As a CrossFit athlete, I used to think we were butchering Olympic sports—one at a time. I often ran into athletes from other sports, like weightlifters and rowers, who would point to sights they saw during throwdowns and CrossFit competitions to prove their point. Sights like a gnarly-looking clean during a max clean event, where the athlete somehow finds a way to stand up despite the bar being down at his nipples, his back being rounded, and his heels lifted off the ground—the kind of laboured, ugly lift that would only ever get applauded by CrossFit athletes. Meanwhile, rowers I knew would point to CrossFit athletes’ short, choppy, rushed rowing strokes—generally accompanied by flailing heads and curved spines—giving them a license...

When I was in Grade 10, my school decided to put us in gender-segregated fitness classes. 

Twice a week, we took a school bus to the local gym “Fitness Avenue” and spent our time in the “Women’s Only” room.

Disengaged girls with nobody to flirt with stood around looking bored, applying lip gloss between sets of whatever lame movements we were doing that day.

...

I’ve never understood the concept of “Women’s Only” gyms or classes. Never understood how it benefits women. While I’m sympathetic that some women might be intimidated and scared of aggressive men dominating the squat rack, I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that shying away from it is somehow a solution.

After Rachel Siemens helped Team Taranis to a bronze medal at the 2011 CrossFit Games, she abandoned the sport. 

Not because she didn’t love CrossFit. But because there was one part of CrossFit she loved more than anything else: Weightlifting.

If you’ve ever seen Parker compete live, he is as cool as a cucumber, and he manages to maintain his poise and stick to his game plan even when he’s competing in front of thousands of viewers at the CrossFit's biggest event The CrossFit Games. It’s actually the craziest thing to watch Parker compete as he looks completely un-phased, utterly unruffled by the chaos around him. I can’t even imagine how calm he looks when he’s performing the Open workouts in the comforts of his home box CrossFit Zone in Victoria.

Here’s a sneak preview of the subjects Parker will discuss at “Open Prep with Parker”

Like any other society, small community, tribe, secret society, or cult, being a member of a CrossFit box involves learning the CrossFit language and understanding the social norms of your environment.

It takes time, of course, but the sooner you learn, the easier it will be to avoid being “That Guy” (“That Guy” is the guy coaches talk about after a personal training session or a group class. FYI - He’s the guy you don’t want to be).

Introducing the Magnificent Seven "Don't be That Guys"

Take Care of Your Thumbs!

That's the advice Rachel Siemens had to offer when we asked her how a CrossFit athlete turned Olympic weightlifter (who recently competed at her first international weightlifting competition in Russia) should take care of their hands. 

Although pull-ups and toes-to-bars are harder on her hands than Olympic weightlifting is, lifting barbells still causes her some problems from time to time.

“My hands are pretty much one giant callous. The boys love that, right?” she joked.

Sometimes her hands get specifically bad when she mixes it up and trains with the men’s bar. “I guess my callous build up specifically for the women’s bar and when I use the men’s bar, I expose a weak section of my thumb to the bar,” she explained.

Siemens admitted she doesn’t take care of her hands enough in terms of sanding them down with a pumice stone or a callous shaver; it’s her thumbs that cause her the biggest issues.

“When volume is high, I wrap athletic tape around my thumbs, and it helps for gripping the bar as well as protecting my skin.”

Donny Shankle is bigger than you, stronger than you, and knows more about hand care for weightlifters than you.  When your profession is lifting heavy objects over your head, taking care of your money makers is a must. If you can't hold the bar anymore, your training suffers.  In the following video, Shankle will walk you through how to properly take care of weightlifting hands, and which products he uses (can someone please get this man a RIPT kit?). Specifically a waxy hand balm (a la Quick Fix) rather than a hand cream, and a pumice stone to smooth down dead and dry calluses.  While Donny nails hand care on the head, the only point we would add is that...