Double-crossed by Crossovers? Seek the Power of Progressions

August 4, 2022

CrossFit

Even movements that have not been trained recently will improve with the technical reminders found within a solid progression. 

CrossFit trainers often use progressions to help athletes learn new skills. For example, most people don’t walk into the gym for the first time and nail a push jerk. They develop the skill by working on its component parts — jumping, punching, and landing — before working the full movement. 

And then something happens when we do finally nail the movement: We forget to go back to the basics and keep perfecting the skill. But progressions can prove helpful for athletes of any experience level.

Solveig Sigurdardottir
Solveig Sigurdardottir — Photo by flsportsguy photography

A workout like Skill Speed Medley demonstrates the value of continuing to work progressions. Individual athletes took on a bracketed workout that advanced through a progression from single-unders to double-unders to double-under crossovers. The catch: The singles and doubles had to be unbroken if athletes wanted to get a piece of the novel movement in the progression, the crossovers.

As the names of the athletes who would advance from the single-under round to the double-under round were announced, a surprising name was missing from the bracket. Five-time Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey, who tripped on her singles in the Quarterfinal Round and had to start the set of 75 again, would not advance. 

Gui Malheiros at the 2022 CrossFit Games
Gui Malheiros — Photo by flsportsguy photography

Practicing single-unders is valuable even when you have doubles. Working strict pull-ups and dips when you have muscle-ups can improve our technique in countless ways.

Even movements that have not been trained recently will improve with the technical reminders found within a solid progression. 


Learn more at a CrossFit Level 1 Certificate Course 

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