Scaling your Workouts

Written by Einar Leon

Being able to complete WODs as prescribed or Rx is a great confidence booster and an indicator that you are getting stronger, faster and better, however having an Rx by your name on the whiteboard should not be your main goal for training, otherwise you may be missing the whole point of CrossFit.

The stated purpose of CrossFit is to “increase work capacity across broad modal and time domains.” In simple terms, CrossFit is to give you the capacity to perform almost any physical activity safely, quickly and efficiently. For the sake of the argument let’s say that an athlete is able to complete Fran Rx in 7 minutes, but this athlete did not perform a full squat (below parallel) on each thruster repetition, moreover this athlete’s form was compromised by not keeping a neutral spine during the workout. In other words, this athlete completed the WOD quickly, but certainly not efficiently or safely. Due to the lack in technique, this athlete’s work capacity was not optimal, and therefore we can conclude that he/ she did not get the full benefit of the workout, and perhaps even increased his/her risk of injury by not following proper form and technique.

Now consider an athlete who completed a scaled version of Fran (at less weight) in 7 minutes as well. This athlete instead, performed each movement with perfect technique and form. Despite the fact that the power output for the second athlete was less than the first one, athlete number 2 successfully completed the workout just as quickly, but more efficiently and safely than the other one. Consequently we can conclude that the work capacity of athlete 2 was significantly higher, and therefore this athlete received the full benefit of the workout.

The act of focusing on technique more than weight allows athletes to incrementally increase speed and strength, resulting in better mechanics and efficiency. Being more aware of the efficiency of our movements is definitely more beneficial than having an Rx next to our name on the whiteboard.

 

NEVER QUIT thinking about technique.