CrossFit Total on Saturday
By
December 28, 2017
Greetings Crew--
Just a reminder that we will be taking athletes through the CrossFit Total on Saturday during Open Gym. Just to clarify, this is NOT the workout of the day on Saturday and will only be happening during Open Gym. What is the CrossFit Total and should I participate? Well, let me explain.
The CrossFit Total is a benchmark workout during which you find your 1-rep max for a deadlift, a back squat, and a strict press. These are really valuable pieces of information for setting strength goals and determining appropriate loads for regular workouts of the day. As a gym, we do not put a ton of emphasis on 1-rep maxes. They can be risky as by definition we are operating in the gray area of what we can safely lift and where we compromise form or fail. That is not a place where we like our athletes to spend a lot of time as we prioritize preventing injury above all else. That being said, there has to be a place where we test our limits. We believe that doing this under the watchful eye of a coach in a controlled environment is the right place for this.
While we are utilizing Open Gym time to perform this workout, there is a structured sequence of events. Athletes wishing to participate in the Total are requested to be ready to workout at 9:30. There will be a suggested warm up to raise your core body temperature prior to lifting and a suggested rep scheme to get ready to attempt your 1 rep maxes. The "rules" of the CrossFit Total stipulate that you get 3 attempts of each movement to establish your 1 rep max. The rules of Catacombs stipulate that these attempts must demonstrate safe technique and uncompromised form as well as full range of motion. We may be flexible around the number of attempts but we will not budge on the requirements for safe technique and full range of motion.
This workout is for everyone and we will modify it as needed for any special circumstance. If you have a history of previous injuries or mobility limitations or just shy away from "max loads", consider finding a 3 or 5 rep max instead of a 1-rep max. We can extrapolate the same information and you may be better served by avoiding putting compromised muscles/joints/connective tissue under a true "max" load. Honestly, I would likely put myself in that category so feel free to join me.
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