Motivation
I have asked a few classes the past two days if they understand the difference between exercise and training. Exercise is what new or beginning athletes do. Training is what you do when you no longer see benefits from just exercise or you have a specific goal. What is your goal for September? I could run everyday of the week, but that does not mean I am ready for a marathon. When you started CrossFit you experienced big gains and improvements in every aspect of fitness. This is in part because you started doing more work than you were previously doing. You were and still are working really hard. For most of the population we just want to exercise. It relieves stress and we feel good afterwards. CrossFit fills this need for exercise better than any other exercise program. But what happens when we plateau? You will plateau if you only attend classes. If you want to continue to see improvements than you will have to work even harder. Maybe harder is misleading. You will need to focus on certain skills or aspects of your fitness. You will need to start training. I recently read an recent article my Mark Rippetoe (www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly) which he describes gains like picking fruit from the bottom of a fruit tree. It is easy at first and there is a lot of fruit harvested. Then you need to get a ladder to reach the higher fruit. Now your putting in more effort for diminishing returns. Here at Mission CrossFit we understand this principle. The Warm Up and the Workout of the Day is exercise. The Strength and Get More Awesome is Training. In the Strength we are trying to do just that. Make you stronger. You are first training to improve technique so you can lift heavy weight safely. Being stronger will allow you to exercise better. We need to exercise hard but we need to train smart. We do not train to get hurt. We exercise to get better. Then we use those gains to motivate us to start training to become awesome. Let us help you. Set goals that will motivate you to train.
Strength
Read the Motivation.
Workout Strategy
We strategize and pace everything. This one is no different. The rower needs to be consistent. If someone does the rower portion 10 seconds faster than me but has to take even one break on the Press then all advantage was lost. Being consistent is the best approach to this workout. I’d like you to pick a weight that you believe you can complete all 15 reps of press in without taking a break. It should still be hard but not so heavy that you have to take a break after every 5 repetitions. My row pace was the same as my 5000 meter pace which is slower than my warm up pace. The press is a PRESS, which means legs remained locked. Keep that core engaged by squeezing your glutes as much as possible. The bar needs to go to the full locked out position (meaning directly over your shoulders, hips, and heels). At the down position the bar needs to touch your shoulders or chest. Good technique will allow for good times. The press should take no longer than a minute. Take your 500 meter time and add one minute. That needs to be repeated for a total of five rounds. Set a goal and do your best to beat it.
| Workout of the Day | |
|---|---|
| Strength of the Day | Day 1,2, or 3 |
| Level 1:
5 Rounds for time Row 500 Meters 15 Press, 45/22# |
Level 2:
5 Rounds for time Row 500 Meters 15 Press, 55/33# |
| Level 3:
5 Rounds for time Row 500 Meters 15 Press, 65/45# |
Level 4:
5 Rounds for time Row 500 Meters 15 Press, 75/55# |
Get more awesome: 3 minutes of Double Unders
