The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift, the three most effective lifts in existence for developing and testing functional strength.

The back squat requires the structures of the lower body and core to work synergistically. Optimal performance requires an adequate range of motion at the ankles, hips, and knees; superior lower-body strength; and a tremendous amount of core stability.

Never is the stabilizing role of the abdominals more critical than when attempting to drive loads overhead. We train our athletes to think of every exercise as an ab exercise. This is essential in the overhead lifts. It is easy to see when an athlete is not sufficiently engaging the abs in an overhead press — the body arches so as to push the hips, pelvis, and stomach ahead of the bar. Constant vigilance is required of every lifter to prevent and correct this postural deformation.

The deadlift, being no more than the safe and sound approach by which any object should be lifted from the ground, keeps company with standing, running, jumping, and throwing for functionality but imparts quick and prominent athletic advantage like no other exercise. It is unrivaled in its simplicity and impact while unique in its capacity for increasing head-to-toe strength.