re: 2011 Crossfit Games (ESPN 2)

I'm with you to a large extent, St. Aug. Even at 48 years old, Herschel Walker could quickly become an elite CF athlete, and with some training on the specific movements, he's someone that could potentially even win the Games (even at 48 years old).

That said, I think a lot of folks don't follow what CrossFit means by "the best" (CrossFitter-athlete). For CrossFitters, we measure "fitness," which is essentially "work capacity." There is a difference between "athletic ability" and "physical capacity" where one is realized and the other is not (at least "not yet"). Speal, for example, will always be an elite CrossFitter, no matter the competition (he's a former college wrestler).

I think you are hitting on it, and it really just comes down to how things are defined and measured.

...and yeah, as for your PT comment, some folks aren't ready for a full-on CrossFit workout, and that's why we scale things back for new people and/or people with limitations (lighter weight, restricted movements, substituted movements, fewer reps, etc.) I think it is one of the awesome things about our box -- being part of a PT Clinic, we have about 5 CF-certified coaches who are also therapists, so we have a fantastic resource to help people progress appropriately. Not all boxes/coaches really understand that, and that's unfortunate.