All body weight movements. Thus, no equipment required.
Until a couple of hours later you think, What the hell? Why am I so sore?
Remember Capoot? When I added up the numbers, I ran 3.5 miles (longer than a 5k) and did 250 push ups.
CrossFit Push Ups
As I’m working through the Hero WOD’s for CrossFit, I’m noticing this more and more: what seems simple because the reps are broken up is not so simple when it’s all said and done.
Good thing I’m one of those who never adds it up ahead of time. I see a workout and always think: Oh, yeah, no problem. When in reality, it is a problem.
Like I’ve said before, CrossFit is 90% mental, 10% physically capable.
I have very few passions in this world outside of my family. Two of them are coffee and CrossFit.
When coffee and CrossFit are combined together in my world, it’s a lethal combination.
How Coffee and CrossFit go Hand-in-Hand
83% of Americans drink coffee. And the US only ranks 22nd worldwide in coffee consumption! The Scandinavian countries are at the top of almost every list related to coffee. In countries where tea has traditionally been the beverage of choice (Britain and Asian countries), coffee consumption is climbing there as well.
Iced Latte
Coffee gets me out of bed. I drink coffee before the gym and after the gym. I drink coffee almost non-stop throughout the day. Coffee fuels my life.
Research has shown drinking coffee almost immediately before a workout increases power output.
Most competitions I attend, about 80% of the attendants show up early in the morning with a coffee in hand. The most memorable comps have a coffee guy on standby!
Coffee–A Staple of the American Diet
The first credible evidence of coffee as a beverage was in Africa in the 15th century. Here in America we have the Boston Tea Partiers to thank for its surge. As part of the boycott of tea, coffee replaced it. And it hasn’t ever looked back.
Coffee is a staple of the American diet in my opinion. It’s soothing and warming in the winter, satisfying in the summer, bright in the spring, and comforting in the fall (pumpkin spice, here we come!).
So here’s to you, coffee. We rise in the morning for you. We depend upon you to get us through our day. You’re a staple of time spent with friends. An excuse to leave the house on Sundays.
Coffee is the fuel to my fire when I’m dying in a CrossFit WOD. I return home, put the kettle on, grab my computer and foam roller, and wait in anticipation of that first sip.
God is good. He didn’t have to give us pleasures in this world, which we often take for granted.
Don’t today. Thank Him. For the little things and the big. He’s in them all.
Officer James Lowell Capoot of the Vallejo Police Department died in 2011 in the line of duty while chasing after an armed man suspected of robbing a bank. His CrossFit Hero Workout is:
For Time:
100 push ups
800 m run
75 push ups
1200 m run
50 push ups
1600 m run
25 push ups
2000 m run
Again, I underestimated this like I did CrossFit Hero Wod Small. This workout is simple in appearances: 2 moves with decreasing push ups and increasing runs. No problem. Until I did the math afterwards. I ran 3.5 miles (longer than a 5k) and did 250 push ups. The first set of push ups took me 6 1/2 minutes.
This one was fun though. I love to run (which this had plenty of that in it!) and the temperature was perfect in the 60’s. The morning was quiet. The scent of rain was in the air. Leaves were scattered about from the hail storm the night before. Perfect day to be alive and honor those who wake up every day and protect us. Great stuff!
How do you know if you’re progressing in the sport of CrossFit? Are you getting faster? Can you lift heavier? Are you starting to beat others that you couldn’t before?
All of these are excellent indicators that you’re progressing and improving. But is one thing the gold standard above all else?
Example: You’re in the middle of a workout/WOD. You are doing heavy clean and jerks. But they don’t seem all that heavy compared to a year ago. Your chest-to-bar pull ups come easier. You can do more toes to bar in a row. Even the dreaded assault bike seems effortless (ok, that’s a pipe-dream but you never know!).
CrossFit Benchmark Workouts: The Hallmark of Progress?
In the sport of CrossFit, there are workouts that are repeated (the antithesis of the sport, which thrives on constantly-varied, multi-dimensional movements) so the athlete can gauge their progress.
A lot of these have been around since the beginning of the sport: Fran, Diane, Nancy, Karen, and classic Hero Wods. It’s not uncommon to be asked what your Fran time is or your Grace time. It’s also a way for athletes to measure themselves against all other CrossFitters.
When performed, the goal is to beat your previous time to see how much you’ve improved in 6 months or a year.
CrossFit Benchmark workouts are a great way to measure your progress. If you’ve shaved off a minute or 30 sec, you’ve gotten faster. If you can now lift more weight and can PR the weight, you’ve gotten stronger.
What CrossFit Means to Me
For me, however, CrossFit and my progress in the sport of CrossFit is not about speed anymore. It’s not even about PR’s.
It’s about what moves are easier now than before. What weights seem lighter. What moves I can do now that I couldn’t do before.
What about you? What’s your indicator of progress not only in CrossFit but also in life?
“Five rounds for time of clean and jerks and chest to bar pull ups.”
CrossFit used to be about speed. I’d chalk up and get ready to beat everyone because I wanted to be the best.
CrossFit for me is no longer about time. It’s about overcoming the mental barriers in my brain. “105 lb clean and jerks. That’s heavy.” Yep, it is. But taking them one at a time makes them not so heavy. Going steady or even slow has become my norm. Why?
Because I want to be able to do the moves efficiently and correctly. It’s more important to me to not get overwhelmed with beating others.
CrossFit: Finishing Strong
CrossFit is also about completing the workout. Finishing the rounds in AMRAP’s. Completing all the reps in EMOM’s. Doing the work.
CrossFit is finishing. Pushing beyond what you think you’re capable of. Going the extra mile.
CrossFit is strength: physical and mental–both of which take time to build up.
CrossFit is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to build muscle and power and fortitude.
CrossFit is like life. You run till you can’t run anymore. You live till you take your last breath. All the while letting your heart and soul shine and soar.
Two rounds for time of: 10 bar muscle ups, 20 bar-facing burpees, 30 deadlifts at 155 lbs, and 40 wallballs at 20 lbs.
No problem, I tell myself.
Until I begin.
I haven’t done bar muscle ups since the Granite Games, and they sucked. It took 3 minutes just to finish the 10.
After that, the mental game began as I wondered why.
The second round of bar muscles up I slipped because my hands were so sweaty. My scar tissue is acting up so my finger is swollen, making my grip on the bar sketchy.
I need help, I thought, as I banged my chest once again on the way up, producing lovely bruises later.
I understand the ebbs and flows of CrossFit. However, it doesn’t make it any easier.
The Mental Game of CrossFit
When frustration sets in, it’s easy to
CrossFit Game Face
give in. To not care. To let the workout win. This is what will fortify the brain: pushing through even when you don’t want to and all you want to do is quit.
It’s normal to feel this way when you try so hard and still can’t get it. Or if you get it, it sucks.
Know when to reign it in.
For me, I’ve been pushing hard. Really hard. My mental game broke today, and it took everything I had just to finish–one rep at a time.
You’ve just done four workouts in one day. You’re tired. You’re sore. You hurt all over.
CrossFit Competitions!
You return home and plop in bed for some well-deserved rest.
The next morning you feel it: sore to the extreme. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which is when muscles are stressed and tiny tears occur has begun to set in and moving is not exactly fun. You got new bruises. It may be hard to lift your arms and put on your clothes or even use the bathroom!
So what can you do?
Here are some post-competition recovery tips:
Hydrate. Drink plenty of water to get water to your muscles to aid and speed recovery and aid in diminishing the soreness.
Eat! Eat healthy. A good balance of protein, carbohydrates, and some fat will go a long way in aiding your muscles to feel better and grow stronger.
Rest. The day after a CrossFit competition should always be a rest day. Allow your body the time it needs to recover. Take a nap if you have a chance and get a good night’s rest.
Massage. Massage promotes blood flow to the muscles, which will aid in your body ridding itself of lactic acid build up from the extreme exercise. Research has shown this won’t necessarily rid yourself of soreness, but you will definitely feel better afterwards!
Creams. I personally use Hot Stuff to heat up my muscles. These creams ease your sore muscles and help with joint aches and pains. Cold creams work the same way in cooling down your muscles. The active ingredients in these creams are said to block the pain signals from the muscles to your body and don’t have an actual effect on the muscles themselves. Again, research is minimal in the effects of these creams so try it out for yourself and decide.
Let’s face it: depending on the competition, you just put your body through movements you’ve never done before, heavier weights than normal, a lot of moves, and multiple workouts. You’re gonna feel it.
The Results & Benefits of CrossFit Competitions
It does get better the more competitions you do. It’s like any stressor on the body; the more you do it, the more your body adapts. Give your body the time it needs to perform the miracles it does best.
Follow these simple tips above the day after a CrossFit competition and in a few days you’ll be back to “normal”–only stronger, wiser, and better for having done something not a lot of other people choose to do to themselves!
Crossfit Madness: This weekend was the Whiteboard Classic CrossFit Competition at CrossFit Arvada, a suburb of Denver, CO.
My partner & I entered the female/female scaled division. We did pretty good until the third workout or WOD, which involved a sandbag hoist–something neither of us has ever done before. We had to sit on the ground and pull a 50 pound sandbag up to the ceiling and lower it back down.
The learning curve was substantial & we lost our placing because of it. It was also brutally hot out–near 100 degrees most of the day. I’ve learned I don’t do well in the heat
It was a fun day though. A group of us from CrossFit Endure showed up & had a great time encouraging one another, cheering, and congratulating the personal wins.
REASONS TO ENTER A CROSSFIT COMPETITION
One of the reasons to enter a CrossFit Competition is it forces you to do things you wouldn’t do otherwise (like the sandbag hoist). It takes your comfort zone away and before you think about it, you just do it!
For me personally, this CrossFit competition taught me that I can jump a lot higher than previously thought, and I do better in the cold. And once I get tired everything goes.
There’s nothing easy about CrossFit competitions. Doing four workouts in a day is brutal. Add in other factors such as the weather (heat), slight body tweaks here and there (pulls and strains), and challenging equipment at a location you’ve most likely never been to and the day turns into a lot of work instead of play.
WHAT CROSSFIT COMPETITIONS DO FOR YOU
However, if you’re one of those people who thrive on diversity, live to push yourself both mentally and physically to unknown locales, and the challenge is more important to you than the win, CrossFit competitions are for you.
You’ll meet a lot of new people, get some cool swag (t-shirts, supplements, protein bars, and more), and maybe even a podium spot!
But importantly, at the end of the day, you will experience what everyone at a CrossFit competition is seeking whether they know it or not: a sense of accomplishment.
Doing something else others can’t or won’t
Pushing yourself to the extreme and to the edge of mental and physical exertion
An indescribably boost psyche that will get you through the tough challenges of your life
CrossFit competitions are thus more than just the physical challenge of it. For some, they’re what gets you through the rough patches in life and what will take you to the next level in whatever your goals are in life.
CROSSFIT COMPETITIONS ARE FUN!
And CrossFit competitions are fun! An amazing community coming together to celebrate you! What you can do. How far you can push. How far you’ve grown.
I challenge you to enter one today. You’ll never know unless you try.
I did another workout that made everything burn–to the extreme.
This was another CrossFit Hero WOD (since I’m injured I’m trying to find cardio-based workouts with no wrist extension or pulling)–Donny.
Deadlift
It was:
21-15-9-9-15-21 (this is the number of reps) of:
Deadlifts at 155 lbs
Burpees
Two moves. No big deal.
For a normal workout, we usually do just the first half (12-15-9). Since this is a CrossFit Hero Wod, it’s harder and you go back up the ladder.
Sure. Why not?
I’ll tell you why not. Because a few hours later your quads are going to start burning and not stop. Then the next day your quads will barely extend and contract. Squatting will be near impossible. And walking?
duty while chasing after an armed man suspected of robbing a bank. His CrossFit Hero Workout is:
My Journey to the CrossFit Games 