tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post1574348255422145779..comments2023-05-10T00:39:05.644-07:00Comments on Evolve Your Fitness: Quality Of MovementTsypkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07103282631908551095noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-49627866592943461852009-08-05T22:29:41.882-07:002009-08-05T22:29:41.882-07:00They enable us to prepare for an infinitely large ...They enable us to prepare for an infinitely large range of activities by focusing on relatively small number of basic exercises<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.directstartv.com/jump.htm/?referID=oa-0-173204" rel="do follow" rel="nofollow">Get More Details</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-83375722080346603532009-08-03T12:53:44.541-07:002009-08-03T12:53:44.541-07:00Willie, you are confusing form and ROM.
What you ...Willie, you are confusing form and ROM.<br /><br />What you mentioned about the squat and muscleup concerned range of motion, i.e. going all the way down or up. Jacob's critique of the burpee centered on form, mainly the role of the hips and torso when performing burpees at high speed. Almost inevitably the movement resembles a rounded back deadlift to 3 inch verticle jump.Russ Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927699882167717900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-42493189555097407222009-07-31T22:49:52.886-07:002009-07-31T22:49:52.886-07:00"With almost all CrossFit movements, includin..."With almost all CrossFit movements, including the Olympic lifts, running, squatting, kipping pullups, muscle-ups, doing the movements with better form also leads to doing them more quickly"<br /><br />I think this is half right and half wrong. If I do quarter squats, I'm pretty positive I will be faster than if I'm doing squats with proper form. The same could be said for the muscle up.<br /><br /><br />"To adapt is to 'change to suit a new purpose.' I challenge you (or anyone) to name one aspect of the human body that has changed to favor swimming."<br /><br />Well, compared to whom I guess? Are physically better adapted to swimming than Lucy? Hell yes. I think the real problem with the neolithic/paleolithic argument is that for the most part, evolution is a spectrum, and saying that we our ancestors weren't built for this or that implies that you're choosing a particular human ancestor to compare to.<br /><br />On a more concrete point, there have been studies that show native peoples living near the water have eyes that are more adjusted to seeing underwater.Williehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07050129137396424347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-89153948029251893662009-07-30T11:03:48.078-07:002009-07-30T11:03:48.078-07:00You guys have made a strong point. The natural abi...You guys have made a strong point. The natural ability to trudge through the water miserably, is far different than the essential movements of running, squatting, and lifting. If we were naturally adapted to swimming more of us would be a mutant like Phelps or Aqua-man.<br /><br />*Side-note: You guys are doing the exercise community a great service with this blog. Please keep this running. Great work!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04266918933198036626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-34940591098770906012009-07-29T13:56:18.465-07:002009-07-29T13:56:18.465-07:00Eric:
The fastest swimmers alive today swim slower...Eric:<br />The fastest swimmers alive today swim slower than almost any fish, or aquatic mammal, and cannot hold their pace for more than 50 or 100 meters.<br />It's true that most humans can learn to swim poorly with ease. Horses can also swim poorly, as can elephants.<br />In water, gravity does not slow you down. The only thing that slows you down is hydrodynamics. The more streamlined you are, the faster you can go. A human must contort himself and be flexible in the arms to be streamlined. I fish merely needs to be a fish.<br />I agree that humans can swim, but we suck at it. I fancy myself a good swimmer, and it took me years and years to learn proper form. With the help of Jacob and Russ, however, I learned decent running form in a matter of months. Swimming is not natural for us. Swimming badly is natural for us.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433636648686587367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-84076044763229032242009-07-29T13:51:09.168-07:002009-07-29T13:51:09.168-07:00Russ,
I think you're confusing "swimming...Russ,<br /><br />I think you're confusing "swimming is natural to human existence" with "swimming is natural to human physiology." I agree that swimming is a useful skill, and in some lifestyles it is unavoidable to attain the ability to swim in order to survive. But that does NOT mean that it we have adapted to do it.<br /><br />To adapt is to "change to suit a new purpose." I challenge you (or anyone) to name one aspect of the human body that has changed to favor swimming.Tsypkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07103282631908551095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-67966438604559878892009-07-29T13:44:58.064-07:002009-07-29T13:44:58.064-07:00Humans have been swimming for a long time. Native...Humans have been swimming for a long time. Native americans used to have swimming contests all the time. It's not a modern invention. <br /><br />Water is a nearly inescable part of human existence. Everyone should know how to swim, and swim competently.<br /><br />That said, swimming transfers over remarkably poorly to all other activities.Russ Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927699882167717900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-26882839652488524542009-07-29T13:39:28.016-07:002009-07-29T13:39:28.016-07:00Eric,
If our physiology were adapted to swimming,...Eric,<br /><br />If our physiology were adapted to swimming, we'd be good at it. In fact, we'd be as good at it as we are at running, squatting, pushing, and pulling, that is to say, we'd do them naturally. Watch a 5 year old run, squat, climb, etc...then watch him try to swim for the first time. Completely unnatural! Swimming is a useful skill which can be acquired through diligent practice, but in NO WAY have humans adapted or evolved to be good swimmers.<br /><br />A great example of this is Michael Phelps. Phelps is a tremendous swimmer, the best in history, in fact. This is partially due to the fact that he has certain physical abnormalities which are advantageous for swimming, including an extraordinarily long torso and arms (his wingspan is 3 inches greater than his height of 6'4",) and hyperflexible joints (this is especially useful because he can bend his feet forward further at the ankle and use them more like flippers.) All of these abnormalities are in fact a DISadvantage to normal human movement; Phelps' coach doesn't let him run because it's too hazardous...Phelps is too liable to fall over.<br /><br />The important thing here is that these disadvantages aren't only applicable to certain movements. We're not talking about having a disadvantage in the squat because you're tall, or a disadvantage at running because you're stocky and heavy. No, Phelps abnormalities make it difficult, in some cases dangerous, for him to run, squat, push, pull...you name it. He would have a lot more trouble surviving the prehistoric age than a normally build caveman who could swim a little but was very good at running, jumping, and climbing.<br /><br />John and Russ, you both have extensive experience with swimming...care to chime in?Tsypkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07103282631908551095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-57209456395113374752009-07-29T13:36:26.505-07:002009-07-29T13:36:26.505-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tsypkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07103282631908551095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-51911540254259823472009-07-29T12:01:36.548-07:002009-07-29T12:01:36.548-07:00Hmm. While I think that most of what you said here...Hmm. While I think that most of what you said here is Brilliant, Jacob (especially the discussion on the Burpee). I am nearly laughing at the thought that <b>swimming</b> <i>is not a natural movement that we evolved to perform,</i>. Can you imagine the entire tribe of cavepeople drowning every time they needed to cross the wide river? :] I would postulate that they swam out to catch the occasional meal as well...Eric's Story Boardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14401480547732126914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-26792060838678331212009-07-29T07:08:20.803-07:002009-07-29T07:08:20.803-07:00John,
The problem with most sports is that they a...John,<br /><br />The problem with most sports is that they are manmade. Our physiology was not designed for baseball, swimming, or rollerblading. If we took a CrossFitter with no previous experience in any of these activities and he proved himself adept, we couldn't convincingly demonstrate that CrossFit was the reason, or part of the reason, for that adeptness. I think it's fair to assume, however, that movements which improve our ability to perform those functions which ARE natural to our physiology will carry over to those which are not, since they increase our capacity for adaptation.Tsypkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07103282631908551095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-60160680062387871242009-07-28T21:51:11.295-07:002009-07-28T21:51:11.295-07:00Re: Russ' post, and deadlifts
Deadlifts are a...Re: Russ' post, and deadlifts<br /><br />Deadlifts are an excellent movement because the athlete moves massive amounts of load, compared to other movements. This makes the athlete more comfortable with large loads, possibly increasing other lifts.<br /><br />Regarding Russ' post, I am not yet convinced that competent crossfitters (by which I mean athletes competent in olympics lifts, power lifts, running, and gymnastics) excel in ALL movements. I want to see how quickly a competent crossfitter would pick up baseball, rollerblading, and swimming, with no previous experience. My hypothesis, of course, is "pretty fast compared to average joe or even football joe", but I want to see an example. Anybody game?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433636648686587367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-7039442169879624582009-07-28T21:44:23.426-07:002009-07-28T21:44:23.426-07:00Russ hit on what I was going to say. (Dang you Rus...Russ hit on what I was going to say. (Dang you Russ) I was going to mention the deadlift as one of the more beneficial moves that a CFer can do. Its application transcends into so many other areas of live that are vital for day to day living.Kristihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05482462311302159903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-76352497458501690382009-07-28T15:21:38.411-07:002009-07-28T15:21:38.411-07:00One way you can tell a fundamental movement is by ...One way you can tell a fundamental movement is by looking at what happens to athletes that don't perform them, or perform them poorly.<br /><br />Athletes that have no experience with running, jumping, or squatting, have very large holes in their athletic preparedness. They will require hours upon hours of serious training to correct these deficiencies.<br /><br />On the other hand, take an athlete that never does ball slams but excels at the olympic lifts, running, and basic gymnastics. The athlete will very quickly master the ball slam. <br /><br />Fundamental exercises are truly what makes the pursuit of GPP possible. They enable us to prepare for an infinitely large range of activities by focusing on relatively small number of basic exercises. Mastering the barbell deadlift, for example, will carry over to a nearly unlimited number of not directly-related activities.Russ Greenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927699882167717900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-64136376256548830122009-07-28T15:07:57.520-07:002009-07-28T15:07:57.520-07:00Also, tire flipping is great fun but overrated for...Also, tire flipping is great fun but overrated for conditioning. Once the tire is over the top, there's not much you can do to get it to fall over faster.<br /><br />Playing catch at high speeds with medicine balls is underrated, at least as a warmup -- good for coordination and accuracy, as well as strength in varied and unpredictable planes.John Frazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17297128456405988601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4419206493223675493.post-11366864143262341442009-07-28T14:59:43.028-07:002009-07-28T14:59:43.028-07:00Good article.
As for other movements, I despise t...Good article.<br /><br />As for other movements, I despise the tuck jump. It hurts my knees, and there's really no standard for what's a proper rep.<br /><br />Fortunately, the tuck jump is rarely programmed, and most often seen as a substitute for double unders. I also think D/Us are overrated, but at least they relate to coordination and accuracy. (I still hate D/Us, partly because I stink at them; but I stink at them because I've never really felt they were important enough to spend a lot of time practicing.)John Frazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17297128456405988601noreply@blogger.com