blog

Last time we discussed Strength and how to define it. Strength is (depending upon who you ask) arguably the most important component of fitness and its development should always persist. 
In addition to strength, CrossFit has nine more fitness qualities outlined in its Ten General Physical Skills. They are:
Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance: The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen.
Stamina: The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy.
Flexibility: The ability to achieve a range of motion at a given joint
Power: The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
Speed: The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
Coordination: The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.
Agility: The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
Balance: The ability to control the placement of the bodies center of gravity in relation to its support base.
Accuracy: The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.
This model of fitness is applicable to all athletes. Different components of fitness may be more or less desirable based upon your goals but they all have a place in a well-developed program. For instance, a bobsleigh athlete needs a high level of work capacity to make it through their training sessions, as well as excellent balance agility and coordination to precisely push their sled down the track but they are in essence power athletes and everything else in their training is in support of power development. On the flip side, a rhythmic gymnast needs strength and power to execute jumps and spins but flexibility balance and coordination are equally important and need to be given the same attention. 
CrossFit’s focus is on 1. Increasing work capacity across broad time and 2. Modal domains. So, we inherently place a large portion of focus into strength development (in all its facets) and metabolic conditioning (an encompassing term for Stamina and Cardiorespiratory Endurance). Our second focus is the aspect of Modal Domains. What we mean by Modal Domains is the number of ways in which we express or train our fitness. A great cyclist isn’t necessarily a great runner, even though they may possess the required stamina and cardiorespiratory endurance. A great powerlifter may not be a great Olympic weightlifter, though her strength may be adequate, her skills as a weightlifter are not developed. This is why we must develop the skills required to demonstrate our fitness across different modalities.
I’ve heard Fitness defined simply, as, ‘Ones ability to perform a task’. There are different requirements for different tasks, and a properly balanced fitness program will develop and balance all of the Ten General Physical skills to optimize performance. Some skills take different means, time frames, and levels of commitment, while some are gifts of genetics, but all can be trained and are integral to creating a truly ‘Fit’ individual.