HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
How fit are you? And how do you know? Fit for what? How fit is fit enough? How do you evaluate your fitness and make sure you are progressing? Below is how we will help you find out:
The Compound's Skill Levels are:
Level I – Life. This level is the minimum standard for health in life. Lacking these basic levels of strength, flexibility and work capacity makes daily life limited and unnecessarily difficult. The Level I should be attainable and necessary for anyone participating in our regular classes. CompoundLite, personal training, and Fundamentals programs are geared to help new members reach Level 1. This level is for anyone using CrossFit to be healthy in their everyday life and these skills should be considered normal and attainable.
Level II – Fitness. In this level, basic movements are perfected and advanced skills are introduced. You have developed significant levels of strength, stamina, work capacity and speed, building on the Level I foundation already attained. They are working beyond being healthy and are becoming Fit.
Level III – Advanced. Few people posses this level of general fitness, although any healthy person can achieve it. The strength, work capacity, power and skill required to meet these goals can prepare you to tackle any kind of physical performance with competence and confidence. Level III can take years to achieve.
Level IV – Elite. This level of achievement requires long-term dedication. The skills required of Level IV are very advanced. Completing these skills would signify a highly skilled and well-rounded athlete.
Why skills testing?
Coming to The Compound week in and week out will definitely make you fitter. But everyone makes progress real easy in the beginning. Then they stall out. Some people will try a new program and make progress again….until they plateau again. This process of jumping from program to program works, but only in the guise that everything works…for a while. True training begins after you pass the beginning stages of a program, when you begin to plateau. That is when it’s time get smarter about your training.
As CrossFitters, we recognize ten components of physical fitness: cardiorespiratory endurance, strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy, power and speed. A varied workout program like CrossFit develops all of these components and improves them. But any workout program will inevitably leave out some facet of fitness, whether intentionally or unintentionally. These unexposed weaknesses can lead to stalling out in performance or, even worse, injuries.
To combat this, we will use a set of standards that encompass all components of physical fitness. We've developed Skill Standards as a user-friendly tool to help you continue your progression. We by no means invented this process. The very first CrossFit Affiliate, CrossFit Seattle, created one of the most famous skills standards and has used it successfully for 10 years. Many other successful gyms have followed suit. We have come up with our own set of standards that we believe will benefit The Compound’s members for years to come and allow for continued progression.
We will test all these skills this week and we will be able to show everyone exactly where they currently are and where they can improve from here. We will test you in various exercises that require competence in Hip function, Push movements, Pull movements, Core strength, Speed and Work capacity of various lengths.
Important Notes:
- It should be noted that this list can and may be changed based on how the gym does as a whole. We are all guinea pigs to help create stronger, faster, fitter athletes at The Compound
- These levels should not be looked as ranks. A level IV is not better than a Level I; they are simply farther along in their training. These standards should help you and your coaches come up with the best individualized plan for you to improve.
- If competition with others at the gym leads you to improve…..GREAT!!!! If it causes you to become frustrated with your performance, then you are looking at your own training and personal progress wrong.
- Completion of all the skills in a certain level is NOT required to be in that level, but should be the goal. Completing 75% of a given level will be sufficient, but your training should not stop there!
- Lastly, the Skill Standards are intended to guide your training, not to be a standardized test you are required to “pass.” Do not beat yourself up for not being “elite.” Use the skills to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and to make smart choices about your training. When I created the list and then arbitrarily plugged in my numbers, I was sure I was a solid Level III. When I spent the last week actually completing the skills, I actually found out I am currently sitting in Level II……Whatever…..time for me to get to work!
Caution
Proper form in all movements is expected before intensity. There are many resources available to help with technique and many more will be added, including: coaching, videos, books, seminars, and workout partners. Use them to your benefit.
****Write your scores down. On the whiteboard and the website. Without recording your numbers, you have no idea how you have improved.
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