On January 6, 2009, Coach Greg Glassman was invited to give a presentation on CrossFit to over 100 future leaders of our nation’s military from the National War College at the National Defense University’s Baruch Hall. He presented on the same stage where President Bush, Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and Colin Powell also addressed the students of the National War College. Present in the audience was Lt. Gen. Frances Wilson, President of the National Defense University.

This is the first Question and Answer video from the talk. In it, Coach Glassman answers two questions thoroughly: Is there any role of cycles or periodization with the CrossFit program? And, is there an issue with connective tissue adaptation with the intensity of CrossFit workouts, particularly as one ages?

The simple answers to both are no. GPP (General Physical Preparedness) is more important to creating a ready state conducive to elite performance training in any realm than any specialized physical training. To the second question, the CrossFit program, when introduced responsibly, has resulted in a statistically significant reduction in all-cause injury whenever it has been tested against existing PT programs.