On vacation in Whistler recently, HeeHee and I joined our son and his girlfriend for a bouldering session at The Core climbing gym for a fun family evening out.  It was an engaging and physically taxing two hours of play.

Our son’s girlfriend is on a competitive bouldering team and is a fairly good climber.  HeeHee and I have only bouldered once before, several years ago at The Hive so we are complete beginners.  A couple things I noticed at both bouldering gyms was that there were no other 200lb climbers and there were certainly no other 50+ year old climbers.  No one in their 40’s either.  So, not only were we inexperienced, we were also far older than the other participants. 

We stuck to the beginner routes and after a bit of practice, we both successfully reached the top.  It was a fun time and a great way to hang out with the kids.  We were clearly the weakest climbers there but thanks to CrossFit we were able to play alongside much younger athletes in a sport that we have zero training in.  And enjoy it.  Yay CrossFit! 

What I enjoyed was the atmosphere of playful problem solving embraced by all the participants present.  There were climbers of all levels ranging from us to really skillful climbers.  And each of us gravitated towards climbing routes that challenged us so that after we had successfully completed a route, we moved on to a new route a bit beyond our current competency.  And there we played, taking plenty of breaks between fresh attempts at solving the next puzzle.  Sometimes we would get one extra handhold before failure and that little bit of progress was a win.  Sometimes we would take several unsuccessful stabs at a new handhold before reconsidering our approach.

No one got discouraged or frustrated.  There was plenty of laughter and friendly discussion about strategy and there were cheers when, occasionally, someone made a breakthrough.  No one was caught up in comparing themselves to anyone else present, we were all working on problems suited to our level of skill and we were all struggling albeit at different degrees of difficulty.

It was mentally engaging, socially rewarding and physically exhausting.  It was a workout though it didn’t feel like working out as our work to rest ratio was probably something like 1 minute (or less) of climbing to 5 minutes resting and rethinking our approach. 

It reminded me of CrossFit gymnastics and Olympic Weightlifting skill practice.  Some folks hate the technical skill development required to excel at these elements, they are easily frustrated by the combination of coordination, strength, balance, accuracy and agility required and get caught up comparing themselves with more advanced athletes. 

Personally, I love the process of refining these movements.  The realization that Olympians in these disciplines train nothing but these specific skills for their entire competitive career without achieving perfection frees me from any performance pressure.  That being the case, it is ridiculous to expect that I will ever master these skills as a fitness generalist.  Instead of worrying about achieving perfection, I just relax and enjoy the journey of gradual improvement and celebrate the rare moments when I execute with excellence.  Without the pressure of expectation, I am free to play and enjoy whatever modest progress I make. 

I do not need to conquer the hardest climbing route or be the best in the gym at a sport I have no training in.  All I want to do is to be able to play along at my own level.  This applies equally to my Weightlifting and to my gymnastics practice.  Just because I will never master these skills does not mean I cannot enjoy practicing them at my level of competency.  I do. 

They are the elements I love most about CrossFit.  They are the skills that make CrossFit feel less like a gym and more like a return to fooling around in the playground.  Skin-the-cats, handstands, muscle ups, forward rolls, box jump overs and yes, the snatch; these are the elements that you will not see included in a fitness program anywhere outside of CrossFit.  To me, CrossFit is a lot like being a kid again and the gym is just an adult sized playground.  I’m here to play.  The fitness is just a happy byproduct.  

Monday WOD
Make quality reps your priority.  Use a load heavy enough to require correct technique but not so heavy that your form breaks down and you begin missing reps.  

Today our focus is powerful, complete hip extension producing an explosive finish at the top of the pull.  This acceleration creates rising momentum in the barbell resulting in a sense of weightlessness enabling you to quickly reverse direction to pull yourself under the bar. 

Absent complete hip extension you will be forced to muscle the lift.  You will know you are muscling the lift if the snatch feels heavy.

Warm Up
General Warm Up
1 min each:
Ring Row Squats
KB Goblet Squat Hold
Shoulder Pass Throughs
OHS

Girard Snatch Warm Up
10 each:
Elbows high to pull under
High Hang to pull under
Low Hang to pull under
Full squat snatch

WOD
Muscle Snatch 1-1-1-1-1
Power Snatch 1-1-1-1-1
Squat Snatch 1-1-1-1-1