The Beatles began playing together in small clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg in 1957. For ten years they played covers and wrote some bad music before their first critical success with Sgt. Peppers.

It takes a long time to develop skill. It doesn’t matter who you are or what your genetic endowment is. Yes, Mozart was a prodigy, but he toiled for thirteen years before he produced music of note.

Oddly the development arc for strength is much shorter than the development arc for skill. What this means is that for a very long time a newish CrossFitter will be over-powered and under-skilled. This impedance mismatch is very problematic in a multi-disciplinary environment where you have to obtain skill across several problem domains simultaneously. Most normal people wouldn’t consider going to med school and law school simultaneously after all. But this is why CrossFitters are so endearingly nutty. If there’s one thing we’re not it’s normal.

But knowing this, how do we keep over-powered, under-skilled, and slightly crazy athletes safe? The answer is class levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. If you’re a beginner, you’re working on mechanics: am I doing the right things in the right order? If you’re intermediate you’re focused on consistency: can I still do it when I’m tired? At the advanced level you are increasing intensity: can I do it with a weight vest?

Class levels are still very rare in the affiliate world which sort of puzzles me. As a coach or instructor, hopefully you rationalize your pedagogical approach based on who you’re teaching. If a gym doesn’t have class levels, all the trainer has is a hammer and everyone in his class is a nail.