Posted on Monday, 14th September 2009 by Eric Cressey
I figured that this week, I’d make my normally-subscriber-only newsletter public, as it’s some content I’ve been meaning to get out there for quite some time. Long story short, I’ve received a lot of emails just recently (as well as some in-person questions) asking me what I think of Crossfit for baseball players and, more specifically, pitchers.
Let me preface this email with a few qualifying statements. First, the only exercise “system” with which I agree wholeheartedly is my own. Cressey Performance programming may be similar in some respects to those of everyone from Mike Boyle, to Louis Simmons, to Ron Wolforth, to the Crossfit folks - but taken as a whole, it’s entirely unique to me. In other words, I will never agree completely with anyone (just ask my fiancee!).
Second, in spite of the criticism Crossfit has received from some people I really respect, I do feel that there are some things they’re doing correctly. For starters, I think that the camaraderie and enthusiasm that typifies their training groups is fantastic; anything that gets people (who might otherwise be sedentary) motivated to exercise is a plus. Moreover, they aren’t proponents of steady-state cardio for fat loss, and they tend to gravitate toward compound movements. So, good on them for those favorable traits.
However, there are several issues that concern me with applying a Crossfit mentality to the baseball world:
1) The randomness of the “workout of the day” is simply not appropriate for a sport that has quite possibly the most specific sport-imposed asymmetries in the world of athletics. I’ve written about these asymmetries in the past, and they can only be corrected with specific corrective training modalities.
I’m reminded of this constantly at this time of year, as we get new baseball players at all levels now that seasons are wrapping up. When a player presents with a 45-degree glenohumeral internal rotation deficit, a prominent scapular dyskinesis, and a complete lack of rotary stability, the last thing he needs to do is a 15-minute tri-set of cleans, kipping pull-ups, and push-ups - following by some 400m sprints. It not only undermines specificity of exercise selection, but also the entire concept of periodization.
2) The energy systems development found in Crossfit is inconsistent with the demands of baseball. I wrote extensively about my complete and utter distaste for distance running in the baseball world, and while Crossfit doesn’t go this far, in my eyes, anything over 60yds is “excessive distance” for baseball guys. Most of my guys sprint two times a week during the off-season, and occasionally we’ll go to three with certain athletes. Let’s just say that elite sprinters aren’t doing Crossfit, and the energy systems demands of baseball players aren’t much different than those of elite sprinters.
3) I have huge concerns about poor exercise technique in conditions of fatigue in anyone, but these situations concern me even more in a population like baseball players that has a remarkably high injury rate as-is. The fact that 57% of pitchers suffer some sort of shoulder injury during each season says something. Just think of what that rate is when you factor in problems in other areas, too! The primary goal should not be entertainment or variety (or “muscle confusion,” for all the morons in pro baseball who call P90X their “hardcore” off-season program). Rather, the goals should be a) keeping guys on the field and b) safe performance enhancement strategies (in that order).
Case in point, we got our first pro pitcher back this fall to start his off-season. He has a total of 20 pull-up and 64 push-up variation reps per week (in addition to some dumbbell bench pressing and loads of horizontal pulling/scapular stability/cuff work). This 84-rep figure might be on the low-end of a Crossfit program for a single day. Just like with throwing, it’s important to do things RIGHT before even considering doing them A LOT.
4) Several of the exercises in typical Crossfit programs (if there is such a thing) concern me in light of what we know about baseball players. I’ll cover this in a lot more detail in an article within the next few weeks, but suffice it to say that most have significant shoulder (if not full-body) laxity (acquired and congenital), abnormal labral features, partial thickness supraspinatus tears, poor scapular upward rotation, retroversion (gives rise to greater external rotation), and diminished rotator cuff strength in the throwing shoulder (particularly after a long season). Most pro pitchers will have more than 190 degrees of total motion at the shoulder, whereas many of the general population folks I encounter rarely exceed 160 degrees.
In short, the shoulders you are training when working with baseball players (and pitchers, in particular) are not the same as the ones you see when you walk into a regular ol’ gym. Want proof? Back in 2007, on my first day working with a guy who is now a middle reliever in the big leagues, I started to teach him to front squat. He told me that with only the bar across his shoulder girdle, he felt like his humerus was going to pop out of the socket. Not surprisingly, he could contort his spine and wrists like a 14-year-old female gymnast. This laxity helps make him a great pitcher, but it would destroy him in a program where even the most conservative exercises are done to the point that fatigue compromises ideal form. And, let’s be honest; if I was dumb enough to let someone with a multi-million dollar arm do this, I’d have agents and GMs and athletic trainers from a lot of major league systems coming after me with baseball bats!
5) Beyond just “acts of commission” with inappropriate exercise selection and volume, there are also “acts of omission.” For example, a rotational sport like baseball requires a lot of dedicated work to address thoracic spine and hip mobility and anti-extension and anti-rotatoin core stability. If you exhaust your training time and recovery capacity with other things, there may not be enough time or energy to pay attention to these important components.
All that said, I would encourage anyone who deals with baseball players to learn to borrow bits and pieces from a variety of methods available today. Along the way, take into account the unique characteristics of the overhead throwing athlete and manage accordingly. Simply saying “I’m a Crossfit guy” and adhering to an approach that was never intended for a baseball population does a huge disservice to the athletes that count on you to bring them the most up-to-date, cutting-edge training practices available.
If you’re interested in learning more about some of the asymmetries and training techniques I noted above, I’d strongly encourage you to check out the DVD set of the 2008 Ultimate Pitching Coaches Boot Camp. Both Phil Donley and I go into some detail on assessment and corrective exercise for pitchers in this seminar (and there’s also a lot more fantastic information for anyone looking to develop pitchers). You can buy it HERE, or learn more about it HERE.
New Blog Content
Fun with Fan Mail
Exercise of the Week: Lying Knee-to-Knee Stretch
Unstable Surfaces, Vitamin D, and Rotator Cuff Challenges
Posterized!
Have a great week!
EC
Click here to purchase the most comprehensive shoulder resource available today: Optimal Shoulder Performance - From Rehabilitation to High Performance.
Tags: Baseball Workouts, Crossfit, GIRD, Increasing Throwing Velocity, Mike Boyle, Pro Baseball Pitcher Workout, Ron Wolforth, Rotator Cuff Exercises, Rotator Cuff Rehab, Shoulder Exercises, Shoulder Health, Shoulder Impingement, Shoulder Pain, Shoulder Rehab, Throw Baseball Faster, Weight Training Baseball
Posted in Blog | Comments (34)
September 14th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Nice job Eric.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Eric,
Outstanding article. I completely agree - I’ve been rethinking how I want to train my pitchers as well. “Specialization is for insects” and all that is fine for novice athletes - and that’s often who I work with - and while I don’t disagree that compound lifts and explosive movements should form the core of any program for a baseball player, the reality is that the game is NOT a generic strength/speed activity. We must pay specific attention to contraindicated exercises and tailor the program as specifically as possible to each athlete - training a starting pitcher the same way you train a catcher would be insanity!
Lots to think about. Great blog post.
September 14th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Thought this video would be interesting in terms of the shoulder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA39l8fGeg4
September 14th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
I own a crossfit facility AND I generally agree with everything you are saying. Energy systems specificity, check. Structural imbalances, check. I would however argue about the potential of the kipping pull up as a REHAB agent. It may sound ridiculous, but used in a safe, incremental manner this movement progression has impressive mobility potential. I have a sneaky suspicion a shoulder that is incapable of dynamic loading from a hanging position is actually prone to injury…our ancestors spent a lot of time in that position.
Also, not everyone in the organization is ignorant of the need to address structural imbalances and the demands of energy system specific sports.
Either way, good stuff and I enjoy your work.
September 15th, 2009 at 1:27 am
well said
September 15th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Usually like your stuff. This one I just cant understand. CrossFit is GPP. Who claimed it was the perfect solution for baseball? What? You are arguing the obvious here.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Nice article, but I wish I read it yesterday before my first CF workouts–sitting down hurts! They do allow for substitutions and I won’t do anything beyond my current capabilities. I do like the way the CF crowd is encouraging.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Great article Eric! As always, you were right on the ball in addressing this issue. I appreciate that you didn’t just proceed to bashing Crossfit, but instead choosing to decorticate the “whys” of the latter’s inefficacy at training for sport specificity, namely baseball in this case. As you know, no one knowledgeable person in the Crossfit community (and there are many, Robb Wolf being one amongst many, many others…) has ever claimed that Crossfit was the optimal method for creating the world’s best sprinter, or an Olympic Lifting champion, or breaking the world record marathon time. There are shortcomings with Crossfit, but those are not necessarily Crossfit’s shortcomings; anyone surfing the Web could come upon ANY well-designed program really and “f$&k it up”, simply because it’s taken out of context or applied at the wrong time, for the wrong person or for the wrong reasons!
As always, great work!!!
September 15th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Very interesting & ironic article Eric, as I was thinking last night of the issues CF would have on the shoulder joint - for the general pop. not specific to baseball.
You could have added a 6th concern, CF is a cult and does not take lightly to any criticism.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:36 am
Eric, great article as always.
As you probably know, I have a Crossfit program within my coaching facility. For the Average Joe, our Crossfit coaching beats any kind of regular gym membership for GPP: 15 minutes of dynamic warm-ups, 15 minutes of form & technique instruction, and a half hour of great supervised training. That sure beats “chest & tri’s on Monday, Back and Bi’s on Tuesday, Abs and shoulders on Wednesday, and leg press, leg curls, and leg extensions on Friday.”
We also have Sport Specific Coaching and personal training that are, well, personal. When people ask the difference, I tell them that with Crossfit, they adapt to the program. With Sport Specific Coaching or personal training, the program is adapted specifically for the client.
When someone signs up for the Crossfit program, they get three private training sessions for foundations work. In addition to teaching fundamental lifting techniques, this allows us to see what kind of biomechanical issues we are dealing with and then make recommendations about future training.
I find that a lot of Crossfit bashing comes from people that don’t understand Crossfit or are just intimidated by a program that will expose anyone’s weaknesses. That being said, I enjoy any debate on any program or programming.
Keep it coming. -Paul
September 15th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Hi Eric,
I own a CrossFit in Bozeman MT, and I would have to agree with what you have said as well. In fact I’m not sure who ever said that CrossFit would be good for baseball players. For most sports, specificity of training in terms of joint ROM, movement patterns, energy systems, etc. is huge.
As far as GPP goes CrossFit does enhance GPP, but I do agree that the randomization of workouts may not be entirely appropriate for Baseball, Football, and other Sports. However, you can specifically develop CrossFit-ish workouts to develop GPP for many sports without the randomness. I prefer planned or programmed workouts for athletes.
Not to mention, there is minimal time to work on an individuals compensation issues, injuries, and other biomechanical issues when doing CrossFit. Yes CrossFit is scaleable, but still not specific to one person with certain issues. CrossFit is a FAR better approach for general fitness in people with no biomechanical issues relative to the “old School” Bodybuilding method (Chest on day 1, Back on Day 2, pinky toes and fingers on day 3, etc) you get the point. And Bodybuilders typically do snail paced cardio….
Anyway, good write up.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Fantastic info as always Eric.
September 15th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Eric,
Great article man, thanks for the killer info. I am not a big believer in crossfit being for most athletes.
September 15th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Great article, Eric! I really like how you offer detailed, well-reasoned arguments detailing why it may be inappropriate for certain populations. It’s so much easier - and dumber-sounding - when people just pronounce that a given training system sucks. CrossFit aside, I still say a different, even more over-hyped training system that uses light weights to “re-knit” the “deep muscle structure,” just plain sucks, ’nuff said!
September 15th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
i seriously feel that the future belongs to those who can discuss individual cases they deal with rather than critiquing systems. we have had enough of HIT VS High volume, arnold vs mentzer, jones vs weider…as they say, to each to his own.great on eric’s part to say ” For starters, I think that the camaraderie and enthusiasm that typifies their training groups is fantastic; anything that gets people (who might otherwise be sedentary) motivated to exercise is a plus”. bring the fun back guys.
September 16th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Right On The Money.
September 16th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I like the tone of this article. I used to be listed as a Crossfit affiliate, but for “corporate” reasons, I decided to just offer the classes on my own. It is an ancillary service of what we offer, which is predominately speed & sport-specific training. Like you, I believe there is no one way to train any one athlete. There are a lot of smart people out there, so learn from all.
I have worked with baseball players all my life, and I can say that you are right on with your points. Most of the throwing athlete’s issues, though, carry a common theme: lack of scapular motion. There is too much focus given to GH ROM & not enough on scapulo-thoracic ROM. I have seen lots of issues resolved (& prevented) by spending time increasing the range of motion of the scap.
Love the discussion….one size does not fit all…it fits ONE!
September 16th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Even your question is WRONG. CrossFit is a GPP program. It has been stated several times on the site that CF does NOT stand for sport-specific training. And what’s with “they tend to gravitate toward compound movements”? If you had spent at least 10 minutes on crossfit.com, you would have known that it is built on functional exercises, which are, by definition, compound movements. Anyhting less than that is unacceptable. Writng an article without researching your topic first? Well, good luck for your athletes.
September 16th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Eric,
Well said. I train some local athletes, and do Crossfit personally. I’ve always looked to your work for advice with my athletes, and it’s always spot on. I think Crossfit has some great things going for it, much of which you pointed out. I have seen nothing but a hack and slash job done on anyone else’s part to critique such a system. The comment above me is bogus, you are really on point with what you’ve said. And hey, it you got Robb Wolf reading and liking what you’ve said then I think you’re doing just fine!
September 16th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
“Also, not everyone in the organization is ignorant of the (…) demands of energy system specific sports.”
“Even your question is WRONG. CrossFit is a GPP program. It has been stated several times on the site that CF does NOT stand for sport-specific training. ”
Yeah, I guess we all agree then…
September 18th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Not to take the easy way out as a crossfitter, but I agree with Robb and also Paul S. I thought these two comments settle this arguement if there was one. I think when a CrossFit arguement occurs it is generally because 1 side or both sides of the arguement are very extreme and one sided. Obviously if someone is training for one sport specifically they need some sort of sport-specific training which can still use CROSSFIT methodology. I do agree especially pitchers are in need of a very specific training program. I do think other position players can benefit from crossfit methodology in there programming whether it be 2 or 3 times a week. What is severely underestimated is the mental factor crossfit gives people to think while tired and to take on absolutely any task and it seem possible to him or her. I’ll take an athelete like that any day. Again I will agree baseball players may need a more specific training program more than any other major sport, but the CROSSFIT METHODOLOGY can be put into effect where appropriate. As for other sports like track, football, basketball, etc…I think it can be implemented easier and more frequently. I can speak from personal experience being an ex-collegiate basketball player that I was no where near the athletic ability that I am now as a crossfitter and my game has never been better. For those opposed to crossfit I’m assuming they have either a.) never given it a chance and have preconcieved notions about it and gotten bad advice from someone that didnt fully understand it themselves or b.) have gotten a bad experience themself from a bad crossfit instructor, and yes there are many bad crossfit trainers out there, just like their are and ton of bad coaches out there in any sport, or bad personal trainers, or bad physical therapists, or doctors etc, etc, etc….As a CrossFit Affiliate owner it sucks to say there are bad affiliates and trainers out there but that is the reality and it will never change with any program, sport, teacher or anything let us all just keep that in mind
September 20th, 2009 at 1:07 am
September 20th, 2009 at 8:55 am
.
One of my mottos it:
“If a system claims to be for everyone, it is no good for anyone.”
P.S. - Remember, the exercise program matches the client, not the program to the market.
Rick Kaselj of ExercisesForInjuries.com
.
September 20th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Thanks to everyone for the responses. Will try to get to everyone with questions and discussion-worthy statements in this reply…
Robb – thanks for note. Respectfully, I’d disagree with the thoughts on the kipping pull-ups, particularly in the context of baseball guys (specifically pitchers).
One of the biggest problems we encounter in baseball guys is that the crazy distraction forces (1.5 times body weight) at ball release causes some crazy structural adaptations to the posterior cuff/capsule, and that plays a big role in the development of the internal rotation deficit that predisposes folks to all the “subdivisions” of internal impingement (SLAP lesions, cuff tears, biceps tendon problems, etc).
I’m certainly not aware of any research that has been done on the distraction forces you’d see from the “free fall” during the kipping pull-up. And, frankly, I can’t imagine that any institutional review board would ever approve such a study.
A baseball weighs 5oz. and is self-propelled. An athlete might weight 220 with gravity accelerating him to the ground. I think it’s just asking for problems. This would be magnified with a congenital laxity guy (which has been verified by the research; the overwhelming majority of both position players and pitchers at the major league level has positive sulcus signs in BOTH shoulders).
Mrjling – There are definitely people who use this as “the perfect solution for baseball.” That’s why the question arises so much and I actually considered writing a newsletter on it! The quick answer is that Crossfit is GPP, but I chose to go into more detail on why more specificity is needed. So, you’re upset with me for answering a stupid question, not irritated with the person who asked the stupid question.
Paul – great post. It’s proof that there are loads of bright guys out there who know how to take a general template and modify it for people in accordance with their needs and the business model in place. Keep fighting the good fight.
Zsuzsa – please see my response to Mrjling above. To quote, “You’re upset with me for answering a stupid question, not irritated with the person who asked the stupid question.” Would I be an idiot if I told someone that the “fat-burning zone” was a load of crap?
It’s quite clear that you’re looking for confrontation with your response, and as much as you’re going to be disappointed, I’m not going to give it to you. Keep picking fights on the internet, and I’ll keep training 25 pro baseball players at my facility each off-season (along with hundreds of high school and college guys).
September 20th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Hi Dennis,
I didn’t think my post and the one above me said the same thing whatsoever. I apologize if I came off that way. I also hope that by ‘real crossfitter’ you don’t mean someone who is dogmatic in approach (unfortunately I see this thought expressed all over the net). I feel that the really good coaches are open to suggestion and will modify their programs as new and better information/techniques come along.
I had found the post above mine disrespectful, and insulting to a strength coach I have a lot of respect for. I know darn well Cressey researches what he writes about (all of his articles and book I’ve read have legit references), and bet he spent ‘more than 10 minutes’ on the site researching it.
Hope that clarifies what I had wrote. =)
September 20th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Great post. Most people fail to realize that at some point certain “groups” or individuals need to have a program tailored to thier activities. Injury prevention and body symetry are not as widely recognized as they should be. I see the indusry slowly catching on to the concept with the Movement Screen analyses, and products fom yourself, Grey Cook, and a few other trainers.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:01 am
Eric,
thank you for taking the time to respond to my comment. Now I see better why you wrote the article in the first place - to answer a question, not just to badmouth CF. I realize I should have understood it earlier as you state it in the article itself, so my first statement was totally irrelevant.
However, let me clarify what I meant with the other points. I had the overall feeling that despite the fact that you criticized CF with seemingly innocent remarks, you in fact despise it. Your half-sentence “anything that gets people (who might otherwise be sedentary) motivated to exercise is a plus” to me reads like, “well, at least they do something, OK, let’s give the poor souls credit for that”. It feels that you place CF on the same level as Curves or Pilates. “So, good on them for those favorable traits” also doesn’t acknowledge their efforts in a variety of fields (rhabdomyolysis awareness, advocating O-lifting as a sport and as a tool for GPP, making thousands of free articles and videos available, etc.). I know you’re not their salesman, you’re not supposed to give a complete guide to the program, but then why mention some arbitrary points that don’t even have that much significance?
“Let’s just say that elite sprinters aren’t doing Crossfit” - again, this may be technically true, I don’t know, but I think “Let’s just say” makes the whole statement mocking.
“the last thing he needs to do is a 15-minute tri-set of cleans, kipping pull-ups, and push-ups - following by some 400m sprints” (sic) - several articles have dealt with the issue of programming, so if someone really wants to know what is the logic behind the “randomness”, they can get hold of that information. Programming and individualization do exist in CF, but you didn’t even give it the benefit of the doubt. A baseball player may not need “some 400m sprints”, and a good CF coach probably won’t give him that because the program doesn’t prescribe “some” sprints to anyone. I thinks someone who writes that CF workouts are made up of “some” exercises gave only a cursory glance to the list of the workouts. Again, “some” indicates that you suppose that these exercises are just thrown there and they make no sense.
I wasn’t looking for a fight, I hope it is clear now that I have elaborated on my points. I won’t “Keep picking fights on the internet” because I’ve never done that and never will, however, I do apologize for my harsh tone in the previos comment.
September 21st, 2009 at 8:46 pm
To all:
Clearly this is a controversial topic as all of the above comments have reinforced. The reality of the situation is that an, obviously, highly educated and well respected member of the fitness industry is offering his opinion (although generally supported by numerous studies and facts) to the rest of us who have asked him for his position on the matter. I think it’s safe to say that baseball, more so than most any other sport, creates asymmetries in the body that put us at risk for injury unless you train with precise specialization. The fact that Crossfit has become so popular is a clear indication that it is a beneficial system that will guarantee results….it’s just the type of results that is the important factor. Having 4% body fat and cut shoulders just IS NOT going to make you throw harder. I think where the mass confusion comes in is that crossfit.com is kind enough to post WOD’s that are for the general public (I say ‘general’ meaning the general in shape audience….so don’t try to beat me up zsusza!) and coaches/player who don’t know any better try implementing them for their players/themselves. Crossfit can be personalized and I think that maybe having 1 “crossfit” type day would do some good ….whether it be physical or mental, but obviously there are several contraindicated exercises for baseball players that Crossfit uses that you would have to avoid. AKA…find a very knowledgeable instructor….like Chad!!
As a former pitcher for the Tigers organization and a current Personal Trainer (and Coach), I think that EC is spot on in his programming and his results speak for themselves. It’s tough to argue against him as I seriously doubt that he would put Joe Public through the same workouts as he does his athletes…and that IS what this article is all about…how the general Crossfit program relates to the S & C of baseball players.
So thank you EC for addressing the issue and clearing the air on how you think CF applies (or doesn’t) to baseball players. You and the great Jerry Weinstein are 2 of the most well spoken, knowledgeable people on the topic of baseball players and S & C.
Keep em comin!
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 am
Interesting article. You make several accurate assessments about the specificity of the baseball athlete, pitchers in particular. However, in the context of an out of season conditioning program, CrossFit provides an exceptional base from which to improve the performance of pitchers.
Your points on the shoulder (and I would add wrists) are spot on. I treat my pitchers and volleyball players the same way I treat my general athletes with shoulder injuries. Scale appropriately and stick with the CF charter of Mechanics, Consistency and then Intensity. They still lift and squat overhead, and perform pullups, ring supports and handstands. Often their pullups are scaled to ring rows, or assisted with elastic bands.
I am curious why you suggest the energy demands of a pitcher as being closer to an elite sprinter than an olympic lifter. A pitch is a single (or double) core to extremity wave of contraction…lasting roughly the same amount of time it would take to snatch or clean a load from the ground. The time domains that sprinters excel at are rarely found, except on ground balls to the right side and backing up a throw from the outfield, which happens rarely in comparison to the amount of pitches thrown in an AB, inning or game.
We have also found the clean a particularly effective skill transfer exercise. The sequential firing of the hips, shoulders and then arms has easy transference to the same chain of events when moving laterally from the rubber to the plate. The variance in CF is also an awakening experience for our pitchers and swingers (Vball). Forcing an athlete to be competent in movements and time domains outside their comfort zone has done nothing but improve their baseball readiness. We’ve had reports of better balance on the mound, quicker feet from the stretch and on bunt plays, and most importantly…better focus and concentration on the pitch in hand.
In general, the “fitness” that CrossFit endorses does not carry the commercial, aesthetic connotation. Rather, fitness is considered more the ability to accomplish any task as it presents itself. The focus on midline stability, core to extremity movement, Mechanics>Consistency>Intensity, and overall ability to perform under duress make it a good base. Is it a stand alone program for a pitcher? No. But 3-4 scaled CrossFit WODs a week in the off-season, in conjunction with a performance diet, and sport specific practice/training is absolutely a winning recipe.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Eric, I am an avid Crossfitter and also a sports peformance specialist. I could not agree with you more with regards to this topic. CrossFit is not now, nor ever will be sports specific, but a constantly varied, high intensity workout.Due to the constantly varied philosophy of CrossFit, it does not fit into periodized programming of Baseball. And although some of the workouts can be used for a general conditioning (shock the system) session for some sports, Baseball is not one of them. And I agree your program for Baseball players IS the best out there. So, as a huge advocate for CrossFit, I am agreeing that CrossFit is NOT for Baseball players. CrossFit (when performed correctly and under the right mentors) gets results. Eric, thank you for taking the time to actually LOOK at CrossFit and research it before making judgement. I wish more guru’s in the S&C world would do the same. And lastly, why are people comparing NSCA/Collegiate/Pro Sports to CrossFit?? There is no comparison. CrossFit is broad and general. Sports specific/NSCA is just that…SPORTS SPECIFIC!!
Awesome article! Very Professional. Thank you.
January 6th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Eric, great stuff. Always is.
Justin Bergh, I am not a believer, or a crossfitter in any aspect at all but somewhat agree with you that the clean is a skill-transfer exercise in pitchers. However, in relation to the WOD, how can you possibly enhance performance in a pitcher’s off-season program by doing random-based high intensity work? Don’t you need to follow linear/non linear periodization models to prevent your basic overtraining syndrome?
I am just curious of your perspective on this.
All in all, cross-fit and athletics should not mix. There are specific training protocols for each sport. One should have a program adapted for their sports-specific needs, rather than have to adapt to a general program for everybody. Just makes no sense at all.
March 2nd, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Dude…
http://journal.crossfit.com/2010/03/marlins-go-crossfit.tpl
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:20 pm
It looks like a case of CrossFit needing baseball than baseball needing CrossFit.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:23 am
crossfit ruined my life