A fabulous mixed group of “normal people”, trainers, and physical therapists got together in Bethnal Green to try out the world famous Crossfit London i-course: the one-day course that gets you practicing most of the essential Crossfit basics (squat, clean, snatch, ring work, handstands, muscle ups)

As always, a phenomenal Crossfit London team, led by Andrew and Steven, with superb support from Kate, Phil, Alex, Kirsty and Sevan; taught, inspired, problem-solved and target-set for an anxious-to-learn audience.

The Crossfit London i-Course is an ideal way of covering those basics, and can be a great way of preparing for your CrossFit Level 1 Certification. For “normal people” without regular access to a Crossfit gym, it’s a great opportunity to get some feedback and pointers from the Crossfit London multi-skilled team.

Well done everyone, especially to Sammy for coming first in Thumb Wars, Jo for a great handstand push-up performance, and Tracy for that pull-up with a band demo. You are on the road of the righteous!

Some great effort in the L-Sit practise

A special muscle-up festival from the “big tough boy group”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7u17QtsUiw

Wondering what all the fuss is about? Book your place in the May i-Course and come and find out!

Crossfit London UK Mobility Programme Movement Education Workshop: The Squat Pattern

Saturday 26th March, 1430-1630

For more information on how to book a place on this course, click on “Getting Started“.

In this workshop, we shall examine the fundamental mechanics of squatting. Along the way, we’ll learn about how the brain co-ordinates movement (“Why do move the way I do?”), how we learn to move and, how we can change how we move. We shall also investigate the basic functional anatomy of the hip joints, lower back, knees and ankles, all in relation to the Squat pattern.

To support the learning in the workshop, ‘homework’ will be given for you to take away – short movement exercises to remind you of what we learned in the workshop which can be done sitting at a desk for example.

The emphasis is on learning, rather than exercise. You can’t practice what you don’t know how to do, so the aim is to examine our existing habits and learn new options for movement which can provide lasting change. For example, by learning how to move in our hip joints, we can change not only how we perform squat-pattern exercises in the gym, but also how we sit and carry ourselves throughout the day!

This workshop is based on the practical application of the Feldenkrais Method and the principles of motor learning. One definition of this method is that it: “… consists of a systemic understanding of the human body’s design for motion and a perception-oriented pedagogy for changing how people move.” – L. Goldfarb, Ph.D

The approach is to improve functional ability – in this case our ability to squat, rather than attempt to alter the structures of the body (muscles, bones and other tissues) – upgrading the ‘software’ rather than the ‘hardware’. Our bodies move through the action of our muscles, which are controlled by the central nervous system (CNS), specifically the motor areas of the brain. Instead of working with the muscles or other physical structures, improved movement is learned by addressing the brain’s control of movement directly.

Jon Nicholson is a qualified Feldenkrais teacher and Personal Trainer, with an extensive background in martial arts training including recent competition success in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts.

He comes to CrossFit London having had a really great day on the i-Course!

There is something unique about a Crossfit London i-Course and that is the opportunity to witness so much improvement in so many people in such a short space of time.

For many people this is the first step away from silly gyms and their machines into a world where skill merges with strength and flexibility and agility and endurance, over all the  energy systems (not just the long slow jogs).

In the morning session, 17 fabulous attendees stormed their way through the olympic lifts and our world famous squat correction workshop.

In the thick of the snatch progressions

Whilst covering all of the fundamental moves (but using the full barbell clean, rather than a medicine ball clean) they learned how to engage their hips, how to commit to one direction then switch in a real display of agility, and that real moves involve real world mastery of balance, not wobbling on gym balls.

The afternoon was a great mix of gymnastics body weight drills covering the handstand push up, pull ups (strict and kipping) dips, muscle ups and push ups and some  frankly, nasty core exercises.

The event also welcomed new presenters Phil and Efe, of whom,  I’m sure, we will see much more in the future And  Kate Pankhurst with her “paint the wall with your elbows” drill for the front squat. Thanks to Rita and Peter who turned out to help poke and prod and cue and encourage.

Efe and Phil coaching the muscle up

A special well done to John for his first ever muscle up!

John cracks out his first muscle up and gets a halo

And  a big “you’re awesome” to  Jim who as a 60 year old was the second oldest person to attend an i-Course, ever!

A great group, thanks for being there!

Class of August 2010

Loads more photos from the day on the CrossFit London Flickr pages, here.

While England were being crucified by Germany, another fabulous Crossfit London UK  i-Course, (the best way to kick start your Crossfit training, and the ideal preparation for a Crossfit certification) was held in Bethnal Green at The Blackboard Gym.

The audience was treated to a hat trick of

• some of the fundamental Crossfit moves
• how to snatch and clean
• and the world famous Crossfit London UK squat workshop

The afternoon was a goal mouth scramble of pull-ups. muscle-ups, some offside handstand push-ups, and abdominal stuff. Terrific!

” The fat girls new clothes” author, Kate Pankhurst made her i-Course debut  presenting  both the front squat and the press

Kate "elbows up" Pankhurst

Colin Menniss led the afternoon’s gymnastic moves, with affiliate owners Andrew “barefoot” Stemler and Steven “squirrels”  Shrago stepping in to fill the blanks, and going head-to-head in their infamous hip-hop snatch-off session.

The audience responded by pulling out some first ever muscle-ups, some great squats, and snatching like pros.

Kris pops out his first muscle up

A special thank you also goes to Umar and Chris as our special guest trainers.

Well done everyone. Check out more photos on the CrossFit London Flickr pages, here.

i-Course June 2010

The next i-Course is in August. Book your place now.

Well, another great i-course day at the Crossfit London UK’s Blackboard Gym in Bethnal Green E2.

But why take our word for it, here is Ben’s view of the day

Guys,
Thank you both (and to everybody, participating and instructing) for what was a superb day. I’ve been on some poor courses, fitness and otherwise and this was a long way away from those. Excellent instruction, fun atmosphere with serious attention. Packed a lot of information into the day and all of it useful and usable. Not an ounce of fluff or filler.
Thanks guys.

Ben

Push-jerking

We taught some functional moves, including the Push Jerk, and the clean and snatch… followed by…..

Swingin' around

Some kipping, with a bit of a swing, and muscle-ups and dips and “stuff”

i-course athletes, 28 March 2010. Ahhsome!!! Good job!

Get yourself booked onto the next course asap.

One of the essential components of any strength and training regime is Ring Training, for many, many reasons.

However, you rarely see these at your local gym.

One of the biggest barriers is that most fitness instructors in “yer local gym” (“health spa”) have never seen a pair of rings, let alone taught anyone how to use them. Obviously you need to hit the Getting Started button on this site and  get yourself a place on the next i-Course. The i-Course is the Crossfit London UK course that teaches you to:

• olympic weightlift
• kettlebell
• squat
• handstand/handstand push up
• and ring train
• all in one day!

In the meantime, this free ring training guide may help you learn some of the basics.

The fantastic Crossfit London UK Free Ring Training Guide. Click here to download

Daniel Craig trains with rings

Well, the i-Course was going well; we were a good way through the cleans, when disaster struck…the building was plunged into darkness (semi-gloom really, but that doesn’t sound so windswept and exciting!), and nothing we could do would get the lights back on again…not swearing,  not moaning, not blaming shody workmanship, so…leaving the calm, and very cool Sally Dixey teaching the kettlebell swing and snatch in the bracing outdoors of Gales Gardens in Bethnal Green (but at least the all day rain held off for a few minutes), the intrepid Andrew Stemler dashed off in his (yet to be washed) car and got hold of a jolly bright light, and saved the day…hoorah!

A fantastic well done to Steven, Kate and Twyla for entertaining the troops during the lunch time, with rousing songs and face painting, while nervously waiting for the emergency lighting to appear…phew!

The afternoon was fantastic with a few of the attendees getting muscle -ups…wooo hoooo. Lots of shadows too!

Brian's first muscle-up

It was a bit cold , so thanks to all the attendees who tolerated cold butts for most of the day…

i-Course attendees, February 2010

This course is such fun you you still learn in the pitch black (this really is a fearful fib). But this is typical British spirit…( not the  invading other peoples countries and nicking their natural resources, thing) but jolly well getting on with stuff.

Chin Chin, pip pip!

Book your space on the next “guaranteed to be  a bit lighter” i-Course, by hitting the “Getting Started” button

http://crossfitlondonuk.com/getting-started/

Notice that the Crossfit London neck scarfs are back…. big time!

I’m sometimes asked why people who want to develop functional fitness should Olympic lift. Here is my answer.

Depending upon your view, I have either a very narrow or very broad definition of functional fitness. I simply look at those people I would want to take with me into the unknown. Recent crises have seen buildings collapse, crowds riot, aid in need of unloading and rival villages or postcode gangs in need of killing or a good shanking.

I know I annoy a lot of strength trainees who expect me to marvel at their deadlift, and wee little runners who want me to stand drop-jawed at the fact their genetic profile means they can prance around like a gazelle all week. My problem is this specialism produces useless gits. There, I’ve said it. Are you  are kettlebell specialist? Yes, no, sorry – you’re a git. Same with 400m runners,  same with deadlifters:  Introverted, useless gits.

In a normal world, nature does not throw you component challenges of strength or distance or flexibility – it just drops you in holes, floods your home, collapses buildings on your family. Are you a fantastic deadlifter, tough, because you now have to run 10k to get some water? A yoga specialist? Damn, you now have to shift a ton of rubble to rescue your family. A runner? Now you have to  pull yourself out of a hole. Bugger!

So that’s my view. Agree or not.

But what are the Olympic lifts?

According to me, in a less witty writing style:

“The Olympic lifts are a sole-participant, self-paced skill performed in a static environmental context.  The move is initiated by the performer, which  according to Gentile (Schmidt  & Weisberg, 2000) makes this a closed motor skill. It is an object manipulation action function involving the change of position of a barbell  (Magill 2007), requiring correct management  and the adjustment of body position to counteract the in-balance created by the object and conforms to  skill definitions suggested by both Knapp (cited in Guthrie 1953) and Magill (2007): a learned ability, maximum certainty, minimum of time and energy with predetermined results and, according to   Schmidt & Weisberg (2000) produced as a function of practice.

The snatch  for example is   a ground based  multi-joint weightlifting exercise. The athlete exerts large multiple-muscle group force whilst standing on his own feet, thus developing balance and  coordination. The speed develops the nervous system (Garhammer, 1985). The move requires a triple extension at the ankle, knee and hip – a  jumping athletic movement, which  demands the athlete recruits muscles in  a synchronized pattern. The move develops explosive power:  and requires a high degree of kinesthesis or proprioception (Magill, 2007) The larger muscles are mainly used, making this a gross motor skill,  requiring both gross motor and psychomotor ability (Magill, 2007)” (Stemler, 2009)

Phew

But for those who like multiple references:

According to Arthur Drechsler, author of The Weightlifting Encyclopedia often cited as “the single most important book ever written on Olympic weightlifting” (by people who cannot possibly have the read this boring book),

1. Practicing the (Olympic) lifts [the snatch and the clean-and- jerk as well as related lifting techniques] teaches an athlete how to explode.
2. Practicing proper technique in the Olympic lifts teaches an athlete to apply force with his or her muscle groups in the proper sequences.
3. In mastering the Olympic lifts, the athlete learns how to accelerate objects under varying degrees of resistance.
4. The athlete learns to receive force from another moving body effectively, and becomes conditioned to accept such forces.
5. The athlete learns to move effectively from an eccentric to concentric muscle action.
6. The actual movements performed while executing the Olympic lifts are among the most common and fundamental in sports.
7. Practicing the Olympic lifts trains an athlete’s explosive capabilities, and the lifts themselves measure the effectiveness of the athlete in generating explosive power to a greater degree than most other exercises they can practice.
8. The Olympic lifts are simply fun to do.

Chiu and Schilling (2005) observe that Olympic weightlifting is associated with improvements in motor control, noticeably improved activation of muscle groups and motor units, and activation of more fast-twitch fibers. Hence the skills are also taught to many athletes as part of their strength, conditioning and power  programmes, and are not pursed as a sport  in their own right.

How do you learn this stuff.

Without a doubt, you must learn the snatch with a bit of PVC pipe in a Crossfit London UK – style of seminar. A good 2 hours of marine-type drilling will get you the basics of the snatch .You can build on this in the years to come. I recommend this  because it was the way I was taught.  It’s the method we use on the i-course, and I have used it for  5 years of one-on-one and class training. It has received praise in scientific literature.

I think it’s very superior to throwing a  20kg bar at someone and telling  them to get on with it. I see this approach too often in the few remaining “authentic” lifting clubs around – or certainly those that are competition-orientated who believe that your training should be as abusive and poor as the training they had, combined with the belief that breaking complex skills down is “spoon feeding”.

Me,  I love being spoon fed.

Once you have the basics, start adding weight. It’s as  simple as that.

So Olympic lifting is essential to be  a functional athlete?

There are generations  of strong, effective, functional people who have destroyed whole civilizations, and mutilated acres of this  planet’s surface who never  heard of the Olympic lifts, let alone screwed one up. (Incidently, missing a lift is the more fun part of lifting: hence the famous books, “When Lifting Goes Bad”,” Missed Lifts That Amost Killed Me”, “Missed Lifts That Almost Killed The Cat”,  ”Missed Lifts That Actually Got The Cat”,”Why Your Cat Doesn’t Want You to Olympic Lift”.)

So, no, it’s not essential.

In the same way it’s not essential to buy your girlfriend flowers.

If it’s so great how come its so underground?

For those of us who have lifted for a while, and see throwing a bar into the air then catching it as normal, we must remember that all this fun has all but been wiped out as a general fitness activity. Most gyms don’t have bars, certainly cannot be bothered to buy expensive bumper plates, and will go beserk if you drop  a weight on the floor. Above all they don’t employ staff with enough skill to teach the lifts. Those that have the skill at your local leisure centre, quickly leave.

As a competitive activity, lifting appeals to  a minority of a minority. As an all-day sporting event in anything below Olympic level, to watch or to take part in, it is viciously boring. I don’t intend to compete/watch again. If I do, I’m taking a spoon to scoop out my eyes with halfway through the day, just to break the boredom.

But to take an activity this effective and make it this unheard of, takes some doing. Until recently Olympic lifting has been seen as a dedicated sport (yawn, yawn, see above), controlled by a  very well meaning,  government handout-obsessed but incompetent group of old boys who have managed to make a boring sport difficult to access and learn. The years of mismanagement and introspective alienation of new trainees needs acknowledgement and praise. Their love and devotion to the sport is without question. If only that was enough.

And it must be said, if young athletes  giggle) are the lifeblood (tee hee) of any sport (humerous splutter), the fact that  the word “snatch” (hysterical out of control laughter) is also slang for female sex organs (lie on the floor, slap ground repeatedly), makes this a difficult activity to teach to yoof. However, it’s hours of mirth for any teenage boy, and earns the life-long animosity of any teenage girl, who will also be taught how to (wait for it) clean (woooha, geddit!!).

But why did the Olympic lifts come crashing back to life.

Rapid, force-generating hip extension has always been at the heart of athletics ( jumping, sprinting etc), but this force has always been seen as a single explosion  The few athletes who are encouraged to take up the Olympic lifts normally focus on low-repetition and high weight, in pursuit of Olympic weightlifting’s objectives of power and strength.

According to Greg Glassman, Crossfits founder, the value of the lifts outstrips their much-promoted development of strength and power.  Those who struggle to learn the clean often suffer from a lack of sufficient speed, flexibility and ability  irrespective of how much imagined strength they possess. Refinement of the move calls for exacting standards of coordination accuracy and balance which often outstrips the ability of most  strength specialists

His observation that directly proportional to the load you can clean are the benefits, strength, power, accuracy, flexibility, speed, accuracy, agility and balance, is a standard proposition. However his second, unique, world-changing, visionary observation was that your cardiorespiratory endurance and stamina are directly proportional to the reps and loads you can clean. Crossfit, to my knowledge, was unique in the early days in requiring repeated hip extension under fatiguing conditions which, arguably, is more functionally relevant than the best you can lift. The ability to do one thing explosively, once, is very overrated (there is the potential for a smutty joke here that I am rising above).

Heretically, Greg also goes on to state that you don’t need to be able to do the lifts super-well to get super-benefits. This must have a been a stinging slap in the face for the old boys who had spent years  of effort working out the most effective way to lift half a kilo more.

This is a complete exercise which incorporates a “super-useful” core to extremity motor recruitment pattern, along with learning how to generate and transmit large and sudden forces.

From another perspective, it builds bravery and stupidity, the two essentials for any elite functional athlete . The Olympic lifts involve throwing stuff from the floor to above your head (while standing). Visualise the issue – you have thrown something heavy into the air, and it’s now crashing down upon you…

You have two  options,

1) Run like hell or
2) Stay and catch it.

Option 1 is sensible and demonstrates a mature ability to identify risk. Option 2 is dangerous, foolhardy, bound to end in tears -  and – incidently, the right answer.

The Crossfit London  i-Course is a one-day workshop that covers the core CrossFit moves and much more.

To book your place on the i-Course click on the ‘Getting Started’ button.

About the i-Course

In one action-packed day you will be taught:

How to squat

How to perform the nine fundamental CrossFit moves, including the Olympic lifts: squat, front squat, overhead squat, press, push-press, push-jerk, clean, Sumo deadlift high-pull and deadlift. Plus the snatch

How to swing and snatch a kettlebell

After that, it’s how to practice handstands and the handstand push-up with all the assistance exercises currently recommended

Amazing core stability: the dish hold, hollow rock and the L-sit

We will also play with the pull-up: strict  & Crossfit kipping. We use bands if you need pull-up assistance (we were all there once!)

Then it’s a mixture of  floor and rings to look at push-ups, front supports, ring dips and rows

We will also have  a quick peek at stretching

FAQ

Why is this called the i-Course?
Because the “i” could stand for “introduction”, “introspection”, “information” or “intermediate”. Beginners or intermediate trainees can come to this course and get massive benefits. Others may be interested in checking out Crossfit, or just getting a few extra moves to add to their own training. Everyone is welcome.

How was it developed?
The course grew out of a series of masterclasses run by Crossfit London during 2005. The content was refined with support from Miles Key (Crossfit Hove) and Chet Morjaria (FK-UK) over 3 years before appearing in a consolidated form in late 2008

I have no arm strength. Won’t this be  waste of time as I can’t push-up, let alone pull up?
This day is about progressions and scaling. Once you understand the principles of working across gravity, rather than against it, you will be able to adapt all the Crossfit exercises and then learn the next progression to help you improve your strength. We make the coaching process very explicit so you can continue to teach yourself.

So I do this course and I’m sorted?
This is six hours of skill teaching, not training. We hope to get you to a level where you can train on your own. At the end of the six hours some will have picked it all up, others will struggle and want to reattend. These are skills which need practice. It’s not about sitting in a machine and  working one joint; you need to learn to coordinate and balance yourself. If you pay attention to the progressions and the drills, you will have a lot of  “sign posts” in your training.

I’m a fitness instructor/personal trainer. Will this session be any good for me?
As we find a lot of personal trainers to be weak and uncoordinated, this is an ideal session to come to. However, the aim of this session is not to certify individuals to teach Crossfit, Olympic weightlifting or gymnastics. If you genuinely aspire to teach, this course will give you a massive advantage over others embarking on their first certification. Crossfit certification seminars are frequently available in the USA.

During the session you will be able to talk to those who have done their certifications, and those in the process of preparing to go.

I’m not serious about Crossfit, I just want to add a few extra skills to my training
That’s fine. Loyalty to Crossfit is not demanded. We are  just delighted to share our skill set.

Do we get a book and a t shirt?
There will be a course manual and t-shirts to buy on the day.

What about discounts?
We offer a 15% to members of the Armed Services and Emergency Services. We also offer a discount to students in full time education. Please contact us for more details.

Timing of the course
The course runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm with an hour for lunch at approx 12.30pm

The crossfit London i-course is  probably the best  preparation you can have before you attend a full  Crossfit certification.

What do others think?

“Thank you very much Andrew. I found the course to be very good indeed.  In fact I am going to abandon my usual weight training and CV routine and give crossfit a go”. Brian

“Thanks to Andrew for running an excellent, information packed course”. Brian. (Strength and power)

“Today was unbelievable! thank you so much!” Sam

“Hi Andrew —we all (Gaz, Maggie, Martin and Debbs) had a brilliant time on Sunday. It was better than I even expected so let us know when you have other courses available because we will definitely attend.Your helpers were also great especially Steve, Wendy and Miles.The day was fun, tiring and very informative. Thanks again – we are totally addicted now”

‘Thank you. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, although I’m still
aching in places. You’re in excellent shape for a 48-year-old.
All the best’ Rob

You can read an online review of the i-course (2nd Nov 2008) by internet journalist Sally Moss

I was at the iCourse yesterday. I’m led to believe I need to be your friend to see the hideous photos that were taken of me yesterday…! (and of course, I want to be your friend anyway as you seem like such a nice chap (Scott, June 2009)

Thanks for the course today! it was SO good… It clarified so many things for me especially the lifts! I really appreciated your enthusiasm and passion for health and fitness, it’s great meeting like minded people. Thanks again, Tom (June 2009)

Thank you for a brilliant day today. I don’t think I will be able to walk tomorrow, let alone pick up any of my children… but thoroughly enjoyed the beasting. (Michelle, June 2009)

A fantastic day, a fantastic group! We had some leading personal trainers in the audience showing off great physiques, and asking some really intelligent, well thought out questions. Well done, everyone!

A super atmosphere was dampened slightly by our first (and hopefully last!) i-Course injury (some scraped shins in a shin vs. box “shin off”). Some speedy first aid and a pile of mats got the casualty comfy whilst R.I.C.E. took effect,  so everyone made it to the final picture.

Well done to the teaching team, with a big welcome to Sally Dixey on her first i-Course. And as always, thanks to the lovely Kate for the great photos!

See the rest of the photos on Facebook