Please notice how many drills I borrow from that video in my own coaching:

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Teaching the Squat a la Dan John from Potomac Crossfit Raw on Vimeo.

Quotes:

- Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes

- With every accident, ask yourself what abilities you have for making a proper use of it. If you see an attractive person, you will find that self-restraint is the ability you have against your desire. If you are in pain, you will find fortitude. If you hear unpleasant language, you will find patience. And thus habituated, the appearances of things will not hurry you away along with them

- Don’t just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person. Books are the training weights of the mind. They are very helpful, but it would be a bad mistake to suppose that one has made progress simply by having internalized their contents

There are many ways to run a free class. What follows is some of the lessons that I’ve learned from teaching free classes more times than I care to mention.

– When prospective athletes walk into your gym for the first time, make sure they they are greeted politely and nicely told where to stash their gear. At the same time, don’t hold their hand too much. I think it is a great experience for a totally new athlete to have to weave their way through a packed gym to drop their stuff off in the back. It makes it clear from the get go that this place isn’t like any other place they’ve been to before.

– Start the class a minute or two late. Letting the new athlete “simmer” in the back and take the scene in is useful. Even better (but this can’t be forced), is if one of your gym’s athletes introduces themselves to the group while they are waiting in the back. As long as it happens spontaneously, this can be a huge bonus.

– Introduce yourself, and talk about your background for 15 seconds (or less). Then go around the group and have all the new athletes introduce themselves and say a little bit about why they are here. Remember their names. Listen for prior injuries, past exposures to Crossfit, and potential goals. You should also listen for tips on how to run the class. If every person says their goal is to lose weight, make sure you talk about some of the success you have had in helping people lose weight. Duh.

- Go over the outline for the class, which should be:

Introduction, warmup, instruction, workout, discussion.

Make sure to include the phrase ” The goal of today is to introduce Crossfit in a friendly, safe environment. I will not make you do anything you don’t want to do.” This usually addresses a common concern.

- Send the athletes out on a run, or have them jump rope for a couple minutes. Continue to engage with the athletes about their backgrounds etc.

- Start discussing how to do the movements for the workout. While the possibilities are endless, I tend to constantly repeat a few simple moves in the free class – goblets squats, push presses, swings, pushups, situps, low rep box jumps, and runs. Super simple, super effective.

- Each movement should have a “lesson” that accompanies it. When I teach the push up, I discuss the concept of scaling – hands on the wall, knees on the ground, knees off the ground etc. When I teach the push press, I talk about cheating by using your hips – and how all good functional movement starts with the hips. Don’t use any big words, and keep your explanations short and simple.

- After you go over the movements, talk about the workout. 100% of the time, you should pick an AMRAP Triplet lasting around 10 minutes. No exceptions. Everyone should finish at the same time – with no one feeling like they’ve been left behind. It is also very hard to beat the simplicity of a weightlifting movement, a gymnastics movement, and a monostructural movement.

-  Talk about intensity. I like to say something like “On a scale of 1 to 10 for intensity I want you at 6.5. One is reading US weekly on the recumbent bike and ten is blood leaking out of your ears. Today is your first day with this kind of stuff. I want you to be uncomfortable, but not in danger of hurting yourself. ”

To Be Continued…

Editor’s Note – The following comes from a good buddy who has been getting ready for a difficult selection type course. He used to be a very solid Crossfit athlete (still is), but has chosen to convert some of that general fitness into some more specific fitness for his upcoming course. He has lost about 15ish pounds of muscle, from an already leanish type frame. Chime in in the comments section if you’ve had any experience with these types of course in the past.

(End editor’s note)

Some of what I’ve learned through trial and error with endurance oriented efforts. A lot of this is a “your mileage may vary” type thing, but for what it’s worth:

1. I need about 20-24 oz water per hour of hard activity (i.e. rucking or running).
2. I need about 175-250 calories per hour of hard activity (almost entirely from carbs).
3. Getting water/liquid from a camelbak is more convenient than a nalgene or canteen and therefore I am more likely to stay hydrated if I use a camelbak.
4. Hammer brand endurance products – gels, bars, recovery shakes, etc are mostly gluten free and contain low amounts of sugar. Packages are typically marked with a list of all the unwanted stuff they do not contain. The only product that I know that has soy is the Perpetuem line.
5. Hammer brand gels are pretty tasty, low in sugar and really easy on my stomach.
6. It is a pain to eat solid food while you’re trying to move quickly. If I have a choice, I’ll do gels during and a recovery shake afterwards. I’ll do solid food 30-45 minutes after the shake.
7. Clif bars taste delicious but are really tough on my stomach. I think this is because they contain soy protein. I have completely removed these from my diet. Hammer brand makes several flavors of bars with healthy fats that are gluten & soy free.
8. I get all my supplements at REI just because it’s easy one stop shopping.
9. I hate wearing cotton t-shirts for long term efforts – with as hot/humid as it is, dryfit / moisture wicking is your best bet by far, if for no other reason than it will dry faster when you are done.
10. I have had good success and minimal blisters / hotspots wearing Wright brand coolmesh running socks – they sell them online and at REI.

This is Bailey. He needs a full time home. If you are interested in some more pictures, or to meet the little man, send me an email.

More info here, search for “Bailey”

Camp Clark, Washington

My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .

Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights . . . always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . .

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.

We’ve all heard the common reprieve about Crossfit not caring about form or taking the time to teach the movements correctly. Like so many critiques, there is the whiff of  truth to the accusations. It can be very difficult to teach complex movements properly when there are more than about 10 people in a group. To add to that, who says are athletes are interested in what you happen to be teaching? Despite what many might try to tell you, not every athlete is interested in learning how to Pose Run or do a Back Lever.

Enter Focus Sessions.

At PCF, our Focus Sessions are small group sessions – meeting a couple times a week – designed to give people more exposure to a particular topic. At PCF, we’ve had focus sessions in Olympic Lifting, Power Lifting, Gymnastics, Women’s Upperbody Strength, and Pose Running. I am currently coaching a bi-weekly “Beginner’s Olympic Lifting Class” for four weeks.  In this class, the athletes do hundreds of reps of snatch balances, snatch lands, push presses, front squats, split jerks, and a million other drills. I usually end the class by getting the athletes’ lifts on film – it’s a nice routine for graduation day.

When the athletes get rereleased into the general population after completing the class, they have a new level of skill and appreciation in the Olympic lifts. I tell my athletes that their goal in four weeks should be to become an advanced beginner. I define this as still having a bunch of weaknesses, but knowing what they need to do to improve.

The Focus Sessions are additional to the monthly membership . I guess you could include focus sessions in a monthly membership, but I don’t like that model quite as much. Charging people to join the group almost guarantees that they will show up, and be mentally invested in the class. With free classes, if there is a good episode of “Friends” on, chances are athletes won’t bother to show up to do 100 heaving snatch balances with a PVC. Focus Sessions are also a great way to develop coaches in a particular subject matter.

Give “Focus Sessions” a try, especially as your facility starts to get bigger. The worst that can happen is that nobody signs up. The best that can happen is that you’ve created a new way for athletes to challenge themselves,  coaches to refine their skills, and owners to deliver a new service to their members.
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“I do my best to limit the amount of compromise in my life so I have more time to do what I want. Not hanging out with many people really helps. I am not a people person and I spend a great deal of time on my own and in this environment, I get a lot done.”
Henry Rollins

Bottom Line: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”

A couple weeks ago, I had the fine opportunity to train in a Gold’s Gym for a couple hours. I went in, squatted a bit, then messed around with some dumbells for a half an hour. It was a fairly standard workout for me, and I left feeling good. What left the lasting impression on me wasn’t the workout though. What left the lasting impression on me was the people around me and my realization about how interesting it was to have been back at a “Big Box” gym for the first time in more than a year.

Now I don’t want this post to quickly turn into a bashing on Gold’s Gym rant. That’s just lame. But after watching some dude do – literally 15 different types of curls  in five minutes – I left with a new appreciation for how to talk to new athletes when they walk through the door. This is the environment that they are coming from. Total silence. Acres of brand new machines. TVs on every elliptical machine. You “know” what one looks like, but when was the last time you trained in one?

The Crossfit community can be very inward looking at times. You train at your local gym, you read Crossfit blogs, and every now and then you go down to the High School track for some running work. You need to occassionally remind yourself of the types of “Gold’s Gym” facilities your new athletes are emerging from.

Here is an example of how a trip to Gold’s Gym can change the way you talk to new athletes.

“Now I know we do things a little bit differently then what you might be used to. I also recognize I might sound like a crazy person when I tell you that a 25 lb dumbell is light for a woman. But stick with me – I promise that there is a method to our madness, and in the end, you’ll be able to achieve your goals much better if you give us a shot”.

Homework assignment: Buy a one day pass to the local non-Crossfit gym and go train. If you are feeling especially squirrely, tell one of the associates you are interested in hearing more details about membership. Listen to the points they try to sell you on, take notes, and leave with a new appreciation for your “enemy”.

Yes, damnit – A Middle School Gym teacher. Allow me to explain.

I like to coach weightlifting. The power lifts, the Olympic lifts, whatever. I consider myself solid at coaching most weightlifting movements. However, I work exclusively with beginners. This isn’t a comment on my coaching ability, it’s just a statement of fact.  I am a master of getting someone their first snatch, drilling them with PVC pipe, and getting them well on their way to a 100 Kilo Clean and Jerk.

Quiz me on how an Olympian should design her training to taper for the American Open. I have no clue.  Ask me how the Russians or Bulgarians used the assistance exercises to set world record in the 1976 Olympics. (Empty buzzing in Jon’s head continues).

Middle School gym teachers don’t design plays for the New York Jets. They also don’t know how to train athletes for a sub 3:30 Marathon. My point is, that doesn’t really matter. Middle School gym teachers get people excited about being physically active, introduce kids to new sports, and shape their young athletes into adults through athletics. Middle School gym teachers have some of the most important jobs in the world.

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Why does this matter? I’m trying to convince you to stop trying to pass yourself off as some Jedi Master – and to recognize what business you are really in. Think you are able to work on the professional level on mobility issues? Go to 4 years of school, then get back to me. Are you a hardcore powerlifting coach? How many 1000 lb  squatters have you worked with? What was that? Zero?

Stop trying to be something you aren’t and focus on what you really do – help average Joes make positive changes in their health and fitness. For my money,  it’s  more important than what they do in the NFL anyway.

Not to feel exasperated or defeated or despondent because your days aren’t packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human–however imperfectly–and fully embrace the pursuit you’ve embarked on.” Meditations Marcus Aurelius

Coaches need to be students of human interaction.

Besides a few of the more obvious choices, I’d like to recommend “The Gift of Therapy – An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients” for inclusion on any coach’s bookshelf.  The author Irvin D. Yalom is a 35 year psychotherapist who has compressed some of his best lessons into eighty-five personal “tips for beginner therapists”.

Here are just a few of the similarities I see between the psychologist – patient and coach – athlete relationship:

- Both start with an appraisal and diagnosis of where the patient/ athlete is

-  Both should see measured improvement over time

- There are patients/ athletes that are way harder to work with than others

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Here is an example of  the type of thing Yalom writes about. The applicability to coaching should be pretty obvious:

Chapter 5 – Be Supportive

“Question – What do patients recall when they look back years later, on their experience in therapy? Answer: Not insight, not the therapist’s interpretations. More often than not, they remember the positive supportive statements of their therapists. ”

“Often the therapist is the only audience viewing great and dramatic acts of courage. Such privilege demands a response to the actor. Though patients may have other confidants, none is likely to have the therapist’s comprehensive appreciation of certain momentous acts.”

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Case in point. You’ve been working with a women wanting to lose weight for more than a year. Despite your begging and pleading, every time she goes out to eat with her family, she makes bad choices and her training takes a giant step backwards. After struggling for months, she finally confronts her family members – and ultimately enlists their support in her weight loss efforts. This is a big deal. This woman’s coach is the only person who can bear witness to this breakthrough. Recognize it, encourage it, celebrate it – because no one else will.

I was recently reading a great essay called “Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus’s Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior” by James Stockdale. Stockdale was as held as a prisoner of war in the Hoa Lo prison during the Vietnam War for seven years. Locked in leg irons in a bath stall, he was routinely tortured and beaten. When told by his captors that he was to be paraded in public, Stockdale slit his scalp with a razor to purposely disfigure himself so that his captors could not use him as propaganda. Dude is a certified badass.

In Stockdale’s essay, he describes three types of prisoners. All three react differently to interrogation at the hands of the North Vietnamese.

1)  The “Right On A’Murica” Prisoner = This prisoner was in almost zero danger of compromise. His response to any evidence that painted America in a negative light was “F off”.

Interogator: You know America did XYZ bad thing, right?

Prisoner #1: F off

Interogator: But what about this incident from 1915, how could you support this?

Prisoner #1: F off

There is zero chance that this guy is ever going to get himself in trouble.

2) The Intellectual Prisoner = This prisoner was intelligent enough to hold different viewpoints in his head, but remain true to the cause.

Interogator: You know America did XYZ bad thing, right?

Prisoner #2: Of course, but that was a different time. The standard of living globally was not what it is today.

Interogator: But what about this incident from 1915, how could you support this?

Prisoner #2: Well that is an interesting example for a variety of reasons, but that still doesn’t change my loyalty.

This prisoner also has zero chance of ever getting himself into trouble.

3) The Most Vulnerable Prisoner : This prisoner has some education/experience, but not enough to mount a successful defense.

Interogator: You know America did XYZ bad thing, right?

Prisoner #3: Wait, what? That can’t be true. America would never do that.

Interogator: But what about this incident from 1915, how could you support this?

Prisoner #3: I can’t believe I’ve never seen these facts before. I’ve been lied to my entire life.

Stockdale claims that Prisoner #3 was  always the target of the North Vietnamese interrogators. They could be compromised every time. They had enough knowledge to understand, but not so much to be able to successfully rebuff, the interrogations.

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Why should you care? Because the same thing happens with athletes, coaches, and owners. Here is one example – People sometimes get hurt doing Crossfit. Don’t bury your head in the sand. It’s the truth. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t recognize that reality, and still be able to talk intelligently about why you do the things you do. Be like Prisoner #2, not #3.