Why Is It Important To Have Good Technique?
Seems like a silly question right? It seems like an obvious answer too; safety. There is actually more to it than just safety. It’s obviously super important to have that be the main concern because no one wants to get hurt, be injured, and spend time not working out, but the importance of good technique goes deeper than safety and prevention of injury.
The CrossFit Open is coming soon. A key thing that allows high-level athletes to do well in the Open is their efficiency. Efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to doing well in workouts. Everyone knows that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, as opposed to one that zigzags and changes direction multiple times before reaching its destination. Obviously, that is the most efficient option, getting straight to the destination rather than taking a detour because it takes less time and fuel/energy to do so.
So what is efficiency exactly and how does it apply to CrossFit? Efficiency is going to be the quickest way to do something that allows for the least amount of energy spent to do so. That being said, the way it applies to CrossFit is through your efficiency in movement. The more efficient your movement is the least amount of energy that needs to be spent on each rep. Increasing your efficiency in movement comes by improving your technique.
The purpose of improving technique is not just for safety sake, but also to help you become a more efficient athlete. Let’s say we’re doing “Isabel” (30 snatches for time). If you get through 15 reps with poor technique, then chances are you will have spent far more energy to do so than you would have with proper technique. How come? With poor technique, you’re going to be muscling the bar overhead, but if you were to have proper technique then you would be able to explode through the hips to “float” the bar overhead instead, saving the arms and therefore saving energy.
Focus on improving your technique — strength and heavier/harder movements will come. The highest level athletes are not just muscling barbells overhead, or going through high amounts of bar muscles up without an efficient kip swing, they have honed in their technique to get them to where they are. The better your technique, the more efficient you will become. The more efficient you become, the better your workouts will be. The better your workouts get, the better you will get.
Steps You Can Take To Improve Technique
- Reduce the weight.
- Practice the basics.
- Drill a movement for 5-10 minutes after class.
- Take a video of yourself and it watch in slo-mo to find things to fix.
- Ask a coach for help/listen to your coach.