“We don’t train in the gym to get good at the gym.” – Ben Bergeron on adapting

Ben Bergeron is right, of course.  Doesn’t matter if you crush it in the gym if you fold the moment real life throws an obstacle in your path.  The gym is where we go to develop our physical and mental grit.  That’s why we discourage quitting or changing loads when the workout gets “too hard”.  In CrossFit we are always chasing after too hard and making it our b!tch.  We’re always trying to be a bit better than we thought we could be.  Yes, we’re making our bodies fit but it is a resilient mindset that we are after.  And by the great number of Empower athletes still plugging away at training, I can see that it is working.  Your heard-earned grit is on full display whether you’re plugging away at WODs on your own in your backyard or turning up, smile on your face, to Zoom with us.  In these challenging times you are making your coaches proud!

About 90% of Crossfit gyms worldwide are currently closed.  And for many they are still in the late grips of winter.  How blessed we are to be enjoying another sunny day!  I’ve lost count of how many consecutive days of fantastic weather we’ve enjoyed but feel this has been an unprecedented stretch of great weather at a time when our spirits need it the most.

No dumbbells?  No problem.  For Fast & Heavy I used a sack of gardening soil in one hand and a backpack stuffed with a heavy rock in the other.  Whenever I took a break I switched hands with my unevenly loaded implements.  The sack of soil began ripping open in round two but by rolling it up tightly I was able to continue using it until the finish.  The backpack burned the flesh off my shoulders and once the rock inside smacked my glasses off my face marking up my eye.  I didn’t miss the rep.  When you’re in a fight, sometimes you’re going to get hit.  Scars on my back and shoulders are still healing, they look worse than they feel.

For our running route we used the Almond Park stairs.  Sprinting up them after a set of thrusters was a great challenge for my legs which were still rubbery an hour after the WOD.  Round one wasn’t too bad but in round two I needed to break up the thrusters into three sets.  Round three I got through in two sets.  It was a worthy WOD.

What’s the weight on this WOD?  It just says “heavy”.  Use your judgment.  Sunday’s classes discussed how much they want to be able to lift and here’s what they came up with:

Piano, trampoline, metal filing cabinet, heavy tire, all my groceries at once, 10 lbs more than my dad, this quarantine and spirits (1 vote each)

The person I am dating, Dangers, another adult overhead (3 votes each)

I’m pretty sure I can lift Dangers overhead but that, and the other items on the list, are probably not the most suitable choices for Monday’s WOD but I’ll leave that up to you to decide…

Warm Up
2 rounds:
1 min Each:
Single arm alt DB Reverse Lunge & press right
DB goblet squats
Single arm alt DB Reverse Lunge & press left
OS Push Up

Tech
Thruster: stay in your heels!

WOD
21 DB Thrusters
400 m Run
18 DB Thrusters
400 m Run
15 DB Thrusters
400 m Run

Cool Down
Shoulder Pass throughs
Dragon Pose/Pigeon Pose
Quad Stretch
Downward Dog