Greg Glassman, the Founder of Crossfit, defined this best when he said that virtuosity is “performing the common uncommonly well.” His reference point for this statement is the world of gymnastics, where a routine executed without error would only get you a score of 9.7 or a 9.9. The extra one tenth of a point can only be earned by exemplifying virtuosity. That being said, virtuosity can be a bit nebulous.
Virtuosity is something you see or feel when you are in the presence of greatness. It’s something that is extremely elusive and beautiful. In the world of gymnastics, a display of virtuosity would be described as executing a grueling routine with perfection and, regardless of the physical toll, is the athlete would complete it un-fazed, even with a smile. Speaking of gymnastics, here is the first perfect ten in Olympic Games history by Nadia Comaneci in Montreal in 1976. The purity of this routine is unquestionable.
Here at the Bluffs we do a lot of squats. The squat, for example, is a vital building block of human movement. You could say that time spent squatting is time well spent. It’s in a foundational movement like squat where practicing doing the relatively common, uncommonly well comes into play and that extends beyond abiding by a few points of performance (heels down, knees out etc). Virtuosity is the goal.
Mobility island.
At our fitness school, the idea is that every athlete reaches his/her own potential. Our goal is mastery, and with mastery comes virtuosity. Some say expert level performances require 10,000 hours of practice. I don’t know how long your journey towards virtuosity will take, but I can tell you that we all have got our work cut out for us.
Cheers to the pursuit of virtuous movement. Use your coaches. We are here to help you get better, whether that is in class or outside of class.
Squat on.
Danny Lesslie
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Thursday’s Workout:
4 rounds for time:
10 Romanian Deadlifts (185/135)
20 Tuck Jumps
400m Run
