Goals, Saturday, and Front Squats
I’ve tried to write this post 4 times now and my brain is simply not forming coherent or interesting (I’d take either) ideas. From the title you can guess what I wanted to write about tonight. I’ll just list the cogent points below. You fill in the gaps with deep insights and witty aphorisms.
Front Squats = hard but good for you. We’re done working on these for a little while, but will be doing Cleans next week so we’ll be doing front squats by a different name.
Saturday. 10am at Rainier CF for memorial workout.
Goals. Write down 2-3 things you need to work on, assess where you’re at now and where you want to be, then make them public. Be accountable for them. Then take extra time before during or after class to work on them. I don’t mind individuals working on their weaknesses while the rest of the class does the WOD.
Okay, I’m gonna vent for a second here cuz I’m irked. What is rx’d for hangstand push-ups for women? Yes, it’s full range of motion, ideally, for both men and women. All the way down and all the way up. However, this is an extremely difficult movement that no woman at our gym can do (except Emmi I hear). So, is it really fair to say that everything short of that isn’t rx’d? I mean really? Even if I can get all the way down, with no assistance from an abmat or band or anything, but struggle to push back up, that’s not rx’d? My point here is that this was discussed during the 4:30 class today and I was under the impression that attempting to do it without assistance with my head touching the floor, even though I struggled to get back up, is considered rx’d. What irkes me is when I put rx’d then next to my name, knowing that it was discussed with trainers and others, only to look tonight and find that someone has erased that rx’d and instead put “range of motion.” Honestly, I’m frustrated because now I feel like my effort was undermined.
To what point is rx’d based on the movement itself, as defined by other Crossfit gyms, and to what point is it based on the fitness level of the women at OUR gym?
If I’m wrong in this questioning, someone please let me know. I desire honesty. I thought that’s what I got this afternoon and I’m frustrated as ever because, based on the change next to my name, that’s not the case.
I would think if you touched your head to the floor, then got back up, on every rep, then that is RXed. Just what I thought. I can’t do them RXed and am fine with being able to admit that I can’t. It’s a weakness, and a pretty glaring one for me. I just stopped making excuses to myself and have resolved to spend the extra time working on them.
I do think if you got your head to the ground and back up, unassisted, no matter how much of a struggle, that it should be RXed.
Amanda, generally the prescribed range of motion for handstand push ups is arms at full extension, lower the head all the way to the floor and press back to full extension. If you did that, then you should have the rx next to your name. Joe asked us for clarification on that later in the evening, so that would be why some people didn’t keep the Rx.
I’m glad you brought it up because better quality movement is something we should all be striving for. If you are putting your hands really wide to shorten the range of motion on hspu or not quite getting your chin over the bar on pull ups or falling short on full depth for squats or pushups, then your overall fitness is taking a hit. We too often go for a faster time or the Rx at the expense of virtuosity. Virtuosity is a term used in gymnastics that describes the ability to do the common, uncommonly well. If the rules of a given competition allow us to “cheat” a little then that’s fine, but the rest of the time we are just trying to get better. So, Amanda, you should not feel like your effort was undermined. Movements can be scaled and still be quality, in fact that’s why we scale. It is to preserve quality. Remember, it’s all scaled, really. It could always be harder.
To answer your other question I don’t think that we should change what is Rx’d at our gym because most people can’t do it. If head to an abmat becomes Rx, then people will stop trying for full range. You do have to draw the line somewhere and that is why we get to put our feet against the wall.
In the future we will make a better effort to be clear on what the standards are before the wod so there isn’t any confusion.
Leon,
Thank you for the clarification. I failed to mention that the week prior, I did handstand push-ups with the abmat, but it was written down rx’d (not by me, by someone else). So, my frustration last night was confusion based on what is considered rx’d then. I started questioning it, “what is rx’d then? Is it different from what I’ve thought all along?” I can’t do them rx’d, and I know it. Hence, why it’s on my list of “things to work on” for sectionals! However, what bothered me the most was simply the fact that I was told one thing and then later on it was changed when I left. Thus, I felt like there was a breach of communication and almost disrespect.
I do appreciate the fact that we can ask questions and receive feedback at our gym. I would agree with you, Leon, that clarifying standards would be helpful. Also, clarification on how specific to report our weights/times on the board. Sometimes I see range of motion struggles with others, and yet nothing is noted about it on the board. For example, when someone is able to front squat a heavy weight but isn’t achieving full range of motion. Thus, should “rom” be written for the strength portion as well as the wod?
These are just some thoughts that have been going through my head…I hope they make sense! Thanks for the clarification once again and sorry for my frustration.
Amanda,
You are absolutely right that there are many others who struggle with rom on many things and yes that should be noted. I personally tend to be more strict about it with the top tier athletes at the gym because I know how competitive you guys are and I don’t think anyone should get the green box if their movement quality is suspect. It is difficult to fit all the modifications of exercises and weights on the board without it getting confusing, so often the lack of Rx means they modified it somehow and it is up to the individual to record exactly how in their own workout journal.
You have inspired me to become more of a form Nazi. To be clear, good form to me means the best I can expect from a specific individual in their stage of fitness. I won’t be yelling at everyone to get their head to the floor as long as they are working toward that goal.
I think you’ve done a good job of talking this issue through, but since I woke up at 4am thinking about it, I thought I’d chime in.
Standards are about preserving a particular work load and movement quality. Those things are determined by the intended benefit from a movement or workout. Anything that reduces the weight or distance is a digression from the standard and thereby undermines the benefit.
Standards should be objective and universal. In other words, to meet a standard is to fully do a movement as described, and that standard should be upheld regardless of the athlete or coach. Relative difficulty, effort, the average ability of the athletes, etc are irrelevant.
We will do a better job of explaining standards prior to workouts and of making a note on the board when those were not met.
I appreciate being held accountable. We are only as good as what we enforce. If we slack on our standards our gym suffers. I want us to have a reputation for high standards and quality movement.
Hey all,
I’ve been a little MIA lately due to the swine and pursuing a “slight” career change, but I thought I’d share a blog article that I ran across the other day that reminded me of this topic. It’s a slightly different angle, but I think it is still relevant.
http://evolveyourfitness.blogspot.com/2009/12/its-standard.html
On a separate note, I’m was going to try to make it up to the memorial workout at Rainier CF tomorrow so I hope to see you all then!
I really enjoy all of the discussionon this topic and am going to work on paying closer attention to my ROM and not allow myself to be satisfied with anything else. have a good time tomorrow unfortunately I won’t be there due to a nasty case of strep throat
JEFF! I wondered where you disappeared to. Glad to hear from you again and see you tomorrow.
Andrea, get better. See you next week. I expect to see the Graham CF people there. If I do I’ll put in a word for you.