What do you see in the picture? A bar? Bumper plates? A bar loaded with 135#? Some of you need to be honest. What you see is a bail out plan.
I am not as dumb as I look. I am onto your tricks! Load up a bar with numerous plates. You start the workout. At some point, one of two things happen. You figure out that the weight is too heavy so you strip off some plates, or you decide that the workout is too hard and you strip off some plates. The next thing I know, I look over at you and there are plates lying on the floor while you are working out. Those weren't there when you started!
Either way, the bail out plan is avoidable. If you have to strip the weight off because the load is too heavy, you need to learn to go with your gut feeling in the first place. No one who thinks the weight they are using is good for them uses multiple 5's or 10's to reach their load weight. When you put on a 25 and two 10's to get to 135#, you have already told yourself that the weight is heavy and you may have to lower the load mid workout. When you are warming up, you should be doing at least a few reps of the load you are going to use for any given workout. If a few reps is difficult , lower the weight BEFORE the workout starts, not AFTER. I promise you that more is not always better. As a matter of fact, I would say that you will get better at CrossFit doing workouts with less weight that you can handle well rather than more weight that you move like shit. Plus, you are way more likely to avoid injury following this strategy.
If you are lowering weight because the workout is hard, well..... I don't even know what to say. It isn't suppose to be easy. The end result justifies the means, and our end result is overall great fitness and health. The road to get there is hard work. If you are moving well and performing a workout safely, embrace the suck. When the workout is over, you'll be spent, but you'll feel great.
Jason got caught:
But he finished the workout the way he started it!!
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WORKOUT 10/25/2012
- 5/3/3/1/1/1/1 overhead squat
Then:
Four rounds of:
- Run 400m for time.
Rest 2 minutes between efforts.
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In our gym there can be an exception, if 45s are all used and all that left is the 35s or 25s and 10s. But Robert has been saying this same thing at our gym too. Better to go lighter and be able to finish than go heavy and have to strip wieght or not finish later.
Posted by: Kats | October 25, 2012 at 14:16
Great post Freddy, Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything tha counts can be counted, and Confucius also said Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds, LMAO! GBO
Posted by: Big Tony | October 25, 2012 at 11:18
Guilty lol.
Posted by: Large Goose | October 25, 2012 at 07:49
I realized all of that with last night's workout, thanks for opening my eyes Freddie.
Posted by: Cesar | October 25, 2012 at 06:00
"When you put on a 25 and two 10's to get to 135#, you have already told yourself that the weight is heavy and you may have to lower the load mid workout." SPOT ON, FREDDY!! LOVE THIS POST!
Posted by: @sushi | October 25, 2012 at 01:57