CF is hard. Food is Addictive. RSVP! SGT in Jan. Autism. Strong. Femurs & Squats. Black Doves TWA 12.09.24

“The needs of an an olympic athlete and our grandparents differ by degree, not kind” – Greg Glassman

A QUICK LOOK:

• CF is hard.
• RSVP Please
• Small Group Training Starts in Jan!
• Autism Resources
• Diablo Strong
• Femurs & Squats; Why Foods are Addictive!; Black Doves 

CROSSFIT IS HARD – Last week, I received a response to my weekly email that I thought was worth talking about: “You know what I need an article/pep talk on… what to do when you see a workout coming up (especially on a Monday) where you can’t do ANY of the skills! I … automatically think, I’m so far from doing any of that and there isn’t even a primary or secondary strength part I know I can do, I should just skip (I probably won’t)”

Naturally, a ton of automatic responses to the above email flooded my brain:

• “We have scaling solutions for everyone”
• “Our Coaches are always ready to help”
• “Scaling is cool.”

But, after thinking on the member’s question for a bit, I tried to put myself in her shoes – ie., facing the prospect of not being able to do strict pull ups and double-unders in tomorrow’s workout – knowing that I’d have to scale. It was then that I realized: scaling an entire workout feels like failure. And, that kinda sucks. However, at the other end of the spectrum, elite athletes might look at tomorrow’s workout and think that it’s too easy or too short for their work capacity. And that kinda sucks too. 

So, should we try to write multiple variations of every daily workout to accommodate all athletes? Or, should we just program to the lowest common denominator so that everyone can do the workout “as Rx’d”?  The answer is “no” to both questions.

We do constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity. We combine weightlifting with gymnastics and cardiovascular exercise to increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains – and the results are incredible for everyone who sticks with it. We write one workout program that meets the standard of the CrossFit methodology and then, we scale the workouts as needed for every athlete in order to achieve the desired stimulus (time, load, intensity, skill). And, scaling is always in the form of a “progression” toward eventual “Rx.”  Often, many of us scale or substitute movements in order to finish in the desired time, achieve the proper load, feel the appropriate intensity or develop a skill correctly. Some advanced athletes may even “scale up” to receive the proper stimulus. 

As the founder of CrossFit is oft quoted, “the needs of an Olympic athlete and your grandparents differs by degree, not kind.”  For ALL of us, squatting, lifting, running, jumping, pulling and pushing are essential physical elements of a quality life. The longer (and better) we can do these things, the more likely we are to lead a longer, independent life free of chronic disease. Look no further than this recent study in the UK that examined the impact of CrossFit on medication usage with more than 1200 participants. 54 percent of participants who’d been taking a prescription drug before starting CrossFit said they decreased their dosage after starting. Among this group of 151 people, 69 reported stopping their medication entirely!

So, the answer to the above email I received is this: “There will be days when you can’t do the movements as prescribed, especially in the beginning and maybe for years. But, our coaches have variations or scaling progressions for of all of the movements that will deliver the desired stimulus for the workout as prescribed.”   

Finally, there is something very satisfying about doing something very hard – that most other people in the world cannot do – even if it’s “scaled”. And, when we finally achieve completion “as Rx” – it’s thrilling. So, get yourself to the gym. Do hard shit that others cannot. Get better every day. And, you’ll live a longer, healthier life – and likely influence family and friends to do the same.  #itsup2us