I’m not exactly sure how we got to this point in our society, but I’m going to assume that it’s simply the same way we’ve come to many points in history where our envisioned leaders have sent the masses to slaughter—lack of knowledge and greed. But mostly greed! I feel compelled to write this article despite skewed opinions or criticisms from “peers.” I feel obligated as a professional to make my disapproval of certain training means known. I’m referring to high volume squats, deadlifts, power and hang cleans, snatches, and plyometric jumps with limited or no recovery. The reason being is I’ve had two immediate family members fall victim to this leadership with knee and low back injuries in recent weeks. I saw it coming the whole way and couldn’t stop it. I mean how can I compete with the illusions of success and glamour set forth by the “infallible” infomercials and internet based sites with these “new” workout programs that are being so widely accepted that in 90 days you can work miracles?
I’ve seen many people have major changes in their body composition in 90 days without these programs. Nutritional changes and due diligence to training sessions were the culprit. I firmly believe that an exercise or training program’s success or failure is rooted in the execution of its work. I work as a collegiate strength coach at a Division 1 school and echo this concept to each and every athlete I work with on a daily basis. It’s my job description to design safe and effective training programs that physically develop an athlete to his potential. This means it’s on my shoulders to filter and decipher what works and what doesn’t and what is appropriate or safe for each level of athlete.
During my formative years as an athlete and graduate assistant in strength and conditioning, I was taught to think independently and not to “drink everyone’s Kool-Aid.” Question everything and if it makes solid logical sense, use it! This is how you grow and develop as a professional. That being said, what doesn’t make sense to me and what has prompted this article is why there is widespread use of technical power and “explosive” power exercises being incorporated into endurance and “Cross” fitness routines. We’ve all seen the infomercials lately and the fad gyms popping up in every town over the last few years. I’ll leave the names out, but if you have watched television or been on the internet in the last 3–5 years, you’ve seen them.
As a professional strength and conditioning coach for the last five years, I’ve picked up on hundreds of techniques and “cues” for getting athletes to perform lifts such as barbell front and back squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches, and plyometric jumping mechanics correctly. I’ve spent countless hours in clinics and discussions, watching videos, and reading books such as Starting Strength, Practical Programming, and Science and Practice of Strength Training. Not to mention, I’ve had years of graduate level classes. I’ve felt the joys of watching an athlete finally “get it” as well as the frustrations of failures and realizing what a timely process the learning curve truly is. There is a reason we (strength coaches) spend the amount of time we do on perfecting these lifts with our athletes. It’s because we realize the real potential dangers of form breakdown under heavy loads and the timely maturation process in physical development.
Well, in a world of “we want it now” and “more is better,” these lifts don’t fit that description. Yet so many buy into the idea that it’s OK! I suppose as long as a fitness guru with six pack abs tells you that you can do it with a half-wit description prefacing what to watch out for, it’s safe to do. I envision the package being sold online and on television as a road map with purposed short cuts on a cross country journey that will shave months off your travel time. Oh yeah, with a small little warning sticker that tells you, “This map will lead you through unstable mountainous terrain and is full of pitfalls and tight roads without any safety rails to guide you in the event that you lose control.” It would be like if it was legal to drive a monster truck on a freeway and anyone could drive one as long as they paid three payments of $19.95 for a license. Not all exercises are created equal!
Doing high reps for 30 seconds to a minute of an exercise designed to be executed in two seconds or less seems to be an oxymoron. Not to mention, it also causes the breakdown of smaller muscle groups designed to support our structure, thus hindering us helpless against a heavy load. “But coach, it helps with your cardio.” I say go jog. “But coach, it works all my muscle groups.” I say so does a well-rounded lifting program. “But coach, it helps with my explosive endurance.” I say is there truly such a thing? Don’t drive monster trucks in the express lane. They will likely break down and you probably don’t have a license. “But coach, we don’t use that much weight.” I say then why do you need a monster truck? Go buy a Chevy hybrid!
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Coach Joe is a head strength coach at a Division 1 university. 
could,nt agree more,i had to venture into a commercial gym recently and seriously reconsidered becoming qualified in joint reconstruction, its great that normal people are realising the benefits of the powerlifts and olympic lifts,but it took me 20 years to get my injuries,and the last 5 years to learn to rehab them,but its the nature of our mind to want it yesterday and it to continue forever.
Hi,
As a D1 Ski racer, i have seen a huge shift to cross fit on my team. I train at a athletic performance facility back home, so all of my workouts are provided by them. Speed strength, max strengh, plyo power, all the good stuff.
But increasingly, i have seen my teammates think that cross fit will benefit skiing more than squatting and RDLing heavy weight. Considering the forces that are put onto the body during skiing, (i’ve heard making a turn at 50mph is like squatting 400 pounds), you would think that cross fit would do minimal to benefit skiing.
I would be interested to hear others opinions on this.
What do you think a ski team should be doing for work outs? Haven’t seen any articles on here about skiing.
Any feed back would be appreciated.
Thanks
Pat
I have friends and family memebers who when I tell them basic principles of weight training, or just getting into real shape, kind of look at me like, “thanks for your opinion, but I’m going to stick with what they say on TV”. Good job, you can power clean 95 lbs. in sets of 21-15-9. Can you dunk a fucking basketball….probably not.
I am glad to see this article. Too many people fall in for some pointless random combination and think it is cutting edge or super hard core. A lot of the stuff that’s out there looks cool but it’s like bad cooking, not that the ingredients are bad, they just don’t work together. Explosive and / or high skill movements go with the fatigue of endurance work like cinnamon goes with sardines. There might be a reason people haven’t traditionally combined certain things.
Favorite article so far. I couldn’t agree more.
Well Said!
Badass article!!.. I hate talkn with family and friends that are not “aware”.. they ask your advise, and when you tell em all that marketed BS on tv and the interwebs doesnt work and there is no “short cuts” to success the look at you like you are retarded.. If you dont give em the answer they want, then u just aint right.. Fuckn Sheeple
Very well put, but if you have any “Kool-Aid” crossfitters that read this you may get wrongfully attacked
Good article! I couldn’t agree more with the fact that the compounds lifts and especially the Olympic lifts take months and sometimes years of practice. I was on fb the other day and read an update from an old classmate from highschool. They were talking about doing the clean&jerk. I was impressed because I love Oly lifts. I later found out it was for crossfit. I watched some video and noticed that they’re form was NOT good. It took me months and thousands of dollars with trainers, books and dvds before I was even able to attempt doing a snatch lift with any weight on it. Each exercise must be broken into segments to learn. Yet those guys are just doing it for the sake of cardio. I’m glad it’s bringing positive attention to Olympic weightlifting but I just worry their interest will fade with injuries that will ultimately ensue. Hopefully, they’ll be adult enough to blame themselves and not the sport!
Some good points here – (1) crossfit certainly has its value, but it requires sufficient recovery periods which many folks do not take; (2) the olympic and power lifts cannot be beaten when it comes to overall strength and power development; (3) most commercial gyms do not even attempt to teach the more complex olympic lifts to their clients and nudge them towards the less-efficient machines for some circuit training. Finally, lower reps/sets with frequent exercise changes work best – I know, I am a strength coach and have been lifting for 50 years and still compete. The reality is that joints/tendons/ligaments wear out over time so choose your exercises carefully and do not waste time on those with a low return on effort.