SouthBaltimore CrossFit

When Phil and I went to the CrossFit Football seminar, John Welbourn said something that really stuck with us: “Let’s not be shitty.”  What he meant was that most of us have goals outside of the gym.  The workouts themselves are a means, not an end.  The reps and movements are tools, and while it’s necessary to push yourself, it’s counterproductive to push yourself past the point of quality movements.  To use football as an example, a defensive offensive lineman doesn’t just explode off the line arms flailing.  He blocks a specific player in a specific direction using a specific technique.  He may be tired, but he still tries to generate as much force as possible, with the prerequisite that he does it properly.  The best players are the ones who can do it repeatedly and consistently, and manage to still generate huge power, even while under durress.

I have to admit that before hearing him say this, I was a fan of treating every workout like a test.  My attitude was a product of viewing CrossFit as a workout for it’s own sake, and if this is the case for you, I hope you signed up for sectionals, and it might be OK to treat every workout as a test.  However, I know that just being good at CrossFit isn’t a primary goal for most of you, and in this case its much more prudent to focus on quality first.

Of course, sometimes it’s fine to just go nuts on a workout and burn out in a blaze of glory.  Maybe it’s a leaderboard workout and you really want to get the fastest time.  Maybe you did this yesterday during Fran.  Sometimes the workout is a test, and in this sense the workout can be treated as an end rather than a means.  However, I’d rather see most of you, a majority of the time, attack the workout with a controlled aggression (80-90% perceived effort).  Put your utmost effort into each individual movement rather than the workout in general, and remember that the stimulus is the goal.  The starters are the ones who do it right most consistently, not the ones who put out the most effort.

Workout

Squat 3×5, add 5 lbs to previous
Press 3×5, add 5 or 2lbs to previous (be smart!)

Then…

2 min wallball (20/16)
1 min rest
2 min KB swings (53/35)
1 min rest
2 min box jumps (24/20)
1 min rest
2 min row (for calories)

For the wallballs, focus on hitting the same point on the wall and catching the ball at the same point each rep.  Try to do them in sets of 10, 15, or 20.  For the swings, focus on explosive hip opening and get the kettlebell as high as possible with minimum shoulder involvement.  For the box jumps, jump as high on the box as possible and try to land with straight legs.  For the row, settle into a nice methodical stroke rate (24-28/min) and concentrate on strong perfect pulls, attempting to get (and maintain) 1 cal per pull.

From CrossFit Invictus