WOD
On A 12:00 Clock:
1:00 Box Jumps 36/28,
1:00 Row For Calories,
2:00 Box Jumps,
2:00 Row For Calories,
3:00 Burpees Over Parallettes,
3:00 Row For Calories.
Score is total reps.
Tuesday Night Musings with Coach Kyle.
To Practice, or to Train, and What are Those Ten Areas of Fitness Again?
Hi All!
I’m going to talk about the 10 components of fitness, the differences between practice and training, and how it all ties together. If you want to hear about all this in more detail, listen to Ben Bergeron’s podcast from Chasing Excellence – no. 85 – it’s really informative.
So what are the 10 components of fitness and why do we care? The 10 components are:
Endurance
Stamina
Strength
Flexibility
Power
Speed
Coordination
Agility
Balance
Accuracy.
Why are these important? Because this is CrossFit’s definition of fitness. These are the things we test every day. Every movement, workout and skill we perform in the gym takes pieces of these components. So the answer to the question: “How fit am I?” Is “How good are you at all these things?” You are only as fit as your weakest component.
So how do we get better? Practice and training. Practice is lightweight, low intensity, and focused. This is where we work on our technique and form and more specifically the components that take the most brain power or neurologic development. Coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. These components are more skilled-based than engine-based. Double-unders are a great example. Before anybody has to worry about doing 3,000 in a row, you have to worry about the 1st and the 2nd and so on. And if we struggle with the 1st and 2nd, then why would you try to go faster instead of slowing it down and practicing the movement instead.
Which brings me to training. This is heavy weight, high intensity, and high heart rate. Very much what you think of with a typical CrossFit wod. When we are training we are working on endurance, stamina, strength, and flexibility. This is working on our engine. This is like omg running or the assault bike. Things we can just push ourselves faster and harder to get better. Yes, if we start flat lining and hitting that plateau we need to go back and start practicing these movements. But I think you understand the point.
So where do practice and training meet? In power and speed. To increase your capacity in these areas you need to have a balance. The best movement to think of is Olympic lifting. We have to practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more to make our form that much better and to be more efficient in how we move. But not only that – once we have practiced, we have to train using our Olympic lifts – going heavier and testing our limitations by seeing how long we can hold on to the bar in wods.
The point of all of this is – It’s a balancing act. Sometimes we need to stop and look at the things we struggle with and think to ourselves should I be practicing, or should I be training? Let’s say you struggle with double-unders? How are you trying to get better? Are you waiting until after wods when your heart rate is through the roof and you can barely breathe? Training the movement instead of taking a step back and practicing with a low heart rate and focusing on how to be more efficient and performing the movement right. Same goes for running, snatches, or any movement that you could be struggling with. This all starts at being honest with yourself and understanding where your weaknesses are with your 10 components of fitness and working on those weaknesses in the right domain – so be patient with yourself!
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Coach Kyle
