We all want to be better. That’s why we are here. We seek out CrossFit to increase our health, happiness, and for a lot of us, our performance. We don’t just want to be better today; we want to be better tomorrow and every day for the rest of our lives. We don’t achieve this by lifting heavy or moving fast at all costs. We get better every day by mastering the basics. We move well before we move heavy or fast. We approach every movement, regardless how simple, with a Mechanics to Consistency to Intensity mindset.Mechanics As CrossFit’s founder Gregg Glassman has stated, “Virtuosity is defined in gymnastics as “performing the common uncommonly well.” This is what we want to strive for when we focus on mechanics, which refers to an athlete’s ability to move properly through the movement. This is the TOP priority before moving to consistency or intensity. Let’s take a squat for example. We cannot expect to succeed in the overhead squat without mastering the fundamentals of the air squat. Perfecting mechanics isn’t sexy, putting in the work here will set you up for success long term.Consistency This refers to an athlete’s ability to perform a movement multiple times while maintaining proper mechanics. One way to keep proper mechanics while still achieving progress is scaling the load. It is better to maintain consistency at a lighter load than to move a heavy load with poor mechanics. Again, putting in the work at this step will allow for success long term.Intensity Intensity refers to the ability to lift more weight, perform more reps and complete more complex movements in a shorter period of time. This is the end goal, this is what we all love about CrossFit. However, without displaying consistent proper mechanics we can never safely and effectively achieve intensity. Intensity is different for every person. However, achieving intensity if what produces results!If we strive for virtuosity in all of our movements, consistently perform these movements with good form, we can continue to add intensity and get better every day.Coach Steve
