Ah the whiteboard…
We post out times, scores, and lifts on the whiteboard or in the Wolfpack document if you are in Wolfpack. What’s so important about our scores? Well, scores are there to show you how much you have improved on your lift, your WOD time, or your score on an AMRAP from the last time you did it. We time our workouts not only to show personal growth, but also to use the clock for those of us who like to compete to push ourselves to have the fastest time or best score. It also gives the coaches a way to see what our strengths and weaknesses are as a group. For Ben, the Wolfpack document helps him program in weaknesses for the athletes looking to make it to regionals or the Games so that those movements are no longer weaknesses.
Competition can bring out the best… and the worst… in people. And I’m sorry but I am going to rant a little now. If you have a workout that is 21-15-9 and you do 19-13-7 for example, what does that do? Well either you are horrible at counting (and we all have lost count at least once in our careers- I’m very guilty of losing count!) or you are so competitive that you are taking off a rep or two to try to beat the guy next to you. So why is that so bad? First of all, there is the obvious- it’s cheating! You may have the fastest time but with only 3/4 of the work. Secondly, if you are looking towards being a competitive crossfitter it negatively effects your training. If you see a 21-15-9 at regionals and you always skip reps, you won’t know how to plan your reps effectively to destroy the workout when it really counts. Sometimes grinding through the last two reps versus putting the bar down to rest can make all the difference. People have missed qualifying for regionals by 1 rep in 1 workout in the past.
It can be frustrating to be the last person to finish a wod, but skipping reps or not doing full range of motion will only hurt you in the long run! Or maybe there is someone that you chase… someone who’s score on the board you are trying to beat. That’s great! But do the work. The majority of people do great range of motion, the correct number of reps, and don’t skip any part of their workout. If you find yourself getting extra obsessed with the whiteboard and skimming reps, just remember that you are only hurting yourself! Do the work and get the results that you want! The hard work will pay off!
