In Part 8 of Dr. Sears’ presentation on Aug. 8, 2009, in Orange County, Calif., the creator of the Zone Diet talks about how proper nutrition has worked for elite athletes. From NFL and NBA players to Olympians, top athletes have found that following the Zone Diet can help them to longer careers, PRs, gold medals and world records.

“These are professionals,” Sears says of elite athletes who endorse the Zone. “Their paycheck depends on performing at peak levels.”

He continues: “What’s our goal? Whether it be wellness or performance, it’s re-establishing harmony with our genes. Our genes still live in the Stone Age. Unfortunately, we’re living in the 21st century, and that makes it harder to maintain wellness, harder to maintain performance.”

With the Zone Diet, you can manage your hormones and modify the expression of your genes. The result? Health, wellness and new standards of personal performance.

18min 22sec

Additional audio: CrossFit Radio Weekend Edition 15, first aired June 2, 2009.

In part 1, Coach Glassman begins by speaking of his early influences. His father is an engineer who once made him precisely measure the length of 1,000 nails and plot the results. The lesson learned? Properly defining terms, careful observation, measurement, prediction and experimentation can reveal truths previously undiscovered. The CrossFit story started with a belief in fitness. There is an acquired capacity that lends itself generally well to any and all activities. A person is as fit as they are balanced in 10 general physical skills. The specialty of CrossFit is not specializing. The goal is to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. All physiological adaptations are important. None should be neglected. By this definition, he or she who performs best on average on the skills and drills common to all sports is most fit.

In part 2, Coach Glassman discusses the desirability of balance among all metabolic pathways. The performances of athletes who can clean and jerk three times body weight or win an Ironman competition suggest imbalance. CrossFit has looked at human movement and resolved it to its fundamental physical units of force, distance and time. Power output can be measured across broad time and modal domains.

In part 3, the question and answer session begins. After speaking of early encounters with Pukie and stealing unicycles, Coach Glassman discusses programming, implementation, and how to run PT as sport.

In part 4, Coach Glassman discusses the importance of mastering basic mechanics and the balance between safety, efficiency and efficacy. The Colorado State Patrol has now been using CrossFit for five years without a single injury and has just incorporated some CrossFit workouts into its fitness testing.

In part 5, Coach Glassman says that every civilian contractor for physical training throughout the Department of Defense should be fired. Service members have to figure things out for themselves. He discusses some of the challenges that have been encountered in implementing CrossFit in the Marine Corps. Jimi Letchford, Director of Operation Phoenix, provided an update on how CrossFit is being used at the School of Infantry and elsewhere in the Corps.

Part 1: Lecture - 19min 15sec
Part 2: Lecture - 23min 02sec
Part 3: Q and A - 19min 22sec
Part 4: Lecture - 20min 24sec
Part 5: Q and A - 14min 44sec

In part 1, Coach Glassman begins by speaking of his early influences. His father is an engineer who once made him precisely measure the length of 1,000 nails and plot the results. The lesson learned? Properly defining terms, careful observation, measurement, prediction and experimentation can reveal truths previously undiscovered. The CrossFit story started with a belief in fitness. There is an acquired capacity that lends itself generally well to any and all activities. A person is as fit as they are balanced in 10 general physical skills. The specialty of CrossFit is not specializing. The goal is to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. All physiological adaptations are important. None should be neglected. By this definition, he or she who performs best on average on the skills and drills common to all sports is most fit.

In part 2, Coach Glassman discusses the desirability of balance among all metabolic pathways. The performances of athletes who can clean and jerk three times body weight or win an Ironman competition suggest imbalance. CrossFit has looked at human movement and resolved it to its fundamental physical units of force, distance and time. Power output can be measured across broad time and modal domains.

In part 3, the question and answer session begins. After speaking of early encounters with Pukie and stealing unicycles, Coach Glassman discusses programming, implementation, and how to run PT as sport.

In part 4, Coach Glassman discusses the importance of mastering basic mechanics and the balance between safety, efficiency and efficacy. The Colorado State Patrol has now been using CrossFit for five years without a single injury and has just incorporated some CrossFit workouts into its fitness testing.

In part 5, Coach Glassman says that every civilian contractor for physical training throughout the Department of Defense should be fired. Service members have to figure things out for themselves. He discusses some of the challenges that have been encountered in implementing CrossFit in the Marine Corps. Jimi Letchford, Director of Operation Phoenix, provided an update on how CrossFit is being used at the School of Infantry and elsewhere in the Corps.

Part 1: Lecture - 19min 15sec
Part 2: Lecture - 23min 02sec
Part 3: Q and A - 19min 22sec
Part 4: Lecture - 20min 24sec
Part 5: Q and A - 14min 44sec

In part 1, Coach Glassman begins by speaking of his early influences. His father is an engineer who once made him precisely measure the length of 1,000 nails and plot the results. The lesson learned? Properly defining terms, careful observation, measurement, prediction and experimentation can reveal truths previously undiscovered. The CrossFit story started with a belief in fitness. There is an acquired capacity that lends itself generally well to any and all activities. A person is as fit as they are balanced in 10 general physical skills. The specialty of CrossFit is not specializing. The goal is to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. All physiological adaptations are important. None should be neglected. By this definition, he or she who performs best on average on the skills and drills common to all sports is most fit.

In part 2, Coach Glassman discusses the desirability of balance among all metabolic pathways. The performances of athletes who can clean and jerk three times body weight or win an Ironman competition suggest imbalance. CrossFit has looked at human movement and resolved it to its fundamental physical units of force, distance and time. Power output can be measured across broad time and modal domains.

In part 3, the question and answer session begins. After speaking of early encounters with Pukie and stealing unicycles, Coach Glassman discusses programming, implementation, and how to run PT as sport.

In part 4, Coach Glassman discusses the importance of mastering basic mechanics and the balance between safety, efficiency and efficacy. The Colorado State Patrol has now been using CrossFit for five years without a single injury and has just incorporated some CrossFit workouts into its fitness testing.

In part 5, Coach Glassman says that every civilian contractor for physical training throughout the Department of Defense should be fired. Service members have to figure things out for themselves. He discusses some of the challenges that have been encountered in implementing CrossFit in the Marine Corps. Jimi Letchford, Director of Operation Phoenix, provided an update on how CrossFit is being used at the School of Infantry and elsewhere in the Corps.

Part 1: Lecture - 19min 15sec
Part 2: Lecture - 23min 02sec
Part 3: Q and A - 19min 22sec
Part 4: Lecture - 20min 24sec
Part 5: Q and A - 14min 44sec

In part 1, Coach Glassman begins by speaking of his early influences. His father is an engineer who once made him precisely measure the length of 1,000 nails and plot the results. The lesson learned? Properly defining terms, careful observation, measurement, prediction and experimentation can reveal truths previously undiscovered. The CrossFit story started with a belief in fitness. There is an acquired capacity that lends itself generally well to any and all activities. A person is as fit as they are balanced in 10 general physical skills. The specialty of CrossFit is not specializing. The goal is to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. All physiological adaptations are important. None should be neglected. By this definition, he or she who performs best on average on the skills and drills common to all sports is most fit.

In part 2, Coach Glassman discusses the desirability of balance among all metabolic pathways. The performances of athletes who can clean and jerk three times body weight or win an Ironman competition suggest imbalance. CrossFit has looked at human movement and resolved it to its fundamental physical units of force, distance and time. Power output can be measured across broad time and modal domains.

In part 3, the question and answer session begins. After speaking of early encounters with Pukie and stealing unicycles, Coach Glassman discusses programming, implementation, and how to run PT as sport.

In part 4, Coach Glassman discusses the importance of mastering basic mechanics and the balance between safety, efficiency and efficacy. The Colorado State Patrol has now been using CrossFit for five years without a single injury and has just incorporated some CrossFit workouts into its fitness testing.

In part 5, Coach Glassman says that every civilian contractor for physical training throughout the Department of Defense should be fired. Service members have to figure things out for themselves. He discusses some of the challenges that have been encountered in implementing CrossFit in the Marine Corps. Jimi Letchford, Director of Operation Phoenix, provided an update on how CrossFit is being used at the School of Infantry and elsewhere in the Corps.

Part 1: Lecture - 19min 15sec
Part 2: Lecture - 23min 02sec
Part 3: Q and A - 19min 22sec
Part 4: Lecture - 20min 24sec
Part 5: Q and A - 14min 44sec

In part 1, Coach Glassman begins by speaking of his early influences. His father is an engineer who once made him precisely measure the length of 1,000 nails and plot the results. The lesson learned? Properly defining terms, careful observation, measurement, prediction and experimentation can reveal truths previously undiscovered. The CrossFit story started with a belief in fitness. There is an acquired capacity that lends itself generally well to any and all activities. A person is as fit as they are balanced in 10 general physical skills. The specialty of CrossFit is not specializing. The goal is to prepare for the unknown and unknowable. All physiological adaptations are important. None should be neglected. By this definition, he or she who performs best on average on the skills and drills common to all sports is most fit.

In part 2, Coach Glassman discusses the desirability of balance among all metabolic pathways. The performances of athletes who can clean and jerk three times body weight or win an Ironman competition suggest imbalance. CrossFit has looked at human movement and resolved it to its fundamental physical units of force, distance and time. Power output can be measured across broad time and modal domains.

In part 3, the question and answer session begins. After speaking of early encounters with Pukie and stealing unicycles, Coach Glassman discusses programming, implementation, and how to run PT as sport.

In part 4, Coach Glassman discusses the importance of mastering basic mechanics and the balance between safety, efficiency and efficacy. The Colorado State Patrol has now been using CrossFit for five years without a single injury and has just incorporated some CrossFit workouts into its fitness testing.

In part 5, Coach Glassman says that every civilian contractor for physical training throughout the Department of Defense should be fired. Service members have to figure things out for themselves. He discusses some of the challenges that have been encountered in implementing CrossFit in the Marine Corps. Jimi Letchford, Director of Operation Phoenix, provided an update on how CrossFit is being used at the School of Infantry and elsewhere in the Corps.

Part 1: Lecture - 19min 15sec
Part 2: Lecture - 23min 02sec
Part 3: Q and A - 19min 22sec
Part 4: Lecture - 20min 24sec
Part 5: Q and A - 14min 44sec

In this video, which is a basic introduction to the Zone, Robb explains that the most acute benefit of the Zone approach to food is the accuracy and precision with which food is consumed.

There are three macronutrients that greatly affect the workings of the body: Protein, carbohydrate, and fat. With the Zone block system, you can know exactly the ratio of each at all times throughout the day. Zone blocks normalize the various differences in macronutrient effect, such that one block of sugar affects insulin to the same degree that one block of zucchini does.

No matter which approach to managing your blocks you follow, following a precise system of managing food is essential to understanding the effects of food on all levels of performance, fitness, and health.

6min 50sec

This material has been covered already in a thorough explanation of the volume of work capacity sustained throughout life, and in his presentation to the American Society of Exercise Physiologists. But, this short clip summarizes the essence of the definition extremely well. And, it specifically addresses some of the discussion happening in the comments of those two clips.

Fitness is defined as work capacity measured across broad time and modal domains. Health is the ability to sustain that fitness. It takes into consideration all-cause disruption in that any disease, illness, or injury will manifest itself as reduced work capacity (if it doesn’t, how sick or hurt can you be?). Therefore, the only way to sustain the highest levels of fitness is to avoid, or at least minimize, disease, illness, and injury.

This is a metric for defining and measuring health. Arguably, the first of its kind.

7min 25sec

Key terms are defined, such as models, measurement and prediction, conjecture, hypothesis, theory, and law. And, the nature of logic, analysis, knowledge, and error are described.

These terms are used to explain a variety of concepts, such as why gravity is science and creationism and peer review are not.

Jeff has made his Lecture Notes available.

58min 38sec

On April 3rd, 2009 CrossFit will be introduced to the academic exercise physiology community at the American Society of Exercise Physiologists national conference to be held on the campus of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The intellectual foundations and practical applications of CrossFit will be presented to an audience of exercise physiologists from around the world. Coach Greg Glassman, CAPT Brian Chontosh, USMC, and Mark Rippetoe will each present talks. A one hour round table question and answer forum with the speakers will follow.

This is an important event as it may be the first time an academic group has thought outside the box and invited successful exercise practitioners to contribute to forwarding the understanding of exercise science. CrossFit is sharing the spotlight with traditional scientific and theoretical presentations, and a talk by Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis. Dr. Mullis’s presentation is entitled “What if everything you knew about science was wrong?” and will be as challenging to conventional thinking as the CrossFit session.

This three part video is Coach Glassman’s presentation.

Part 1 - 21min 34sec
Part 2 - 19min 57sec
Part 3 - 16min 23sec

On April 3rd, 2009 CrossFit will be introduced to the academic exercise physiology community at the American Society of Exercise Physiologists national conference to be held on the campus of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The intellectual foundations and practical applications of CrossFit will be presented to an audience of exercise physiologists from around the world. Coach Greg Glassman, CAPT Brian Chontosh, USMC, and Mark Rippetoe will each present talks. A one hour round table question and answer forum with the speakers will follow.

This is an important event as it may be the first time an academic group has thought outside the box and invited successful exercise practitioners to contribute to forwarding the understanding of exercise science. CrossFit is sharing the spotlight with traditional scientific and theoretical presentations, and a talk by Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis. Dr. Mullis’s presentation is entitled “What if everything you knew about science was wrong?” and will be as challenging to conventional thinking as the CrossFit session.

This three part video is Coach Glassman’s presentation.

Part 1 - 21min 34sec
Part 2 - 19min 57sec
Part 3 - 16min 23sec

On April 3rd, 2009 CrossFit will be introduced to the academic exercise physiology community at the American Society of Exercise Physiologists national conference to be held on the campus of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The intellectual foundations and practical applications of CrossFit will be presented to an audience of exercise physiologists from around the world. Coach Greg Glassman, CAPT Brian Chontosh, USMC, and Mark Rippetoe will each present talks. A one hour round table question and answer forum with the speakers will follow.

This is an important event as it may be the first time an academic group has thought outside the box and invited successful exercise practitioners to contribute to forwarding the understanding of exercise science. CrossFit is sharing the spotlight with traditional scientific and theoretical presentations, and a talk by Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis. Dr. Mullis’s presentation is entitled “What if everything you knew about science was wrong?” and will be as challenging to conventional thinking as the CrossFit session.

This three part video is Coach Glassman’s presentation.

Part 1 - 21min 34sec
Part 2 - 19min 57sec
Part 3 - 16min 23sec

The shoulder is designed primarily for mobility. There are a number of forces that rotate it internally, while there are relatively few forces rotating externally. Balancing the shoulder so that it remains in an optimal position for maximum stability and force production is the goal.

This is the continuation of the series from Kelly on the theory and practice of stabilizing the midline in functional movement.

Part 1 5min 53sec
Part 2 5min 19sec

The shoulder is designed primarily for mobility. There are a number of forces that rotate it internally, while there are relatively few forces rotating externally. Balancing the shoulder so that it remains in an optimal position for maximum stability and force production is the goal.

This is the continuation of the series from Kelly on the theory and practice of stabilizing the midline in functional movement.

Part 1 5min 53sec
Part 2 5min 19sec

Back then, as is common today, CrossFit didn’t fit well within a traditional globo-gym like Spa. Even thought the Glassmans were the most successful trainers in the gym, they were eventually kicked out for being incompatible. Unfortunately for the Glassmans, this was the last gym left in Santa Cruz for them. There was nowhere else to go.

What was unfortunate for the Glassmans became a turning point for CrossFit. The Glassmans ended up renting the corner of Claudio Franca’s Jiu-Jitsu studio. From there, they rented their own space on Research Park Drive, which became the original CrossFit gym.

Jimmy was a client throughout these transitions. He was also one of their first financial backers, offering his credit card to the Glassmans to help buy equipment.

This video is a little of Jimmy’s story of the early days of CrossFit.

11min 17sec

This footage is taken from his Basic Barbell Certification seminar at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, CA on February 14, 2009.

In Part 1, Rip covers the essential anatomical and physiological structure of how movement happens around a joint. The relationship among muscle fascia, tendons, ligaments, and bones are addressed. 7min 26sec

In Part 2, Rip covers the basics of the motor units within the muscles. The more finely the muscles need to move, the more nerves there are per muscle fiber. 6min 37sec

In Part 3, Rip covers the various planes of movement (such as sagittal, frontal, horizontal, lateral). 11min 11sec

In Part 4, Rip covers internal and external rotation, particularly as it applies to the squat. He also covers supination and pronation. 4min 24sec

This footage is taken from his Basic Barbell Certification seminar at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, CA on February 14, 2009.

In Part 1, Rip covers the essential anatomical and physiological structure of how movement happens around a joint. The relationship among muscle fascia, tendons, ligaments, and bones are addressed. 7min 26sec

In Part 2, Rip covers the basics of the motor units within the muscles. The more finely the muscles need to move, the more nerves there are per muscle fiber. 6min 37sec

In Part 3, Rip covers the various planes of movement (such as sagittal, frontal, horizontal, lateral). 11min 11sec

In Part 4, Rip covers internal and external rotation, particularly as it applies to the squat. He also covers supination and pronation. 4min 24sec

This footage is taken from his Basic Barbell Certification seminar at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, CA on February 14, 2009.

In Part 1, Rip covers the essential anatomical and physiological structure of how movement happens around a joint. The relationship among muscle fascia, tendons, ligaments, and bones are addressed. 7min 26sec

In Part 2, Rip covers the basics of the motor units within the muscles. The more finely the muscles need to move, the more nerves there are per muscle fiber. 6min 37sec

In Part 3, Rip covers the various planes of movement (such as sagittal, frontal, horizontal, lateral). 11min 11sec

In Part 4, Rip covers internal and external rotation, particularly as it applies to the squat. He also covers supination and pronation. 4min 24sec

This footage is taken from his Basic Barbell Certification seminar at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, CA on February 14, 2009.

In Part 1, Rip covers the essential anatomical and physiological structure of how movement happens around a joint. The relationship among muscle fascia, tendons, ligaments, and bones are addressed. 7min 26sec

In Part 2, Rip covers the basics of the motor units within the muscles. The more finely the muscles need to move, the more nerves there are per muscle fiber. 6min 37sec

In Part 3, Rip covers the various planes of movement (such as sagittal, frontal, horizontal, lateral). 11min 11sec

In Part 4, Rip covers internal and external rotation, particularly as it applies to the squat. He also covers supination and pronation. 4min 24sec

In this video from CrossFit Again Faster, Kyle Maynard addresses the athletes from the perspective of someone who has had limited physical abilities his entire life. This, he acknowledges, is very different from having full capacity for most of their lives, and having some of it taken away.

Kyle talks about his own interest in military service, about finding the inspiration to keep going, and how this group inspires him. He points out that this event may be the first of its kind, where 20 guys, each with a different disability, train and workout side by side. Twenty different sets of modifications, but the same drills and the same ethic. It was a weekend he’ll never forget.

17min 20sec

In this video by the CrossFit Again Faster crew, Dave addresses the concept of threshold training. Perfect technique and mechanics cannot be sustained at maximum output. Maximum output cannot be achieved without good technique and mechanics.

This conundrum is resolved by ramping up the intensity until the mechanics start to degrade, at which point the athlete should refocus on the mechanics while sustaining as much intensity as possible. Done properly, this practice leads to improved mechanics at higher and higher levels of intensity.

Dave compares three shooters performance with three performances of the workout “Grace” (30 clean and jerks at 135lbs for time). When to speed up, when to keep pushing, and when to slow down and fix mechanics are described.

5min 9sec

Jamila is the new associate producer of CrossFit Live. She talks about her background as a stand up comedian, trainer, and journalist, and how she found CrossFit.

Greg Glassman (pictured with Saul Jimenez) talks about the highlights of 2005, including the huge growth to 45 affiliates. He also discusses the New York Times article from Dec 22, 2005. Lynne Pitts talks about her goals for 2006, before they take questions from callers.

Dave produced 16 CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 10 - 1hr 46min 20sec

This video from the CrossFit Again Faster crew is the third part of this series. Tucker talks about how GSX, his affiliate, came about. GSX is a blend of gymnastics and cheerleading instruction, and now with a full blown CrossFit box.

In the beginning, Tucker and Jason and two others ran the entire thing every day. Over time, they have successfully grown and brought in enough quality people that the gym runs on schedule while Tucker and Jason are in Sydney.

Gymnastics from a CrossFit perspective is competency in controlling your own body in three dimensional space. Like the Olympic lifts, they are worthy of a lifetime of study.

10min 5sec

The midline is the entire spine, and its stability is dependent not just on the core, but also on all the prime movers of the body, including the hip, glutes, and hamstrings. Excessive tightness in any of the prime movers will affect the core muscles, often resulting in low back pain.

In this part 9, Kelly works the quads, which are also a two joint muscle, and must be treated from both ends (knee and hip). Short quads are associated with both patella and hip issues. He shows a few tools to assess quads length, and how to do PNF for the quads.

This is the ninth of a series from Kelly on the theory and practice of stabilizing the midline in functional movement.

8min 20sec

Intensity, as we define it, is exactly equal to average power (force x distance / time). In other words, how much real work did you do and in what time period? The greater the average power, the greater the intensity. This makes it a measurable fact, not a debatable opinion.

Intensity and average power are the variable most commonly associate with optimizing favorable results. Whatever you want from exercise comes faster with intensity. It’s not volume or duration or heartrate or even discomfort. Do more work in less time (without overdoing it), and you’ll get fitter faster.

If you’ve been following the CrossFit site for a while, this isn’t new material. It is, however, the aspect of CrossFit that drives our success as much as any other single factor. And, in all domains, it’s always good to return to the fundamentals on a regular basis.

6min 39sec

Chuck is 39 years old, 5'10", 197lbs. He’s married with two kids. He knows how to Overhead Squat. And as this video discusses, he is gearing up for the Dirty South Regional Qualifiers, where the competition is going to be very fierce.

The CrossFit Again Faster crew caught up with him in San Antonio, TX at Alamo CrossFit on February 14-15, 2009.

In this part 2, we see more of Chuck, both as an athlete and trainer. He helps one seminar participant get his first muscle-up.

4min 33sec

The midline is the entire spine, and its stability is dependent not just on the core, but also on all the prime movers of the body, including the hip, glutes, and hamstrings. Excessive tightness in any of the prime movers will affect the core muscles, often resulting in low back pain.

There are several two-joint muscles that affect midline stability. Understanding the roles of these muscles helps in diagnosing common flaws. In this episode, Kelly talks primarily about the quadraceps and hamstrings, the main two-joint muscles of the pelvis. He also addresses the relationship between head position and hamstring flexibility.

This is the eighth of a series from Kelly on the theory and practice of stabilizing the midline in functional movement.

6min 32sec

This video is the third in a series in which we get up close and personal with Pat and his eating. He brings his camera to the meal and we see exactly what happens. In this episode, Pat is actually home. He eats a weighed and measured four block meal, modified to fit his lifestyle and experienced results. He eats four blocks of turkey, two blocks of strawberries, cuts out two blocks of carbs and replaces them with six blocks of peanut butter, then puts four blocks of mayonnaise on the turkey. He eats this exact meal almost every time he’s home.

5min 37sec

Understanding how a muscle works is essential to understanding how to strengthen it. This footage is taken from his Basic Barbell Certification seminar at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, CA on February 14, 2009.

This video applies the basic concepts introduced in Part 1 to the actions in the back squat. The trunk muscles are in isometric contraction. The descent under load is driven down by gravity and there is an eccentric contraction of the muscles of the hips and knees. The ascent is a concentric contraction of those same muscles.

There is also a discussion about the difference between eccentric contractions under load and the language frequently used to describe the air squat as pulling yourself down using the hip flexors.

As simple as the concepts may be, a lot of very intelligent people still squat predominantly with their quads instead of their glutes and hamstrings. Coach Rippetoe orients his teaching of anatomy and physiology toward achieving proper mechanics in the basic barbell exercises.

8min 59sec

Eugene Allen (pictured under John Hackleman) talks about his background. After getting humbled physically, he decided he needed a fitness program that would make him a better all around athlete and human, which of course he found in CrossFit.

The general topic is First Responder Fitness, and why CrossFit is so ideal for law enforcement officers. Eugene takes questions from a variety of callers.

Dave produced 16 CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 9 - 1hr 43min 10sec

Josh is a competitive bodybuilder, as is one of his clients, Chastity Slone. Actually, Chastity is a pro Figure competitor. Their claim (it’s Josh’s voice behind the camera) is that there is no need to abandon your weighed and measured diet when you travel.

In about two and a half hours, Chastity is able to cook three full days of food. She is in the final two weeks of preparation for the Arnold, which takes place on Friday, March 6th, 2009. (As an aside, some of you may recognize on the Arnold list the name of Huong Arcinas, another CrossFitting Figure competitor from CrossFit Silicon Valley).

Whatever your opinion of their sports, there is no doubt that Chastity—and Josh and Huong for that matter—are incredibly disciplined. Chastity even packed five days of food into a cooler so she would have control over her diet while she was on a cruise.

11min 21sec

Kallista Pappas received the most notoriety for her performance in the Finals. Jeff talks about her incredible competitive spirit combined with her lack of fear and commitment to great mechanics. And she wasn’t the only one. There were several teenagers competing against, and beating, adults.

Jeff also talks about how CrossFit workouts are not safe and easy. They are a challenge that push kids to their limits. Something, he believes, that is generally missing from many kids’ lives.

5min 58sec

Chuck is 39 years old, 5'10", 197lbs. He’s married with two kids. He knows how to Overhead Squat. And as this video discusses, he is gearing up for the Dirty South Regional Qualifiers, where the competition is going to be very fierce.

The CrossFit Again Faster crew caught up with him in San Antonio, TX at Alamo CrossFit on February 14-15, 2009. This is the first of two parts in which he talks about his background and his first experiences with CrossFit. Major Andrew Thompson, USMC, of CrossFit Quantico, and another of the CrossFit HQ seminar team, shares his insights into the Carswell.

6min 4sec

Understanding how a muscle works is essential to understanding how to strengthen it. This footage is taken from his Basic Barbell Certification seminar at CrossFit Brand X in Ramona, CA on February 14, 2009.

This video covers the most basic concepts, such as flexion and extension, concentric, eccentric and isometric.

As simple as the concepts may be, a lot of very intelligent people still squat predominantly with their quads instead of their glutes and hamstrings. Coach Rippetoe orients his teaching of anatomy and physiology toward achieving proper mechanics in the basic barbell exercises.

8min 30sec

Rutman talked about his background and coaching history, before taking questions from callers. The role of strength development and use of dumbbells are covered, as well as details of how he runs his affiliate. He also talks about the need for good nutrition to optimize recovery.

Dave produced 16 CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 8 - 1hr 26min 54sec

In this video, Boz and Todd interview Skip Miller, the owner and head trainer at Front Range CrossFit. Skip talks about the culture of his gym, how he orients training throughout the year toward various competitions, and about priorities when it comes to clients.

Adrian Bozman, Todd Widman and Chris Spealler are three of CrossFit’s top trainers. They spend a significant portion of their time traveling around the country working the CrossFit Level 1 and Level 2 certification seminars.

10min 9sec

This video is the second in a series in which we get up close and personal with Pat and his eating. He brings his camera to the meal and we see exactly what happens.

In this episode, New Jersey Marriott Breakfast, Pat is in the throes of a post cheat meal hangover (even though he doesn’t drink!). His breakfast is typical for on the road: fatty meats, eggs, and peanut butter. This is hardly the 40-30-30 ration prescribed by the Zone, but Pat considers himself on an overall modified Zone diet.

The playful tone of the series lightens a serious issue. How can we fuel ourselves in the real world for optimal performance, balancing the demands of work, friends, and life? Pat’s solutions may or may not work for everyone, but these videos are one real example of how a serious athlete and trainer eats.

3min 11sec

Health can now be concisely and precisely defined as increased work capacity across broad time, modal, and age domains. Work capacity is the ability to perform real physical work as measured by force x distance / time (which is average power). Fitness is this ability in as many domains as possible.

Science is about measurement and prediction. Without measurable, observable, repeatable data concerning the fundamental physical units of kinematics (mass, distance, and time or MKS) there is no science of human performance. This is true of the planets, automobiles, and exercise.

Physical output can be measured in terms of foot-pounds/min. We move our own bodies and we move external objects. We can measure how heavy those bodies and objects are, how far they travel, and in what time period. Your ability to move large loads, long distances, quickly, in the broadest variety of domains is fitness. And the ability to sustain that fitness throughout your life is a defining measure of health.

CrossFit’s prescription for achieving this fitness is constantly varied high intensity functional movements. We can accurately predict improvements in work capacity across broad time, modal, and age domains through this prescription. We have tens of thousands of examples at this point.

The new component introduced in this lecture is age. Fitness can be graphed in two-dimensions with duration of effort on the x-axis and power on the y-axis. At each duration, we average your power capacity across a variety of modal domains (skills and drills). This creates a power curve, the area under which is your work capacity across broad time and modal domains (aka fitness).

We can now add a third dimension to this graph, the z-axis, which is age. By reassessing your two-dimensional fitness at various times throughout your life, we graph the form of a solid. The power curve takes on the shape of a plateau or blanket. This three-dimensional graph is a defining measure of health. Health, therefore, is nothing other than sustained fitness.

In Part 1, Coach covers the first three operational models of fitness originally published in the seminal What is Fitness article, and how they become united by the work capacity graph. 20min 0sec.

In Part 2, Coach explains the fourth model, the sickness, wellness, fitness continuum, and how that becomes subordinate to the metric of maximizing the volume of work capacity across broad time and modal domains throughout your life. 17min 51sec.

Health can now be concisely and precisely defined as increased work capacity across broad time, modal, and age domains. Work capacity is the ability to perform real physical work as measured by force x distance / time (which is average power). Fitness is this ability in as many domains as possible.

Science is about measurement and prediction. Without measurable, observable, repeatable data concerning the fundamental physical units of kinematics (mass, distance, and time or MKS) there is no science of human performance. This is true of the planets, automobiles, and exercise.

Physical output can be measured in terms of foot-pounds/min. We move our own bodies and we move external objects. We can measure how heavy those bodies and objects are, how far they travel, and in what time period. Your ability to move large loads, long distances, quickly, in the broadest variety of domains is fitness. And the ability to sustain that fitness throughout your life is a defining measure of health.

CrossFit’s prescription for achieving this fitness is constantly varied high intensity functional movements. We can accurately predict improvements in work capacity across broad time, modal, and age domains through this prescription. We have tens of thousands of examples at this point.

The new component introduced in this lecture is age. Fitness can be graphed in two-dimensions with duration of effort on the x-axis and power on the y-axis. At each duration, we average your power capacity across a variety of modal domains (skills and drills). This creates a power curve, the area under which is your work capacity across broad time and modal domains (aka fitness).

We can now add a third dimension to this graph, the z-axis, which is age. By reassessing your two-dimensional fitness at various times throughout your life, we graph the form of a solid. The power curve takes on the shape of a plateau or blanket. This three-dimensional graph is a defining measure of health. Health, therefore, is nothing other than sustained fitness.

In Part 1, Coach covers the first three operational models of fitness originally published in the seminal What is Fitness article, and how they become united by the work capacity graph. 20min 0sec.

In Part 2, Coach explains the fourth model, the sickness, wellness, fitness continuum, and how that becomes subordinate to the metric of maximizing the volume of work capacity across broad time and modal domains throughout your life. 17min 51sec.

Dan talked about his background and athletic achievements before taking questions on lifting and throwing from a variety of callers.

Dave produced 16 CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 7 - 1hr 48min 38sec

She played 5 years of basketball at Ohio State, as a starter whenever she was healthy, and as captain her senior year. This is from her senior year roster profile:

All-Big Ten player was the team's leading scorer in 2003-04, averaging 14.8 PPG on 157-356 shooting (.441) and 73-209 (.349) from 3-point range. Won Edward S. Steitz award in 2003 for being the country's top 3-point shooter. Has been starting since her freshman season.

Caity also played for the Charlotte Sting in the WNBA in 2005. And, over the past holidays, she just got engaged to Bill Henniger, founder of Rogue Fitness. Congratulations to both of you!

In this final of three interview videos, Caity talks about playing basketball at OSU and Charlotte, including a section from within the main arena while the AC/DC roadies set up for the concert that night. There is also an interview with Bill Henniger about Rogue Fitness, and they each talk about how they met.

8min 38sec

This is the second Question and Answer video from the talk, and the conclusion of the series. In it, Coach Glassman answers a series of questions from the audience. Topics include what qualifies a CrossFit certified trainer, the efficacy of training off the CrossFit.com website without a trainer, and the need to determine functional weaknesses prior to engaging in the workouts.

The simple answer to the qualification question is results, as measured by efficacy (what it does), efficiency (the rate of adaptation), and safety (how many are sidelined along the way). Website workouts without a trainer can be highly effective, though rarely optimally so. And finally, a qualified trainer can both diagnose and effectively treat isolated and/or systemic weaknesses through functional movements, so separate assessment tools are not necessary.

17min 11sec (An audio-only version is also available)

In this final of three parts, Gillian talks about the role of coaching, how she programs her workouts, her 16 years of logging her training, how she views training as she moves through her 30s and older, and nutrition.

She is currently a trainer at CrossFit South Brooklyn, and one of the favorites going into the 2009 CrossFit Games.

5min 30sec

This is the first Question and Answer video from the talk. In it, Coach Glassman answers two questions thoroughly: Is there any role of cycles or periodization with the CrossFit program? And, is there an issue with connective tissue adaptation with the intensity of CrossFit workouts, particularly as one ages?

The simple answers to both are no. GPP (General Physical Preparedness) is more important to creating a ready state conducive to elite performance training in any realm than any specialized physical training. To the second question, the CrossFit program, when introduced responsibly, has resulted in a statistically significant reduction in all-cause injury whenever it has been tested against existing PT programs.

14min 44sec (An audio-only version is also available)

Tom talks about using kettlebells to train for firefighting and the RKC before taking questions from Dave and a variety of callers.

Dave produced sixteen CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 6 - 1hr 57min 44sec

In this second of three parts, Gillian talks about her first CrossFit workouts, and her experience at the Games. Coming in third was probably the best thing that could have happened to her. She is incredibly motivated to compete this year.

She is currently a trainer at CrossFit South Brooklyn, and one of the favorites going into the 2009 CrossFit Games.

6min 48sec

She played 5 years of basketball at Ohio State, as a starter whenever she was healthy, and as captain her senior year. This is from her senior year roster profile:

All-Big Ten player was the team's leading scorer in 2003-04, averaging 14.8 PPG on 157-356 shooting (.441) and 73-209 (.349) from 3-point range. Won Edward S. Steitz award in 2003 for being the country's top 3-point shooter. Has been starting since her freshman season.

Caity also played for the Charlotte Sting in the WNBA in 2005. And, over the past holidays, she just got engaged to Bill Henniger, founder of Rogue Fitness. Congratulations to both of you!

In this second of three interview videos, Caity talks about what her training was like when she played for OSU. They did mostly traditional, segmented training (track, weight room, court). She describes that training from her perspective as a CrossFit athlete. She says she is more flexible now, primarily from full range of motion squat cleans and snatches. There is also a short interview with Dave Richardson, the current OSU S&C Coach for basketball and hockey, who has started experimenting with CrossFit-style training.

7min 2sec

In this first of three parts, Gillian talks about her background, of fighting to do the boys’ workouts in junior high school, to beating the boys’ records in high school. She says that while there are physiological differences between males and females, one unnecessary difference is that females are not expected to perform like males, and for the most part, don’t train like males. If they did, would we see such disparity?

She is currently a trainer at CrossFit South Brooklyn, and one of the favorites going into the 2009 CrossFit Games.

4min 16sec

This is the second half of the talk (there was an extensive Q&A session, forthcoming). Coach Glassman explains both the basis for and implications of our comprehensive definition of fitness:

Increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.

Work capacity, which is nothing other than human performance, must be evaluated in the same basic physical terms of MKS (meters-kg-seconds) used to describe the kinematics of everything else in the universe. How far can it move itself or another object, what is the mass (weight, colloquially) of that object, and in what time period? Anyone claiming to be able to deliver fitness in any form has an obligation to defend that claim with these universally accepted terms, familiar to eighth graders.

Coach asks, Why have these basic calculations not been done with athletes and soldiers? Well, they are being done now. CrossFit is the only place these criteria are consistently assessed in a measurable, observable, and repeatable manner.

Going one step further, in which domains can this performance be achieved? The demands of combat are varied and substantially unknowable. For soldiers to be fully prepared for war, they must be capable in both broad time and modal domains.

11min 53sec (An audio-only version is also available)

This notion of work capacity as the essence of fitness is also covered by Coach Glassman in the following videos:
Adaptations, Part I...[wmv][mov]
Adaptations, Part II...[wmv][mov]
Adaptations, Part III...[wmv][mov]

In this first part of the speech, Coach Glassman is introduced by Tony Spinosa, Health and Fitness Director for the NDU and former Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Washington Redskins.

The rest of this video is a summary of the first three models of fitness, as presented to an audience of current and future military leaders. An audio only version of this video is available for download also.

14min 21sec

She played 5 years of basketball at Ohio State, as a starter whenever she was healthy, and as captain her senior year. This is from her senior year roster profile:

All-Big Ten player was the team's leading scorer in 2003-04, averaging 14.8 PPG on 157-356 shooting (.441) and 73-209 (.349) from 3-point range. Won Edward S. Steitz award in 2003 for being the country's top 3-point shooter. Has been starting since her freshman season.

Caity also played for the Charlotte Sting in the WNBA in 2005. And, over the past holidays, she just got engaged to Bill Henniger, founder of Rogue Fitness. Congratulations to both of you!

In this first of three interview videos, Caity talks about her background, as well as her CrossFit training in general and for the Games.

6min 26sec

Dave Castro covers a few scaling options before addressing the three-on, one-off cycle of training, which maximizes power output for conditioned athletes, and when and why alternatives should be considered. He also talks about missing workouts without worrying about making them up.

Note that audio only versions are also available for this series.

8min 40sec

Roger talks about his background and the problem of USA Gymnastics being focused primarily on super-elite performance. Instead, Roger promotes an “Everyman’s Gymnastics” that acknowledges the need for everyone to be able to control their bodies in three-dimensional space. Roger also talks about the role of gymnastics in fitness, and starting gymnastics as an adult.

Dave produced sixteen CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 5 - 1hr 57min 21sec

This video is Patty’s colorful story. Drug references, alcohol, and explicit language delivered with complete authenticity about a culture of excellence, camaraderie, and no excuses.

This is the bottom line. It’s not about systems or business plans. It’s about delivering an outstanding product and service in an environment that people want to hang out in. Make your gym a place that you and your friends love. It won’t appeal to everyone, but you don’t need everyone. Craig looks to keep the right 20% of all who walk into the gym.

12min 49sec

Robb talks about how he got started with CrossFit before digging in to many of the common key nutrition issues related to performance. Among other things, he talks about the Zone, Paleo, intermittent fasting, as well as the hormonal impact of food. He takes questions from a variety of callers.

Dave produced sixteen CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 4 - 1hr 29min 03sec

In this three part video series, the Again Faster crew profile Heather, who came in 2nd place in Albany CrossFit’s East Coast Challenge last year, right behind Tanya Wagner. She recently passed her CrossFit Level 2 certification on December 7, 2008.

In Part 3, Heather talks about her kids, diet, body image, and how CrossFit training shifts the emphasis from just being skinny to having goals and developing real performance.

The Road to the 09 Games — Part 2: 6min 56sec

This video is Coach Glassman’s brief introduction to the event and to Craig Patterson’s presentation (highlights of which will be published here soon). His main theme is that the love of training brings success to an affiliate, not any particular business model or even business savvy. So much so, he says, that you could swap the business models of the top five affiliates and they’d probably make identical money. It is the quality of training, the passion of the trainer, and the depth of community that drive our business.

4min 59sec

In this three part video series, the Again Faster crew profile Heather, who came in 2nd place in Albany CrossFit’s East Coast Challenge last year, right behind Tanya Wagner. She recently passed her CrossFit Level 2 certification on December 7, 2008.

In Part 2, Heather talks about her athletic background, which includes competing in an Ironman Triathlon, and her desire to stay competitive in both endurance events and CrossFit. There is significant footage of Heather with Brian Mackenzie at the CrossFit Running Cert.

The Road to the 09 Games — Part 2: 6min 56sec

Coach Burgener talks about his history, the supposedly dangerous nature of the Oly lifts, recovery, and why Oly lifting is the gymnastics of weight training, to name a few topics. He takes numerous callers’ questions.

Dave produced sixteen CrossFit Live shows, and they will be rolled out gradually over the next few months.

Episode 3 - 1hr 29min 40sec

In this lecture from Tuesday afternoon, Coach Glassman talks about defining fitness, its importance in focusing our efforts, and the shocking absence of a thorough definition of fitness from other programs and agencies. Then he covers the first fitness model, which he calls capacity at random tasks, but which many of you will recognize as the Hopper model.

This lecture took place at 2851 Research Park Drive, Unit B, Soquel, CA. This is the original CrossFit box. The wall holding the white board was torn down in 2003 to make the two-unit space famous in the many pictures and videos from 2004 to early 2008.

6min 37sec