Never One to Follow the Crowd…

Today was a heavy cardio day.  One of our “WOD”s was three rounds for time of a 400 m row and 20 burpees followed by 3 minutes of rest in-between rounds.  Well, if you know me, I hate rests.  So I didn’t do the rests and instead I did 5 rounds with no rest.  Needless to say, I was the only one doing my own thing.

This happens quite frequently actually.  I’ll substitute a move or add something or do more rounds or come in and do something completely different.  I am L1 certified so I know what I’m doing programming wise.  But it’s more than that:  I have my own goals.  I have my own limits.  And I don’t compromise.

Like kettle bells for instance.  I HATE kettle bells.  I’m always afraid I’m going to screw up my back.  So today I subbed them out and did pull ups instead (in our WOD #2).

I also know what are my weaknesses that I need to fix for the CrossFit Open 2018 (and yes, I’m already preparing for it).  One is pull-ups.  I’m trying to learn butterfly pull-ups so I do them every chance I get.  I’m also focusing on my double unders, handstand push-ups, and bar muscle-ups (which I don’t have yet).  These moves are in the forefront of my mind every time I walk in my box.

Just because something is programmed doesn’t mean you have to do it.  I also hate kettle bell snatches for the same reason:  I’m deathly afraid I’m going to screw up my wrists with that move because I know my form sucks.  So I don’t do them.  According to CrossFit, that’s bad.  I shouldn’t “cherry-pick” workouts.  But this isn’t cherry-picking.  It’s being smart about my limits, knowing them, and protecting my body, so I can continue doing CrossFit ten years down the road.

I just got over a calf injury from running.  I know how much it sucks to be injured and you can’t do things.  So I’m trying to prevent this as much as possible.  Yes, I still do moves I don’t like doing (that’s the whole point of functional fitness and being constantly varied).  But I’m smart about it.  You can love me or hate me for that.