MONDAY

23
Jun

MONDAY

I thought I would give you all some insight as to why you are all here day after day working super hard and pretty much making time for something in your life when most people are making excuses when it comes to fitness.  CrossFit is many things.  Primarily, it’s a fitness regime developed by Coach Greg Glassman over several decades.  That’s right.  CrossFit has been around longer than you realize.  He defines fitness in a meaningful and measureable way … “increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”  CrossFit is defined at that which optimizes fitness … “constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. ” CrossFit is also the community that spontaneously arises where people do these workouts together.  In fact, the communal aspect of CrossFit is a key component of why it’s so effective.

When I started CrossFit 7 + years ago, I was a bodybuilder and spent a lot of time in the gym doing an hour of weight training and 45 minutes to 1 hour of cardio.  That workout program was all about what I looked like and not about how fit I was, so with that said my first workout “Helen” took me about 12 minutes and seriously kicked my ass.  I wasn’t used to the intensity and knew that what I was doing  in the “globo” gym wasn’t for me anymore.  That’s when I started coaching for my friend, Chris, who opened the first CrossFit gym on Long Island.  That’s right.  There were no other CrossFit gym’s on the Island, and quite frankly no one really knew what CrossFit was.  It was pretty hard to explain to others who wanted to know what CrossFit was all about.

So what I really want to do is  remind you why CrossFit works.  CrossFit is all about intensity.  We put a score on the clock on the workout and expect you to move loads quickly.  Working out like this is not something you did before you were doing CrossFit.  I want to remind you about intensity.  Don’t get hung up on “as prescribed” as being the goal or RX+.  Let’s take “Fran” for example.  It’s 21/15/9 thrusters and pull ups.  Fran is a sub 5 to 6 minute workout.   Many times I see people do “Fran” Rx’d with times like 8, 9 and 10 minutes.  I know it’s an accomplishment like most workouts to RX the workout but the intensity factor is gone.  You’ve spent as much time resting as you have spent working.   You have taken CrossFit out of CrossFit!!

I would like to add time caps to a lot of the workouts.  Stop worrying about RX’ing a workout especially if you know you can’t keep the intensity level going.  This is not what CrossFit is all about.  Also, a lot of you do not post your time ect of the workout when you’re done.  Why????  CrossFit is a measured and recorded workout.  Write down your times, round, reps ect on the whiteboard !!!

STRENGTH:

Back squats

3/3/3/3/3

CrossFit WOD:

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

power cleans 135#/95# RX+ 155#/115#

pullups Rx+ C2B pull ups

kb swings 53#/35# Rx+ 70#/44#

6 Responses

  1. Quinn

    Patty, this was the single best crossfit advice you have posted in the two years I’ve been with Thor Fitness. At least for me, because I keep thinking my Fran efforts to date don’t count because I used less than the Rx weight.

  2. admin

    Thank you for the feedback! I hope it helps! Quinn you’re always “smart” about your workouts. Many need to do an ego check. It will just make them better CrossFit athletes. I hope this was an eye opener for some.

  3. Veronica

    Great post Patty!! Today While doing pull ups I had to remember that my ego can hurt me. I don’t like using a band but being smart about my workouts is more important.