Eight Ways to Un-Fuck Your CrossFit Gym

by Johnny Pain

As many of you know, I am no stranger to the world of CrossFit. Since I resigned my affiliation with them, my involvement in the “movement” has far from ceased. I have had the good fortune of speaking to hundreds of CrossFitters at events, and in the consulting capacity via phone and internet. In addition, I have helped several CrossFit affiliates design programs for individuals and groups, and have remained an open door resource for many within the organization on a variety of topics. Besides consultation clients, I have had many CrossFit “refugees” join the ranks of Greyskull over the past few years. It is through these experiences that I have observed some major problems in the design and implementation of a “CrossFit” program. The following list is a collection of eight of the more prevalent ones. If attended to, these items can help make for a much better and more valuable CrossFit practice. I do acknowledge the fact that there are some decent programs out there and I do not believe that this represents the affiliates as a whole. However, stereotypes originate from somewhere, I wouldn’t mention any of these things if hadn’t observed them to be woefully deficient in so many cases. If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it.

Here they are, in no particular order:

Work the Fundamentals

Look, there is no reason to do handstand pushups, muscle ups, or ring dips in any sort of band-assisted or “scaled” manner if the client cannot do a legitimate pushup yet. Scratch that – if the client cannot do a whole lot of legitimate pushups yet. You may laugh if you can’t imagine this, but I have trained people who were all but berated for their inability to perform ring dips and handstand pushups (while still significantly overweight I may add) because they had been “CrossFitting” for two years. It was, however, acceptable for them to perform pushups from their knees if they came up in the “WOD”. Why should this person be working on a much more difficult skill if the simpler and more easily attainable skill has not been worked on, or has not been worked on consistently enough for the simple skill to be attained? Every single sporting event or activity with an organized curriculum follows this concept; I have no idea why it is apparently not applicable to CrossFit methods. I have another male refugee in the gym who could not perform a single legitimate parallel bar dip, yet not only “CrossFitted” for years, but was an assistant coach at an affiliate. The place in question only uses the rings for dips, and when this individual suggested getting some bars in there to work dips in order to “build up to the rings” he was chastised and told that the beauty of the rings was their effect on the “stabilizers.” That sounds wonderful, but if a person lacks the basic strength to dip themselves on a non-moving apparatus, how much work can their “core” or their “stabilizers” get on the rings? Work the fundamental skills. CrossFitters overuse the term “progression” all of the time. Apply it.

Do Strict Chins and Pull-ups

This horse has been beaten, buried, exhumed, desecrated, cremated, and buried at sea already, but for the love of God have your people do strict chins and pull-ups. The benefits of the chin up are immense, and the upper body strength required to perform them is both impressive, and an attribute that virtually everyone walking into your facility on day one will be lacking. Once when I was still a CrossFit affiliate I had a female come to me who could kip her way through all 45 reps of Fran yet could not do one single dead hang chin. Kipping pull-ups are not a “progression” to dead hang pull-ups. Likewise, do not use band assisted pull-ups for the same reason – they make you tremendously good at performing band assisted pull-ups and little else. The refugee horror stories I’ve heard of the slingshot apparatus used to hoist developing and sometimes overweight CrossFitters over the bar rapidly as part of the “WOD” are disturbing at best. It is still impressive to see a female perform dead hang reps and I can tell you from experience that little will excite a female (and therefore bring you more clients) in the gym more than accomplishing that first rep. If you have people who want to compete in CrossFit competitions and need to be able to perform the kipping version later, make sure they have a firm base of dead hang pull-ups before they start working it (at least 10-12 for a male and 6-8 for a female).

Keep it simple

I have a saying that I use here all of the time with regards to a variety of different subjects. I can’t lay claim to coining it, but I have certainly promoted it. The saying is, “An expert is a master of the basics”. It is all too easy and tempting for a trainer (particularly one who is new to the game) to feel the need to vomit all of their knowledge all over their trainees. In keeping with our theme here, the fundamentals are what get the job done. 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. I fully encourage continuing education in the field, and feel that it is a key to developing your own strengths as a trainer and as a gym. However, do not abandon the basics for the newest gimmick in town, and do not try to overload your clients with overly complex programming or movements. Work the fundamental skills, do the basic lifts, keep the conditioning work simple and intense. Much can be accomplished with a very small arsenal of tools and movements. I know; I started my business with virtually nothing in terms of equipment. The most common remark from new visitors to Greyskull is “Wow, I thought it would be much bigger.” They always leave with a new perspective on what is necessary and what are simply “pieces of flair.”

Greyskull in it’s earliest incarnation

Stick with a challenge

This is one that will outright guarantee you success in the word of mouth arena as a trainer. Create a challenge, and have your clients work towards it until it is completed. You can see this logic applied in our Villain Challenges. Take for example the first challenge of 100 burpees in 5 minutes. I have previously outlined how I recommend conquering this one, and there is no reason that any client cannot undertake this challenge (or an understandably modified one in the case of an elderly or disabled individual). Working towards a goal like that will yield tremendous results in many ways. For one, the sense of accomplishment one gains from doing something they previously thought impossible is beyond empowering. Second, the positive physical changes one will undoubtedly experience in terms of stamina, body composition, etc. are staggering, and are precisely in line with the clients goals upon joining in more cases than not. Assigning “homework” for these challenges adds another layer of commitment for the individual and further pushes them down the lane towards success. I have a young lady who came to me a CrossFit refugee after two years of abysmal handling who is working on that very challenge and has coincidentally lost over 30lbs in the few short months we’ve been working together. Set a goal, stick to it, knock it out, and set another one. It will pay off in more ways than one.

Think outside the Zone

Yes, to each their own, but for most, the Zone sucks. Granted it is a decent general health template for a sick person who is grossly overweight and bedridden, but for a hard training individual it is, in my opinion, nothing more than a version of “Quick Books” for an anorexic. Eat. Food is a good thing. There are many good sources of information on responsible nutrition available to help understand what is needed for a multitude of individuals with a variety of goals. Don’t limit yourself to one source of information because of its endorsement. Remember, there is absolutely no such thing as a one-size-fits-all program whether it be diet, training, supplementation, or anything else. If you are unsure or have a particularly unique case or client, pay someone to shorten the distance for you. Your clients are paying you. It’s no secret that I offer this type of service, but I am not only endorsing my own methods. Robb Wolf is a terrific resource for those dealing with clients with general health and longevity needs as well. Read, experiment, do some research; your clients are depending on you to help them, not to recite what someone else told you during your weekend course.

Strength Train

By this point, most of you have caught on to this one. There is a need for traditional strength training in any good strength and conditioning program. It is way too easy to simply pump some music and get people sweaty for an hour. You have heard from day one that strength loss is what debilitates an individual in their later years, that it is what takes their independence. A squat is how you get off of the toilet by yourself; you know what I mean. The well-known lack of strength training in CrossFit curriculums has led to the creation of several “hybrid” programs with various cool sounding acronyms. It has become fashionable to offer classes in these programs, or adopt the program as the “WOD” for a period in time. Hey, it’s better than nothing. I don’t care how you do it to be honest. Obviously I have my own methods that I use with my clients, but whose method you use is irrelevant so long as your clients are performing basic strength training movements (press, squat, deadlift, bench press, chin ups) on a regular basis in a recorded and progressive manner. Remember, your clients will be weak when they come through your doors more often than not. Getting them strong will be the most valuable service that you can provide for them as a trainer from both a health/longevity/independence standpoint and also an aesthetics aspect. “Conditioning” or getting someone “in shape” in the cardiovascular sense is significantly easier to do, and can certainly be pursued while the client is working on developing basic strength as well. Also remember that strength training and powerlifting are two different things. Keep it simple. I swear, if I get one more picture in my inbox of a CrossFit with a new MonoLift…

If you can’t do at least 20 bar dips, you have no business on the rings.

Get rid of the “one size fits all” program

The worst violators of this one are the gyms who charge people money in order to allow them to use their facility to perform the prescribed “WOD” from the main site. There is no more complete acknowledgement of one’s inability to teach and provide a valuable service in my opinion than this practice. The notion that all of your clients will need the same things in the same amounts is asinine at best. This is where the concept of “scaling” comes in to play. This is one that more people get wrong than get right. Remove the notion that there needs to be a “WOD” for everyone to do, and that if they can’t do it as prescribed then they should do some lesser version of it. Understand that your clients will be diverse and will have a variety of needs. Address their needs on an individual level and design their training accordingly. If you are using a class format, that is fine, just make sure that all get equal attention and receive the same level of concern for their progress. The majority of the hour should be being spent performing a lift or lifts, and skill practice. If there is a “WOD”, make sure that each person is doing what represents a valuable stress for them, not just something that looks like what the “firebreathers” (did I really just type that?) are doing plus some bands or half range of motion movements. Longer duration events such as 5k runs are easily “scaled” for those who cannot complete them in a manner that makes them practical or mirrors the stimulus received by others, so those days are simple to adjust for. Remember, your bills are being paid by your clients, ensure that they are getting something of significant value for their inflated monthly rate. Avoid putting all of your attention into the few who came into the gym from a sports background and are therefore good athletes. Remember that the overweight middle-aged woman will always be the number one demographic in any training market. Make sure that all are getting their money’s worth and then some.

Have some standards

This one should go without saying, but unfortunately it does not. Set standards for the movements done in your gym and enforce them. Do not appease clients by allowing high squats or counting repetitions of pull-ups or pushups which do not complete a full range of motion. You would not allow someone to run two miles of a 5k race and still give them a time as if they had completed it so why do it with anything else? As the old saying goes, if you cheat you’re only cheating yourself, and that is true; but remember that you are being paid to help these people change for the better, and you are not doing that if you are letting them get away with cutting corners. Your clients and anyone observing your practice will respect you a whole lot more if you set some standards and hold everyone, including yourself, accountable to them.

That’s the short list for now. I should add that in addition to the normal schedule of Greyskull Methods, and other StrengthVillain Seminars this year, we will be conducting a “Seven Habits of Highly Successful CrossFit Gyms” seminar series as well. Drop me an email for more information or to inquire about scheduling an event at your location.