Human beings are fascinated with novelty.  We get excited about the next new thing.  We’re so distracted by it that we often sabotage ourselves chasing after the latest trend. 

Warren Buffet is a great example of the power of commitment to consistency.  On numerous occasions he has been ridiculed for being out of touch when he failed to invest in new tech resulting in Berkshire Hathaway underperforming the tech stock tsunami.  From 1999 to 2001 he had to endure 3 continuous years of accusations labelling him out dated as Berkshire trailed the S&P for 5 straight years all the while seeing its stock value decline by up to 40%.  Faith in the Oracle of Omaha hit its lowest point before the tech crash of 2001 when cash rich Buffet with all his investments in solid, non-tech industries once again emerged looking like he was omniscient.

There’s nothing flashy or fancy about consistency.  It is never trendy.  In fact it ignores trends.  It is about substance over style.  And yet time after time, it is consistency that wins out over the long term.  It is the daily grind that pays dividends though the payout may come in years, not in weeks.  It’s the old marshmallow test, effort invested today yields profits tomorrow.  Consistency is the real key to success.  Too bad it is the hardest thing to do!  

Who do you think gets better results played out over one year, five years or a lifetime: the guy who exercises consistently 30 minutes each day, 5 days a week or the gal who does one massive 5 hour workout once each week?  Sure, his 30 minute workouts might look soft compared to her weekly 5 hour epic, after all, she is putting in more total training time each week.  But in the end, in fact, long before the end, his consistency is going to win out.

When I stumbled upon CrossFit in 2005 I was sceptical.  I was experienced enough to be suspicious of anything purporting to be new or trending.  But upon investigation I was reassured to find the elements of CrossFit were not new at all but were borrowed from time-honoured training modalities that had been paying dividends for athletes for generations: gymnastics, weightlifting, rowing, skipping, running, cycling.  In fact, they were so tried and true that they had fallen out of favour in the mainstream because no one had figured out how to repackage them and dress them up to make them look sexy and marketable.  In 2005 no one was marketing CrossFit, it was a fringe, grassroots fitness movement populated by enthusiasts like myself who cared nothing for trends but were committed to results.

It’s true that fueled by the CrossFit Games and a subsequent partnership with Reebok, CrossFit enjoyed a brief decade of popularity from 2010 to 2019.  But the majority of those who flocked to CrossFit during its peak were the types who chase after each shiny new thing.  As CrossFit’s popularity wanes, they will gravitate toward the next trend leaving us true, quiet, consistent, non-flag-waving, non-social-media-thumping enthusiasts to continue on our fitness journey enjoying the unrivalled benefits of substance over style and consistency over novelty.

Styles change, principles don’t.  What worked then, works now.  If you do the work.  It’s not about the packaging but what lies within the package.  If you haven’t read it before “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder offers up very interesting lessons about the foibles of human nature and how some few contrary individuals can produce out-sized effects by adhering consistently to solid principles over time while everyone else is out rushing about and second guessing themselves.

Monday
Karen is a classic CrossFit benchmark workout so I understand that a few athletes will want to complete it Rx’d and solo in order to test themselves against previous benchmarks.  You have my blessings.

Personally, I find 150 wall balls a guaranteed way to produce lingered quad soreness that negatively impacts the following training days.  Though I understand the importance of work volume for developing muscular strength it is not my favourite way to start the week of training.  For this reason I am proposing two alternative partner options for group class attendees who do not want to go solo on Monday’s Karen:

1) Partner Wall Balls
You-go-I-go.  Using the same wall ball, facing the same target, You throw the ball up and I receive it as it descends from the target then I return it the same way.  We continue this way alternating one rep each until we hit a combined 150 reps (75 each). It is a fun, civilised way to go through a half Karen.

2) E2MOM
If you struggle with squat depth or are nursing hip or knee injuries, the above partner version is not ideal.  In this case I recommend teaming up and splitting the workload with your partner by time.  You do one minute worth of wall balls focussing on safety and optimal movement mechanics, then your partner performs the second minute at their own pace.  Keep a continuous count (do not try adding during the WOD) and do not fixate on equal work loads.  Each partner should work to his/her own ability.  You are done when your combined count reaches 150 reps.

Warm Up
3 Rounds (1 min each):
A. Ring Row Squats
B. Post Squat Hold
C. 5 Box Squats
D. KB Goblet Squats

Tech
Wall Ball
1. Stance
2. Grip
3. Midline
4. Breathing
5. Timing

WOD
Karen
150 Wall Balls