Competition can bring out the best and worst in people, both in attitude and performance. I love seeing the pride on people’s faces when they do their first Crossfit competition and achieve something they previously deemed to be out of their reach, it’s priceless.
However, I hate seeing poorly executed movements in the height of a competition. I believe it is a direct representation of how you train day in and day out. If you deadlift with a rounded back at training, guess what? On game day you probably aren’t going to be smashing them out with great form.
We saw a bit of this in the Open last year, with mind-boggling scores on 13.2. When videos emerged of the performance, scores were disqualified. Just because you can go hell-for-leather doesn’t mean you look good and meet standards when you do.
Last week there was a blog doing the rounds regarding standards. It’s sad to see that there are obviously coaches out there who either don’t care enough or don’t know enough to coach their athletes to a high movement quality. Either way, you as an athlete need to learn what moving your body correctly feels and looks like. Yes, your coach SHOULD be there directing you to move safely, efficiently and correctly but you need to take some ownership. If something feels wrong, then it probably is.
Coaches – don’t be afraid to correct somebody’s technique, even if they have been training with you for years. If you see something technically deficient – SAY SOMETHING! Don’t be afraid of “hurting someone’s feelings” or losing a client. Your clients will respect you more in the long run, and if they don’t, you probably don’t want them as a client anyway.
If you have questionable form inside the comfort of your own box, maybe it’s time to take a step off the Rx’d Train and learn to perform your movements perfectly, regardless of whether it’s your first or your last rep. Building technically proficient motor patterns in training will not only make you a better athlete in the long run, but will stop the “No-reps” you seem to get when you step outside your training environment.