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What about the other lifts? The ones I grew up in the gym doing. Barbell curls, preacher curls, one armed dumbbell curls, tricep extensions, lat raises, lat pull downs, seated dumbbell presses, dumbbell flys….. The list goes on and on. In the last four years I’ve been CrossFitting hardcore. I never do any of these lifts anymore. The other day I asked myself, “Why not?”
The CrossFit argument to not do these lifts is simple: They don’t move large loads long distances…. They are not multi-joint…. They are non-functional as defined by CrossFit. I agree!! You are not going to see me program 21-15-9 ofcurls, tricep kick backs, and seated Arnold presses any time soon (though that would be interesting and film worthy….) Those movements just don’t fit into high intensity workouts.
That doesn’t mean you can’t add these lifts to your strength training protocol. Strong men and women have been doing these lifts FOREVER! You don’t think curls and lat pull downs are not going to help you get to 50 pull-ups? Don’t you think French curls and close grip bench pressing would be beneficial to improving your dips and muscle-ups? You CAN break large movements down into smaller pieces and improve your strength. You just have to remember that the smaller pieces are not the substitute for the goal.
So how do you fit this into your strength training routine? Think small. Add accessory lifts to your workouts in sets of 4 for 8-12 reps. Maybe you pick only one or two a session. They should be moderate load lifts that fit in nicely with the main lifts you do for the day.
Just consider it. Don’t hate on the bodybuilder’s style of training. Keep open minded about your training and don’t be afraid to try new…or old… things.
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