This week we are back with a continuation of our ten general physical skills. These next two skills are often not a focus in training, but are a necessity in life. Coordination and agility are our topics of discussion!!

Coordination is “the ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a singular distinct movement.” (CrossFit.com) This is most likely a term you’ve heard all of your life. You won’t remember it, but you first heard it in your early childhood. Coordination comes into play when developing gross motor skills. Learning to walk, jump and climb all require combining multiple movements into one singular movement. When you are first learning a new skill, you may often feel jerky and awkward, like a baby learning to walk. Think back to On Ramp when you first learned the clean or snatch. How smooth was the movement? Probably not very smooth at first, but over time and with more practice, these movements became easier and you felt more “coordinated”. In the weeks and months after On Ramp class, you probably performed most of these movements with less thought about each individual step. Coordination can only be improved through practice. Over time, your muscles learn to work together and less energy is required to perform the movement. Better coordination means fewer falls and injuries in everyday life.

Agility is “the ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another”. (CrossFit.com) It’s your body’s ability to be efficient and effective in movements. How quickly can your brain tell your muscles to respond to a situation that requires a quick, change in direction. Agility training will improve your natural reflexes and your overall balance, which will allow you to remain functionally independent for many years to come. Agility is extremely important in the sports arena, but it’s often a forgotten skill for an average individual. Everyone is capable of improving their agility, but it takes lots of practice. 

Next time we have that agility ladder out at Ole Glory. Give it your best effort. Let’s see how quickly and efficiently you can move through it. 

Here is the down low on the upside of using whey isolate. Whey is a milk product derived from cheese manufacturing. It’s uses go far beyond adding quality protein to your diet, it can be found in everything from conditioners and facial moisturizers to cake batters.

As you might expect the quality and bioavailability of whey used in cake batter and high quality whey isolate is worlds apart. The whey isolate used in the Driven whey and the IsoDrive is produced using microfiltration. This process uses filters to separate only the Isolate fractions of whey followed by a temperature neutral drying process. The whey is never given a charge, no chemicals are used and the protein is never heated. The end result is the most bio available protein on the planet!

What’s this mean for you?

IsoDrive hits your muscles fast! After a WOD your broken down muscle tissue is starving for amino acids to repair and rebuild. IsoDrive is quickly digested, flooding the muscles with an abundance of amino acids. IsoDrive is as lean as it gets when it comes to adding extra protein to your diet. It contains only one gram of sugar, one gram of carbohydrate and less than one gram of fat! Being nearly free of lactose whey Isolate is also an ideal protein for those who are sensitive to milk products and associate whey protein with gas and bloating.

When is the best time to use it?

IsoDrive can be used anytime but there are two ideal times you can get an added boost from this super protein. One is immediately upon waking up in the morning. When you sleep (and don’t eat) for long periods your body is in a catabolic (muscle wasting) state. By ingesting a fast source of protein you can quickly stop this muscle breakdown. The other time you want to take advantage of isolates fast breakdown is, as mentioned before immediately following intense strength training for quick recovery and to prevent further breakdown of muscle tissue. You don’t grow and get stronger in the gym, that process starts right after the last rep is completed. It’s up to you to make sure you have the right nutrients to create this anabolic environment.

Is it expensive?

Whey isolate does cost more than lower quality proteins but consider this. When you purchase IsoDrive® that percentages jumps to 93% pure protein! While the cost is more upfront you get more bang for your buck in terms of quality!

To recap, for high performance athletes and those wanting maximum recovery pure IsoDrive is best!

Get with an OG Coach today to get your favorite flavor on our next order in a week!

Power and speed are physical skills that are instrumental in achieving results during CrossFit WODs. In past weeks, we’ve covered endurance, stamina, strength and flexibility. These four build upon and enhance our power and speed. Today, we will learn about why training power and speed are essential to fitness. 

CrossFit defines power as “the ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.” (journal.crossfit.com) Power is much like strength but incorporates the application of force but with an added time element. Simply, the faster a load is moved the more powerful. For example, if two people squat 200 pounds, athlete A squats in four seconds and athlete B squats in three seconds, who is more powerful? The latter, but why? He/she was able to apply the force in a shorter amount of time, therefore, producing more power. Power is determined by the amount of force applied, the distance the force is moved, and the amount of time to complete the movement. Now take the same example of two athletes squatting 200lbs. Athlete A is 6’0” and athlete B is, let’s say, 6’9”. They both squat 200lbs. in 3 seconds, who is more powerful? Athlete B. The formula for calculating power output is Force X Distance / Time. In CrossFit, we train power in many ways. Some examples include: Olympic weightlifting, throwing medicine balls and box jumps. Anything that requires explosiveness will improve power output. Being powerful, requires strength but it also requires the second physical skill for today, speed. 

CrossFit defines speed as “the ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.” (journal.crossfit.com) If power is the ability to apply force in a minimal time frame, then training our speed is just as important as strength training. To be more powerful, we must move quicker, but we also must have a solid strength foundation. However, you can’t move 200 pounds quickly, if you can’t move 200 pounds at all. In standard gyms, most people train for strength by performing slow isolated lifts and don’t necessarily train for power. They often train for speed separately. In CrossFit, we combine the two and the result is an increase in power.

Why is it important to continue to train for power and speed as we age? Trainings these skills can improve your reaction time, increase bone density, improve your coordination and balance. Wouldn’t you want to react quicker if life throws a dangerous scenario at you?