How to Become a Better CrossFit Athlete

Jun 2

“How can I become better at CrossFit?”

This is single handedly the most prevalent question within the Sport of Fitness. Everyday I have this conversation, whether by phone, Zoom, or in person with aspiring athletes who are looking to progress up the proverbial CrossFit ladder. So here I am going to build a framework around what I project (as of this day) are and will be the driving principles that will give you the tools to do well within CrossFit. This is not a manual that you can open and find a one, two, three step process. This is more of an outline around three guiding principles that will set you up for success to be a better CrossFit athlete.

Why did I frame it this way?

Well, to truly be great, one has to work, and work hard. There are no shortcuts within this sport, yet every day I see more and more people looking for the magic pill that will catapult them to the top. And, I don’t believe there is a manual for this sport. Rather, I believe there are principles that can lend you a strong baseline upon which you have the structure to build to your goals, if you possess the drive to get there.

Build your basement.
To be a great CrossFit athlete you need to have a strong base. I do not mean strong in words of being able to lift weights. I am using the word “strong” in the sense of depth and breadth. For instance, do not enter a snatch cycle before you focus on positions. Don’t try to do kipping ring muscle ups before you can do strict ones. Don’t enter a conjugate style program before you properly build your unilateral strength and balance across the strength and power continuum. For this sport, do not jump right into speed intervals before you spend time building your capacity. If you take the time to truly build your basement across the absolute strength to absolute endurance continuum, then you will dramatically increase your ability to reach your potential across all modalities, time domains, and intensities.
Grow your general physical preparedness (GPP)
What I am referring to here is simply creating your ability to generate work capacity across broad time and modal domains. When you are looking to work on your CrossFit or mixed modal work, create a system that builds your capacity across all energy systems. The broader your general physical preparedness is, the more stimulus (volume and intensity) you will be able to add in as you progress through your training. Now, this takes time and warrants a careful eye, however volume and intensity can be directly linked to the person's ability to tolerate stimulus (stress). The broader an athlete's GPP is, the more stimulus they can withstand (assuming proper fatigue management is adhered to).
Play the long game.
The third and final principle for becoming a better CrossFit athlete lies around “playing the long game.” In this sport, due to the relative newness of it, as well as accessibility to competition, it is very easy to get pulled into the competitive world right away. The result is often frustration and the desire to jump ahead due to a “want” of being able to compete at a higher level than you are ready for. This is the fastest way to lead to injury or burn out. Play the long game. View your abilities with a realistic lens, and set your expectations to a realistic level. From there, properly set the right time frame to build your ability and capacity, in order to set the right framework from which you can continually grow. This is the best way to be constantly improving and progressing to get closer and closer to your overall goal.

I hope this short essay gives you a better understanding of where to start. For some readers, you may read this and realize you need to take one step back in order to take two steps forward, and if that is you, I applaud you for doing this. The best thing you can do is take the right steps for you, not someone else, in order to ensure you are constantly progressing.

If you are not sure you are on the right track, make sure you send us an email at help@conquerathlete.com to set up your free consultation to see how we can best serve you to become the best CrossFit athlete you can be.