Write it down
You should be keeping a log book to track your performance. It may not seem important, especially at the beginning, but you will likely regret it later on. CrossFit uses a black-box methodology: stuff goes into the box, something happens, and the result comes out. If you don’t know what you put in to the box, it’s much harder to gauge and interpret the results. One of the fundamental aspects of CrossFit is that our results are measurable, observable, and repeatable. We do benchmark workouts so that you can repeat a workout a month or two later and see empirical results and specific progress. By writing down every workout, you will have a great record of your progress, especially if you are scaling workouts. You will also have a better idea of what weights or progressions to use when doing similar workouts, such as a one-rep max. A couple months from now, you can look back fondly and compare what you were doing when you first started to what you are capable of now. That’s how we measure results. You’ll never forget the feeling of getting your first kipping pull-up or doing a benchmark workout as prescribed, but it’s great to be able to look back and see what you did to get to that point. Write it down.
Check out this article by Jon from Again Faster for more details:
http://www.againfaster.com/articles/tracking-school.html
Also, the website www.logsitall.com has all the CrossFit benchmark workouts, weightlifting exercises, and the main site WODs. You can put in your scores and, if you choose, make your logbook public to compare your standings with other CrossFitters around the world.
Skill of the Week
I’ve started posting a ‘Skill of the Week’ on the whiteboard. The purpose of the ‘Skill of the Week’ is to gradually introduce fun and useful exercises that can be practiced and incorporated into your warm up or cool down. These exercises may not always be functional in the sense that they move large loads long distances quickly, hence they may not be incorporated into workouts. These skills will transfer over into other exercises and everyday life by helping to develop the 10 components of complete fitness: Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Agility, Coordination, Balance, Accuracy.
For example, last week’s skill was the L-sit and its progressions on both the paralettes and the pull-up bar. The progression begins with the tuck: elevating your feet off the ground by bringing your knees up to your chest, so you are curled up like a ball. This builds hip and shoulder strength and flexibility, balance, and core strength. When you come in to the gym, practice the skill of the week as part of your active warm-up until you have mastered it, then move through the progressions at your own skill level.
This week’s skill is the Double-Under and jump rope progressions. Jumping rope is a great warm up activity, and the many variations will help develop speed, agility, balance, coordination, and stamina. Double-Unders are sometimes programmed into CrossFit workouts, such as the named WOD “Annie.” Here are some links to get you started; check out all of Buddy Lee’s instructional videos at www.crossfit.com, under “Exercises and Demos.”
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_BuddyLeeIntroJumpRope.wmv
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_BuddyLeeIntroDoubleUnders.wmv
Practicing the “skill of the week” will introduce you to some of the countless exercises and skills you can learn from CrossFit, will improve your overall fitness and performance, and will give you a new set of goals to work towards. Enjoy!
