They are not the same thing.
Training Camp with Coach Sam Smith
Date: October 18-19th
City: Brussels, Belgium 🇧🇪
Location: CrossFit Super7
To register or inquire about further details, send me an email - sam.s@proof3.com
Link to register - https://buy.stripe.com/4gMdR9blf0Xm6Bc0UU9EI00
Show Note:
Papers from the episode:
Perception of effort during exercise is independent of afferent feedback from skeletal muscles, heart, and lungs - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18483166/
Central modulation of exercise-induced muscle pain in humans - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2375467/
Opioid-mediated muscle afferents inhibit central motor drive and limit peripheral muscle fatigue development in humans - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19015193/
Austin and I discuss weightlifting and his recent visit to Greg Everett’s gym.
Austin and I discuss the value of having a Coach and our personal experience with them.
In this episode, we are going to discuss General vs Specific Adaptations.
A brief overview of the two:
General Adaptations:
Improving central system’s (Pulmonary / Cardiovascular) ability to intake, deliver, and uptake oxygen when performing work.
When you first start training, everything you do is improving this. As you become more trained, the training stimulus must become more “specific” to continue moving the needle.
Specific Adaptations:
Improving specific musculature’s vascular system, mitochondrial and capillary density. You are working to make a specific area more capable.
Come to the training camp!
Link to sign up - https://hrcf.sites.zenplanner.com/event.cfm?eventId=97B4F855-D4CC-4764-BBF7-A6D02CF4218C
In this episode, I discuss 3 distinct exercise thresholds and their application to training.
Papers from the episode:
How to calculate Critical Speed or Critical Power:
Step 1)
Perform 2 time trial tests in the 3-20 minute time domain (on the same activity)
Running example:
Step 2)
Take Time for Test 2, convert into seconds.
Take Time for Test 1, convert into seconds
1600m = 5:20 = 320 seconds = 3:33/km
5000m = 19:30 = 1170 seconds = 3:54/km
Step 3)
Take Distance 2 and subtract from Distance 1
5000 - 1600m = 3400m
Step 4)
Take Distance delta and divide by Time delta
3400 / 850 = 4:00/km (+/- 5 seconds)
For this individual, their Critical Speed (the name for the value when meters per second is being evaluated) is 4:00/km (+/- 5 seconds) - CS/CP is not too the second specific, it’s a band of time, which is why we want to give about 5 seconds on either side of this value.
In this episode, Austin and I discuss my summer training camp. Below are more specifics on the camp and how to sign up:
Camp Details:
* Dates: July 26-27th, 2025
* Location: Hudson River Athletics, Hoboken, NJ
* Who Can Attend: Athletes of all ability levels welcome!
What to Expect:
The camp will feature four intensive sessions (two each day) where we'll evaluate and work on:
* Strength assessment
* Muscle endurance
* Work capacity
* Skill development
* Power repeatability
The primary goal of this camp is to provide you with actionable insights about your current fitness level that you can immediately apply to your training program the following week.
Registration:
To secure your spot, please use the link below and enter the discount code when signing up:
Link - https://hrcf.sites.zenplanner.com/event.cfm?eventId=97B4F855-D4CC-4764-BBF7-A6D02CF4218C
If you have any questions about the camp or logistics, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.
I look forward to seeing you there!
In this episode, I discuss the following:
Recap the Mayhem Classic
Discuss Competition Fueling Strategies
Review the Mayhem Classic Events
In this episode, I discuss the following:
* The 2025 CrossFit Open workouts
* Length of the events
* Reps and work rates of the events
* Designing intervals to improve performance in the events
* Training considerations based on the events
In this episode, we are going to discuss Task and Time-Based Work.
Below is a short list of characteristics of each:
Time-Based
* Athletes know the exact duration of their work period
* Easier to determine the appropriate pacing strategy
* Athletes can better leverage previous experiences to anticipate difficulty and effort requirements
* Creates a more forgiving environment for finding flow and rhythm, especially with machine/erg work, enabling better effort regulation
Task-Based
* Athletes know the total workload to complete BUT must determine how long it will take
* Forces athletes to identify the bottleneck for themselves
* Challenges athletes to develop an appropriate pacing strategy based on the specific workload requirements
In this episode, I dive into the skill of competing. I use my recent experience at Wodapalooza with an athlete of mine to provide context and perspective on what it looks like to be a competitor.
Today we are talking about Motivation.
Which is one of my favorite topics because it’s actually composed of specific components which means it’s something that we can harness and use to our advantage.
Our topics will be the following:
* What Motivation is
* The Motivation Misconception
* The 3 key components of Motivation
* Motivational Intensity Theory (MIT)
Below are a few papers that expand upon some of the points I discussed on the episode:
Recent paper on MIT
Original paper on MIT
See my blog post for the imagine I was referencing when discussing potential motivation and motivational intensity - https://coachsamsmith.wordpress.com/2024/03/18/motivation-mr-misunderstood/
WHY do we pace?
In this episode, I discuss:
Below are the papers referenced in the episode:
Jones 2008 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18056980/
Marcora 2009 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18483166/
Marcora 2019 - https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-28033-003
Amann 2009 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19015193/
Wasserman 1967 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6017656/
In this episode, I discuss:
* What Hardware and Software are in the context of fitness
* How they can help us better solve fitness problems
* The common problems people face in each of them
* Solutions for those common problems
An alternative lens in which to view program design.
How to design AMRAPs.
The CrossFit Quarterfinals is weeks away! Learn how you can make the most out of your time with Simulations. Today we will be discussing about Training Simulations and how they can help you perform at your best on competition day! OPEX Remote Coaching Hire an OPEX Coach - https://www.opexrc.com Coaching the Competitor Link https://shorturl.at/crySY Explore OPEX Coaching Education: https://www.opexfit.com CoachRx Professional Coaching Software Start your FREE trial here - https://www.coachrx.app/
OPEX Remote Coaching Hire an OPEX Coach - https://www.opexrc.com Explore OPEX Coaching Education: https://www.opexfit.com LearnRx Your Daily Dose of Fitness Education https://learnrx.app/ CoachRx Professional Coaching Software Start your FREE trial here - https://www.coachrx.app/
OPEX Remote Coaching Hire an OPEX Coach - https://www.opexrc.com Explore OPEX Coaching Education: https://www.opexfit.com LearnRx Your Daily Dose of Fitness Education https://learnrx.app/ CoachRx Professional Coaching Software Start your FREE trial here - https://www.coachrx.app/
The OPEN has begun. Tune in to hear our initial thoughts on 24.1 and how we think the athletes performed! OPEX Remote Coaching Hire an OPEX Coach - https://www.opexrc.com Explore OPEX Coaching Education: https://www.opexfit.com LearnRx Your Daily Dose of Fitness Education https://learnrx.app/ CoachRx Professional Coaching Software Start your FREE trial here - https://www.coachrx.app/
