We’ve all done it. “Ugh, that looks terrible! I’ll just go later this week.” “Front Squats AGAIN?!” “Oh darn I forgot to set my alarm on Fran day.” or “My dog ate my Inov-8s.” Whatever the excuse is, we’ve all cherry picked our workouts. Maybe it’s due to an injury or just an injured ego, but some parts of CrossFit can impart fear and anxiety in all of us. The beauty of CrossFit lies in its inclusiveness of all aspects of fitness. Just like you wouldn’t be able to run away from a bad client at work, or a bad hair day, you cannot run away from a bad WOD. In order to improve we all need to work on what scares us. Whether it is a movement, a certain time domain, or one of the “girls,” you can only get better by conquering your fear. If you’re afraid of it, chances are someone has been in your place and will be more than willing to help you through it, whether it be a coach or a fellow athlete.
I’ve heard many solutions to the cherry picking dilemma such as “I just won’t read the blog!” which usually leads to a desperate 3am lunge to the computer to finally quell curiosity. Another “solution” is to try and sub whatever movement you don’t like in the WOD…genius, right? Except that it probably has a success rate of about 0.01%. The best solution I’ve heard? Brave the WOD, swallow the sour cherry, learn from the experience, and grow because of it. Remember, there’s an entire community here to help you get through it.
March 22, 2012
Strength: Hang Power Clean 3-3-3-3-3
WOD:
4 Rounds:
300m Row
15 Kettlbell Swings (32kg/24kg)
10 Hand Release Push-ups
Compare to 110322
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GUILTY.
Well said, Mandy. Thank you for the reminder.
(And for finally giving me permission to pick my nose! YES!)
Amen. Goat herding can be scary, but with enough work you can eventually dominate the goats. Don’t read too much into that.
HPC — 43kg, meh
WOD — 12:59Rx…thanks to Claire for pacing and Coach Erika for hovering behind me on the last row! Nicely done, 0600.
HPC — 47kg PR
WOD — 12:55 @ 20kg Erika, I may be so focused I forget to count on occasion but I DO listen to coaches during WODs ;)
Excellent effort 6am, especially Scrappy, you really pushed me today!!
I wish subbing movements was allowed. Open 12.4 and 12.5 would have been very different.
I actually had a thought after 12.4 was announced- “There haven’t been any thrusters or pull-ups yet. But that was the last workout last year. They aren’t going to just repeat 11.6 this year…”
Apparently they will.
HPC: 40kg
WOD: 11:04 @ 16kg
A girlfriend of mine is a kettlebell instructor and told me about an “Iron Maiden Challenge” that I had to pass on. To become an “Iron Maiden” you must complete the following with a 24kg kettlebell:
– perform one pistol
– one strict press
– one pull-up with the kettlebell strapped to your waist
For men they call it “Taming the Beast”. It’s the same movements with a 48kg kettlebell.
I’m guessing there are several people at CFF that can do this!
HPC: 75 KG
WOD: 9:39 RX
Great job by all the competing athletes this morning – Stacey, Erika, Sam, Dan, Sham, etc…
Open WOD 12.5 – 81 Reps.
Fun morning at CFF. Great work by everyone today and good luck to all the athletes on Saturday!
Nice work Dan!
HPC: 40kg
WOD: 10:34 @ 16kg. I tried a 32kg and couldn’t swing it, and then couldn’t find a 24kg. Hacked the rows pretty badly but managed a decent pace for me.
HPC: 60kg (65×2). Have been stuck here a while. Need more aggression with the hips.
WOD: 12:08rx
Must…not…comment…
HPC: 70kg. But it was really sloppy, so I went back to 65kg to work on form.
WOD: 12:53 Rx. Really enjoyed this one, even if the 32kg kettle bell swings me more than I swing it…
And for the record, I’ve never cherry-picked a workout.