The end of another month… and the posting of the monthly personal records. Last week I had yet another conversation with a CrossFitter regarding the topic of recording workout data. Holden spent the summer in Crested Butte, Colorado and spent some time training at the local CrossFit box there. He noticed that athletes there didn’t write down their WODs in a journal and didn’t seem to record them digitally either. Of course the coaches wrote down results on the whiteboard- but when that board gets erased daily, all that data does too. All that information that could be used to gauge and measure results over time.
Once again I was proud of the fact that CrossFit Malibuites are so good at recording WOD data in journals or digitally, on our longterm PR whiteboard, on the Monthly PR board as well as on the daily chalkboard. The collecting of data is absolutely imperative to our mission of training to increase performance. While CrossFit makes you feel better- it is tough to measure that qualitative data. While CrossFit creates numerous physical and chemical changes to the body- those data can be intrusive and difficult to capture unless you are in a lab or a doctors office. While CrossFit makes your clothes fit differently, that’s something you can’t compare over years, decades and lifetimes (though I AM wearing a pair of shorts that I got in 1992 right now and they still fit exactly the same:).
Having the numbers: times, loads, distances, repetitions is information that can be compared again and again. The tests are measurable, observable, repeatable. The changes capture changes in fitness- which is the primary variable we are attempting to capture. (though to be fair some of the change it captures is also a learning curve) Changes in the secondary data- like weight gain/loss, muscle mass gain, fat loss, blood sugar and lipid profiles, waistline and bicep circumference differences and on and on- are GOOD, GREAT, AMAZING, and expected. But it’s the performance changes that we are after. That we track. That we strive for… that not only imply- but guarantee- all those other changes as well. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS OVER TIME!
AUGUST 2015- performance increases over time. Well done all!Today’s WODs at 7, 9, 10am, 4 and 5pm.
Noon Midday Open Training and Pepperdine Limited Membership class
September Open Strength Month begins tonight at 6pm.
Monday WOD
21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps per round for time of:
Overhead plate step lunges (20/15kg)
Pull ups
Butterfly sit ups
Post time and load, as well as scaling and modifications, to chalkboard/journals
