Talent and Strength

I read parts of the book The Talent Code this weekend. It's a book about how some people excel at skills because of how they learn and how they practice. Basically (and this is a very basic recounting of this theory), most people practice by doing something over and over and over again. But that's not the most efficient way of learning. People can learn and excel much faster if they make mistakes and correct them as they practice. Seems simple, right? But people hate making mistakes, which is why so many people can't get better.


This researcher studied these pools of talent - places where a high number of people achieve a certain skill - Baseball players from the Dominican Republic (some of them are Tigers!), a school in Russia where top tennis players in the world train. They don't just practice throwing and hitting balls. Their ways of learning are completely different than regular schools. I wonder how the top athletes in the Crossfit Games learn their skills.


We practice skills a lot in Crossfit. Sometimes I roll my eyes and think, "Come on. I know how to do a push press." But I'm just impatient. I know I can lift heavier weights, I just don't have the skill (especially for overhead squats). I know some of my friends can do pull-ups, they just can't get the kipping motion. We practice in a group to go over technique. Every box is different. I know some don't spend as much time on skills as we do, but the coaches correct the athletes as we build up in weights. I wonder what might be most effective. The athlete needs direction from the coach, but to build real skill, the athlete also needs to correct themselves when doing a lift. They're split second corrections that we might not even realize, but they increase learning and in doing so, increase skill.


I wonder if anyone wants to do this study with Crossfitters.


Also, I did not read the whole book and I skimmed over the scientific stuff. I'm horrible at learning.

Back It Up

The Back Squat scares the hell out of me. There, I said it. For those of you casual readers who are not Crossfitters, allow me to explain the Back Squat.


Imagine you're carrying a really big backpack on your back, but you're holding it up with your hands (it's resting on your shoulders). All of the weight of the backpack is on your shoulders and upper back. Now imagine that you have to sit down on a really low chair, holding this load. Now you have to stand back up. That's the back squat. 


Here are some ladies practicing the technique:

Here's what it looks like with weight*:

In any squat, the coach will tell you to keep your chest upright. This is especially important for the back squat since you might have 100+ pounds on your back as you're squatting. Your body naturally wants to lean forward and give in to the weight. When this happens, it gets harder and harder to stand up since the weight, at this point, has more power than you. If you're not careful and a couple people aren't there to spot you, that weight could roll from your shoulders and over your head onto the ground. I've seen this happen. It's friggin scary.


You lose power and control when you lose form. Many Crossfitters, like myself, want to lift heavier weights, but if we're not careful, that weight will crush us.


Stay safe, kids.


**This is Loree. She's an Olympian. That's a lot of weight on her back. She's super strong.
**I stole these pictures from www.eugenecrossfit.com. Good stuff.