“BY DEGREE, NOT KIND“
by Coach Mike
Every so often something happens that reminds me why I fell in love with CrossFit years ago and why I keep coming back to Cove nearly everyday.
Friday was one of those nights.
For those of you who don’t know, the Men’s Cove Challenge has been going on for the past few weeks. The Cove Challenge is a 6-week men’s-only jumpstart into CrossFit that also includes a detailed and strict nutrition program. These guys have been busting their asses for four long weeks inside and outside of the box. The progress they’ve made in their fitness is rivaled only by the strides they’ve made in their nutrition.
As it often happens, an odd number of athletes showed up to Friday night’s partner WOD and I was asked to join in on the “fun.” I can never turn down a partner WOD (even if it starts with 50 burpees) and thought it would be fun to see what these guys have learned so far. Movement by movement I was astonished at the progress they’ve made. We cheered each other on and pushed each other further than we each wanted to go. After the WOD, I pulled myself off of the floor and looked around. My awesome partner Rich, and everyone else in class, looked exactly the same as me. Exhausted…and very very sweaty. It was then that I was reminded of one of the cornerstones of CrossFit:
CrossFit workouts are the same for every person who walks into a gym. The only differences are the amount of weight used and the intensity.
“Our understanding is that the needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree, not kind,” said Greg Glassman, founder and CEO of CrossFit. “One needs functional competence to stay out of the nursing home. The other one wants functional dominance to win medals.”
I’ve always loved this concept but sometimes lose sight of what it really means. Last night brought it to the forefront of my mind. These guys are 3 weeks into CrossFit. I’ve been doing this for over 4 years. Yet, there we were side-by-side in the WOD and there we were sweat-angeling on Marina’s ridiculously clean floors. Sure we used different weights and some different progressions, but we all got the results our bodies needed.
Don’t worry about how much weight the person next to you is lifting or what kinds of pull-ups they are doing. You do you. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different strengths and weaknesses. Learn from each other and keep practicing. Be proud of where you’re at everyday. It’s likely better than where you were at yesterday.
BE LIKE MIKE: BE A PARTNER THIS FRIDAY!
This Friday marks the last week of dedicated 6-Week Challenge classes for the guys. After that they will have a week of regular classes to round out their program. Friday also marks the last day of their 30 Day Paleo Challenge! We thought it would be great if we could pair up a male “Cove veteran” with one of the new guys for the partner WOD at 6:30pm. This way when they hit classes the following week, they will have some familiar faces to connect with. Afterwards, we’ll have some food and drink and hang for a post-WOD party. Women are MORE than welcome to take the 6:30 class as usual, but we are actively seeking 14 Cove members (men) to volunteer to partner up with one of the Challenge guys. Let us know if you can make it!
WEDNESDAY WINS!
Each Wednesday we like to celebrate the victories of our athletes — big or small. Sometimes the “win” is a result of a seismic lifestyle change… and sometimes it’s just because of something (seemingly) simple — like “consistency”.
Labor Day’s memorial day wod, Abbate, was a repeat from last year and we saw some amazing progress from a number of our athletes. We saw Irina complete her first Abbate with the full runs and we saw William S. knock off 10 minutes while adding 20 pounds to his clean and jerk. Coach Marina showed that, even us elderly (#masters), can get better with age. And Thomas M. and Steve M. showed us that, now matter what the age, massive gains in speed AND strength are possible in just a few short months. What do all these athlete’s have in common? They come to class consistently and are focused and present each one of those classes. You don’t have to live and breath CrossFit ALL the time (although some love that too!), but finding a regular schedule and getting after it when you are here WILL get you results. Don’t cherry pick. Don’t jump around from training program to training program. Just come! And maybe have a little fun along the way.
Great job by everyone from this Monday and look forward for the return of Abbate next Labor Day.
MEN’S 6-WEEK CHALLENGE
STRENGTH WOD
Back Squat Work up to 85-90% then do 2/2/2
WOD
Every 3 Minutes
12 KB Swings
12 Burpees
Max Pull ups
4 Rounds
-Score is total number of Pull Ups-
Fitness: 26
RX: 35
RX+: 53
COVE STRENGTH WOD
Back Squat Work up to 85-90% then do 2/2/2
COVE WOD
Every 3 Minutes
40 Double Unders
12 KB Swings
12 Burpees
Max Pull ups
4 Rounds
-Score is total number of pull ups-
Fitness: 35/26
RX: 53/35
RX+: 70/53
Coach’s Tip: The DUs should take less then 1 minute. That gives you 2 minutes for KB Swings, Burpees and Pull ups. If you do not have at least 30 seconds on pull ups you should be lowering the reps.
Irina crushing the clean and jerks on Monday’s Hero WOD “Abbate”!
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