If you’re reading this, chances are you’re a gym rat, and Raphael Ruiz of CrossFit Football says it’s easy for you to fall prey to the “curse of the gifted.” Those drawn to the gym-rat mentality likely spend time doing what they love—and not much else, he adds.
“How many of us stretch as much as you’re supposed to stretch?” Ruiz asks. “How many of us do the things that we suck at?”
When training athletes, you must remember the end goal, he explains. Always focus on the type of demands you’re imposing.
“My job is to make my athletes as perfect as possible for whatever situation that they are being called to perform in,” Ruiz says. “If my job is to put up big numbers on the board but that doesn’t translate to on-field performance, there’s something wrong with what I’m doing as a professional.”
Click here for more information and a list of upcoming CrossFit Football Trainer Courses.
8min 27sec
Additional reading: Sport-Specific Training Using CrossFit Fundamentals by Kevin W. Cann Jr., published May 14, 2011.