The Paul Weber Podcast

Send us Fan Mail For those who Quarterfinal Workout 3 was significantly lower than their other scores.  1. You need to get stronger in your strict press, close grip bench, weighted pullup and rope grip pulling.  The gymnastics reps in CrossFit are very high percentage contractions. Even for a strong person, a rope grip pullup is tough.   This means that the best way to improve your muscle enduranc...

Send us Fan Mail Start with the lowest hanging fruit Look at your results from the Open and/or Quarterfinals. This Quarterfinals was great because the programming prioritized distinct attributes in each test. And there was good separation in each test. So it wasn’t about execution, there were real limiters in every test.  Look at your scores. 1. Your scores are pretty balanced. Time to get strong....

Send us Fan Mail 1. Lifters   2. Training Shoes 3. Versalifts 4. Straps 5. Runners 6. Grips 7. Tape 8. Synthetic Belt 9. Knee Sleeves 10. Clothing My picks: Lifter TYR L-1 https://www.amazon.com/TYR-L189-Lifter-BLK-Gold/dp/B0CFPL1T1G/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1W6H4TRUHC3XS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9JnoXy-UtB6BzqRUrTCmim9TkmGYYOifoMbi9SaeEbbj8sqEiZvIdawO8pecqyO-fX7ohHEHS464Pje-MH2PzSBAP5Cmj80ZuT9bG-DgLUzJa1rXX62...

Send us Fan Mail Love these tests. Love the movement selection. Love the length. More separation and less execution-dependent than previous years. Order Prioritize 1 and 2. Earlier submission window. More room for error with pacing, longer, possibly more room to improve your score with a redo. Workout 1 Rest is gonna bait people. Imagine this is written as a “16 Minute AMRAP.” Or 12. 3:1 Work:Rest...

Send us Fan Mail Abusive Notion #1 If I stop training full tilt for a week, I’ll lose fitness. Truth #1 3-10 days is not enough time for detraining to occur.  Abusive Notion #2 Tapering doesn’t do anything.  Truth #2 Tapering helps you perform better. Evidence suggests 1-3% better in endurance sports. 1. Fresher – lower fatigue while maintaining fitness 2. Time for aches and pains to go away – les...

Send us Fan Mail A common cause for lack of progress is prioritizing conditioning at the expense of strength and skill. This results in a few negative outcomes: 1. Not strong enough because of the Concurrent Training Effect 2. Mobility never gets addressed 3. Too much high intensity conditioning leads to central fatigue and burnout Instead, prioritize strength and skill first. Here's how: 1....

Send us Fan Mail Stimulus to Fatigue Ratio (SFR) in Fitness Sport Three Types of Stimulus 1. Strength Mechanisms: Recruit more motor units Inhibit GTO Hypertrophy Outcomes: Can handle larger loads without encountering the muscles inability to supply the necessary force All movements in that pattern require a lower % of 1RM Contractions become more repeatable Examples: Top sets, accessory work 2. C...

Send us Fan Mail Muscle endurance is the ability to repeatedly apply submaximal force , and it is directly tested in CrossFit in a variety of combinations and movement patterns. Maximal strength appears to have significant predictive power over muscle endurance above 40% of 1RM. This was demonstrated in a study that compared bench press 1RM to the results of a muscle endurance test. Performance in...

Send us Fan Mail The fatigue mechanisms that produce exhaustion depend on the exercise intensity. Exercise Intensity Domains Moderate – below lactate threshold Heavy – above lactate threshold, below critical power Severe – above critical power Almost everything you do in CrossFit occurs in the severe intensity domain. Below critical power, there are stable levels of muscle PCr, blood lactate and V...

Send us Fan Mail Previous studies that demonstrated the efficacy of low load resistance training were on less trained subjects , not elite athletes. Until recently, the proposed explanation for these findings was neuronal adaptation common among novices. This was a preliminary study that sought to test this training methodology with elite athletes. 18 Elite Korean Weightlifters trained 3x a week o...

Send us Fan Mail KEY TAKEAWAYS Individualization = Quality The individual is a key variable in the dose-response equation, whether that dose is training, nutrition or recovery Control your Intensity Maintain your composure in training Trend #1: Increase in training volume Increase in training volume over a career, mainly through an increase in the amount of low intensity training. Modern athletes...

Send us Fan Mail Minimum Effective Dose for Strength Why this is important for CrossFitters: CF athletes often have multiple training priorities and a concurrent training approach.  Knowing minimum effective doses allows athletes and coaches to maximize the return (gains) on energy expenditure (effort). Effort is the input, gains are the output.  MED is the minimum training dose to produce meaning...

Send us Fan Mail CONCURRENT TRAINING REVIEW Strength – adaptations to resistance training that include hypertrophy, maximal strength and power Endurance – adaptations to endurance training that include aerobic endurance and capacity; define CT High Intensity – Training Zone 3, above LT2 aka the anaerobic threshold Low Intensity – Training Zone 1 or 2, below LT2 aka the anaerobic threshold VOLUME T...

Send us Fan Mail Modern, elite endurance athletes perform ~80% of their training at low intensity and ~20% at higher intensity. It has not always been this way. This training intensity distribution appears to have increased in popularity each decade. The % of training at low intensity has increased. Defining the terms LT1 is the lowest exercise intensity at which there is a measurable increase in...

Send us Fan Mail Metabolism in Fitness Sport 1. Energy Contribution   3 pathways To what extent are each of the three energy pathways active?  Intensity and duration dictate energy contribution from the three pathways.  Fitness sport is often supramaximal in intensity: -the task is only sustainable for a brief period -the task requires anaerobic metabolism  Duration is tricky – because it’s consta...

Send us Fan Mail DIETARY PATTERNS FOR CROSSFIT ATHLETES Carbs are king Primary fuel substrates in CrossFit – blood sugar and muscle glycogen  Protein functions as the building block for muscle mass - between lean body mass and bodyweight in g/lb per day Fat functions mainly as hormonal support as opposed to upping intramuscular triglycerides as for endurance athletes - .3-.5 g/lb per day  Replenis...

Send us Fan Mail 2024 QUARTERFINALS PREP The Open does not matter. QUARTERFINALS 6 days instead of 4 Overall  Higher tension requirement than Open – strength increases in value Higher density than Open - more bottlenecks, more grouping of scores Both of these have lead to lower work rates than Open Commonly tested movements (for most of these hit 2x per week): Rope Climb GHD Sit-Up HSPU/Strict HSP...

Send us Fan Mail Almost everything you do in CF is physiologically sustainable only for short durations 30 UB muscle ups = 90 seconds 150 UB WB = 5 minutes The movements have one pace – and that pace is above critical power – unlike endurance modalities where the pace can shift above and below critical power   Critical Power - the physiological term for the separation point between sustainable and...

Send us Fan Mail Intensity Distribution in Training for Fitness Athletes Extensive-Intensive is a continuum to be managed in training.  The further from competition, the more extensive the training.  The closer to competition, the more intensive the training.  Energy expenditure is the number one way to understand extensive to intensive The reduction in energy expenditure is one of the mechanisms...

Send us Fan Mail Base Training for Fitness Athletes I have met loads of fitness athletes who... do loads of competing . Then they wonder why they've been at the same competitive level for years.  The reason is, they're trying to expand their abilities beyond what their base will allow.  Why Aerobic Endurance?  Energy expenditure  Why Maximal Strength?   Maximal strength is the foundation...

Send us Fan Mail There is no apparent reason why intervals would be more fatiguing than endurance work as long as energy expenditure is matched.  The thing is, equating energy expenditure is tough to do, especially in the field.  As an athlete who trains multiple disciplines, the bottom line is the more you do, the more you’ll attenuate strength gains.  Use subjective fatigue measures like libido,...

Send us Fan Mail |STRENGTH FIRST| 1. Strength takes a long time to develop  Peak biological age for powerlifters is 35 Retained for a very long time  Especially for CFers  2. The concurrent training effect The more aerobic volume you’re doing, the more your strength and power gains will be attenuated.  You need to do a lot of aerobic volume to compete in CrossFit.  BUT, if you’re not strong enough...

Send us Fan Mail |PLAY THE LONG GAME: MODELS FOR THE LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT OF CROSSFIT ATHLETES|  CrossFit demands a range of physical attributes.  These attributes each have a time horizon: a training time, retention time and a relationship to biological age.  A long term athlete development model must consider these attributes and their time horizons.   Peak Biological Ages: Bodybuilding – 36  P...

Send us Fan Mail How to Find Your Weaknesses as a Fitness Athlete Every piece of your program serves one of these 3 purposes.  Get STRONG - Increase the cross sectional area of muscle (hypertrophy/muscular strength) and/or the extent to which motor units can activate muscle --> Increases capacity for producing tension --> Contractions make up a lower percentage of the athlete's capacity...

Send us Fan Mail The Demands of Fitness Sport Number of contractions x Tension of contractions ( relative to individual’s 1RM ) x Rest periods  =  Physiological Dose-Response 80% of fitness sport produces fast aerobic physiological dose-responses.  How are we getting this output? Let’s look at the inputs.  1. Number of contractions The average fitness competition is:  12 minutes/event x 15-30 cont...