Why Do We Lift Heavy In CrossFit?

If you want to improve your performance, longevity, weight loss results, or gain muscle, lifting heavy may very well be the MOST important part of the process. Why? Better results, measurable improvements, hormone response, and psychological advantage.

The main adaptation you are trying to achieve in lifting heavy, establishing a one rep max, or max effort training is the nervous system adaptation. You don’t want your body to shut down when effort is high, you want it to perform! If your nervous system has never been taken to your edge, you won’t know how sharp your edge is! If you aren’t sure if you have a sharp blade… you will not be confident in yourself. Lack the confidence and you will fail. A vicious chain reaction that can be avoided in part, by training the one rep max. 

This confidence doesn’t stop or start in the extreme scenario that we would hope to never be faced with (like an active shooter scenario, or saving someone’s life) however. This confidence changes who you are at the core. Confidence is contagious. That is what drives an underdog story.

When I was in 10th grade basketball, our team went 2-8 (2 wins, 8 losses) through the first half of the season. Through our practices, challenges, and failures… instead of finding a hole to hide in, we found confidence. Confidence in our coach, confidence in each other, confidence in ourselves. The coach bred confidence, the team bred confidence, and despite a horrible losing record, we were confident. Once that finally set in. LIGHTS OUT. 

The second half of the season, we were 8-2 (8 wins, 2 losses) AND…. CHAMPS. 

Obviously none of that success can be credited to max efforts in the gym. But there were certainly max efforts on the court. Every practice ended in suicides (ladders) where we had to BEAT our previous time as a team. If one person fell off… we had to do it again, until we beat our time.

All this to say, I draw a parallel. MAX EFFORT instills confidence!

The second main adaptation you are trying to achieve through max effort training, is improved function. This is a piggyback off of the nervous system because it is the adaptation in the nervous system that CAUSES our improved function. 

When we lift max effort, your body is going through adversity. It has an obstacle to overcome. Any overcoming of an obstacle requires something more than if the obstacle didn’t exist. Our obstacle is clearly a heavy weight. When the body is asked to rise to that challenge, it starts activating more and more muscle to get the job done. 

The numbers I am about to use to paint the picture are 100% made up. If I were to try and figure out some accurate numbers I think I would speaking above all of our heads!… Let’s say it take 10 pectoral muscle fiber groups to bench press 45lbs. Then logically, 90lbs is going to require MORE muscle fiber groups. This is just the simplified version! There is a lot more than just the pec firing for that movement! But that is how the game will play out. Heavier loads will require more and more and more and more and more… muscle fibers to activate and assist!

Now that more and more fibers are being incorporated, our body has an increase in the functions that it can produce. So now we can take our perfectly horizontal push in the bench press, and apply that to a split jerk, handstand push-up, and even a bar muscle up! There may still be some dots to connect, but the capacity is there. And that is what we are after in CrossFit. INCREASED WORK CAPACITY ACROSS BROAD TIMES AND MODAL DOMAINS!

As absolutely paramount as max effort training is… there are times where it can be inappropriately dosed, or altogether done. 

This is a pretty straight forward, logical conclusion. 

Since we are dealing with the nervous system… it is inappropriate when our nervous system is shot (aka over-stimulated)!

Now… as simple as that is to say. It is far more difficult to understand and to listen to our coach, our body, and our mind about this.

If you just had a surgery…. Your nervous system is shot!

If you just went through a serious life change (like moving across the country, having a baby… even for dudes… got fired, divorced, death in the family, etc)… Your nervous system is shot!

If you just found out that Taylor Swift is dating a hunk and is in no way attracted to you and never will be… your nervous system is shot! 

Sometimes the nervous system is shot slowly over time and that is even more difficult to wrap our heads around. Especially because the symptoms aren’t ONLY caused from something like that and therefore it leaves a little doubt cloud hanging over us. 

Symptoms:

-trouble staying asleep

-Unexplained weight gain or loss

-Dysregulated appetite

-general apathy for life (depression)

-constant feeling of stress (anxiety)

-chronic pain

That is just to name a few. Tough part is, you are probably relating to a time where you googled your symptoms and now you are certain you have cancer! 

If you are experiencing any and all of these symptoms. The best resource you have at your fingertips is our own Gabby Trenga! Get in touch with her by emailing contact@altitudeidaho.com or submit a form on her website at  altitudeidaho.com  or call! 208-391-5098. She can help you identify the root of the problem and get you on the path to better… whether that means testosterone, a supplement, or nutrition, this is the most pivotal place to start!

Simple answer. Hard effort. If max effort is giving everything… then just dial it down slightly. Even if life isn’t in a perfect place, the gym and hard physical efforts are still valuable, just don’t overdo it! Think of it this way… if MAX EFFORT gives you 90% improvement, HARD EFFORT might give you 60%. IT STILL IMPROVES. Sure I want that extra 30, but if the nervous system is shot, you might actually end up with a NET LOSS! I would rather gain 60 than lose 1.

The next potential is to come in to move your body. Get on a bike for a long slow distance, hit up those mobility tools you have been ignoring, or move with a slow tempo on lifts. These all have a therapeutic effect and can leave you feeling good while maintaining the most important aspect of fitness…. CONSISTENCY.

Talk with your coach and you will be guided.. too easy… just show up!

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