Wine Country CrossFit

As you guys know from yesterday’s post, this week’s benchmark WOD will be Kelly.  Unfortunately, Kelly involves a lot of running, and Monday’s weather is looking to be downright nasty.  That being said, I’m moving benchmark day to Tuesday this week.  So if you’re looking to hit the benchmark, please plan accordingly.

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I want to take a moment to talk a bit about intensity.  As you all know, intensity is the key to our success in CrossFit, but I would like to take that thought a bit further and talk more about what intensity really is.  Intensity is not something that is forced upon you in a CrossFit workout.  It is up to each individual to provide the intensity and give their best possible performance in a workout.

There are certain workouts in the CrossFit stratosphere that inherently bring with them some intensity.  All you have to do is push a little bit in a long chipper like the Filthy Fifty to really feel like you have been given an ass-whooping.  But I would like to challenge you today to give yourself the same ass-whooping in everything you do in the gym.  What does this entail?  It means truly putting everything you have into any attempt you make.  For instance, a true 1 rep max squat, or a 500m row, should leave you on the floor unable to comprehend simple sentences gasping for breath and wondering what the hell just happened, just as a grueling long metcon would.  A 1 rep max squat is not something you should stand up from while saying “wow that was heavy, what’s next?”  If your 1RM squat is more like that latter, I bet you have more room to build up.

This weekend, we did a group of small benchmarks which included 2 minutes for max reps of double unders, 1 minute for max reps of box jumps, max reps pull ups, and a 500m row.  I was surprised at how many people I saw cheerily bouncing around the gym 15 minutes after starting, telling me they were done and seeming quite unphased by the workouts.  If we are truly giving 100% to each of these WODs, each of them should have left us devastated.  They should have been difficult to get through in the time allotted for the shear recovery time needed between these difficult tasks.  This lack of intensity manifested itself in the scores as well.  What I saw across the board was that the people who were finishing last were turning in the best scores of the day as well.

The shorter metcons that we tend to do at the gym are certainly easier to game and make easy.  You can always select the lower weight, and not push as hard.  There is less work to do so you can get through it no problem with less effort, but these WODs also give you the best opportunity to grow.  If you make sure that the 2 minute, or the 5 minute WOD is every bit as hard as the 20 minute WOD, I guarantee you will see better results.  So now I challenge everyone to do just that.  Put everything you can into each and every thing we do in the gym.  That means add the extra plate for your deadlift, pull extra hard for the last 10 strokes of your 500m row, and definitely, don’t just trot when we go out for a 3-mile run… GET AFTER IT!  As our new member Jasmine’s shirt says “Suck It Up Buttercup!”

-Ryan

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Monday’s WOD:

Strength Day!

Deadlift – Find new 1RM

Floor Press – Find 5RM

As time permits – GHR’s, Back Extensions or Supermans

Supersetted with bent over rows or strict pull ups