Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Why dynamic exercises produce greater power and fitness.
In this August 2007 lecture, Coach Glassman explains that his program prioritizes high-skill, dynamic movements (relative to isolation and machine-based exercises) because they are, in almost every respect, better vehicles for optimizing fitness—defined as work capacity across broad time and modal domains. He examines the differences among the shoulder press, push press, and push jerk, and compares them to strict versus kipping pull-ups. The advantage of the “better” (more dynamic) movements, he argues, lies in the power they express, as they consistently rank higher across nearly every continuum that matters: athleticism, power, intensity, skill, and utility.
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The Glassman Archive is a comprehensive repository of Greg Glassman’s work during his leadership of CrossFit.
This collection preserves his original material and the foundational ideas he shared. We believe these insights are worth promoting and protecting. These lessons continue to inform his ongoing work with the Broken Science Initiative and MetFix.
Why dynamic exercises produce greater power and fitness.
In this August 2007 lecture, Coach Glassman explains that his program prioritizes high-skill, dynamic movements (relative to isolation and machine-based exercises) because they are, in almost every respect, better vehicles for optimizing fitness—defined as work capacity across broad time and modal domains. He examines the differences among the shoulder press, push press, and push jerk, and compares them to strict versus kipping pull-ups. The advantage of the “better” (more dynamic) movements, he argues, lies in the power they express, as they consistently rank higher across nearly every continuum that matters: athleticism, power, intensity, skill, and utility.
------------------------------
The Glassman Archive is a comprehensive repository of Greg Glassman’s work during his leadership of CrossFit.
This collection preserves his original material and the foundational ideas he shared. We believe these insights are worth promoting and protecting. These lessons continue to inform his ongoing work with the Broken Science Initiative and MetFix.
