If you have never hit the 5:30am, you’ve probably never met this man. You might not even believe he exists. But he is ACTUALLY real.
Garth leads a busy life. He’s got a big job, kids and real world responsibility. He’s a am regular and always has been good about finding time for his fitness. But something clicked inside when he did last year’s rowing challenge. He set out to row a MILLION METERS in 2016, and while we didn’t believe him at first, he quickly showed us we were wrong.
Check out Mike K. watching in awe!
He’s JUST about to make the final turn this week and we want EVERYONE to congratulate him on this amazing accomplishment. For those of you doing the rowing challenge, you can truly understand the magnitude of what he’s done. So far he’s tracked 36 session on the rower when he rowed least 10K (imagine how many selfies he could have posted on the Cove Club for coach John to photoshop?!). And way too many sessions to count under 10K. But despite all of this, he still got in his “other” workouts.
Cruising through burpees over the bar…
And “warming up” for big row with some heavy front squats…
So what does he get at the end of this? He gets a free t-shirt from Concept2. As he joking said, “Who doesn’t need another 100% cotton t-shirt???”.
But that’s the tangible piece. He says all the meters have made those rowing WODs much easier. He’d always hear experience CrossFitters say that rowing was “rest” but never felt that way until putting in so much time in on the rower.
What he doesn’t know, though, is that he is inspiring so many others in big ways. As he rounds the final turn, we are working to develop a charitable tie-in for those willing to take on a similar challenge, led by our very own Nassim E. Stay tuned for more details on this in the coming weeks!
As Garth said, “Ultimately, anyone can do this. It just takes time on the seat. Setting monthly goals, staying consistent and doing the work. Also helps that I bought a rower for myself last x-mas!”
So go update your wish list for Santa NOW and congratulate Garth next time you see him.
WOD
“The Chief”
Each year in the United States Navy, a highly qualified and elite cadre of Sailors are selected and promoted to the join the ranks of Chief Petty Officer. Since 1893, “The Chiefs” have been relied upon by subordinates and superiors alike for their personal example, technical expertise and above all, their unique leadership capabilities. As the induction process for newly selected Chief Petty Officers is now underway throughout the US Navy, CrossFit inaugurated “The Chief” in honor and recognition of all past and present CPOs. Thanks to them and their families for their self-sacrifice, ability to adapt, tireless dedication to mission and devotion to country.
5 Rounds of:THREE MINUTE AMRAP3 Power Cleans (135/95#)6 Push-ups9 Air Squats Rest 1:00 between rounds. Only full rounds count.
Coach’s Tip: The Chief is one of our favorite WODs that taxes you not only physically but mentally. The Chief is FIVE 3-minute AMRAPs with one minute of rest in between. You only score complete rounds during each one of those 3 minute AMRAPs, so if in the first three minutes you do 4 rounds + 3 cleans and 3 push ups your score is 4 rounds and you start the next round all over again with power cleans. Those extra reps were just wasted effort… so it means you have to strategize more.
Understand that early in a workout we can typically keep a great pace, but can you maintain that pace? We’ve done some interval WODs recently (wall balls, KB swings and box jump overs just last week). Did you start strong and fall off the cliff? Or were you consistent? The goal of this workout is to be always moving. It doesn’t not need to be a furious pace (in fact, it should NOT be) but you do need to more quickly as the 3 minute window closes fast (especially in later rounds). Think touch and go cleans and be sure to breath during the push ups and squats. You want your power clean weight to be something you could do 10 to 15 reps unbroken.
You may want to do a test round of 3 power cleans, 6 push ups, and 9 air squats to get an idea of what pace you can keep. This can help you strategize how fast you can push.
Mark S. showing great focus on his hanging power snatch!
