potential. Without an experienced and knowledgeable CrossFit trainer and coach, achieving elite fitness will be a long attainable process - if at all.

Don't get me wrong, there are soloists out there that are firebreathers and freaks of nature that are damn good at CrossFit. For the most part, there just isn't an affiliate nearby for them to take advantage of. But most of the soloists train on their own because they cannot afford or choose not to pay the rates that CrossFit gyms are charging. I'm sure there is one person who doesn't have the luxury of having a CrossFit affiliate in town and would pay any amount in order to train at one, while on the flipside, you have those individuals that have an affiliate right around the corner and choose to train on their own for whatever reason. Some people have made sacrifices in their lives in order to afford to train at a 'Box' and live longer, stronger and healthier lifestyles. One weekend out with friends alone can be as much as one month of training at a CrossFit gym. Eliminating and minimizing certain bills can be enough to afford changing your life. To each his/her own, but don't use the excuse of 'CrossFit costs or charges too much' when you just spent a total of $150 dollars the past two weekends boozing and partying.

Without elite coaching, there is no elite fitness.