COUNT IT: A CROSSFIT RANT

He's fired up today ladies and gentlemen...

COUNT IT: A CROSSFIT RANT

This probably won't be too long, but hey, I got something to say.

No rep culture is a problem in CrossFit.

Oh, snap, I said it. 

There are a lot of great things to be said about the CrossFit community, don't get me wrong. I owe many friendships, and my own health, to this method of fitness. That being said,  something that could definitely improve the community is for everyone to calm downnnnn just a bit, specifically as it relates to no reps.

So many times I have overheard gym members talking smack, whether it's about other members, videos they've seen, or even professional competitors they have watched at Sanctionals or the Games. Granted, these scenarios are all quite different, but you get my point.

The other day, I was doing an EMOM workout that had 3 heavy snatches per round, and a cal bike the opposing minute. I was using a weight that was quite challenging for me, really pushing. In one of the later rounds, I missed a snatch, losing it behind me as I was standing up with it.

Counted that shit.

Two weeks ago I was doing a workout with 20 wall balls per round. In the very first round, I missed the target twice, I was probably 8 inches short of the target.

Counted that shit.

There was another workout a few weeks ago with 15 chest to bar pull ups per round. Two different rounds, I definitely missed making contact with the bar on one of the middle reps.

Counted. That. Shit.

All of those times, I counted the reps that "shouldn't have counted". And I will continue to do so every time. Why? Because the point of the workout is to achieve the intended stimulus, to keep moving, to stay safe, and to work hard to improve my health. 

Take the snatch and bike workout, for example. The intended stimulus of that workout was to execute 3 challenging Olympic lifts within the minute and haul ass on the bike in the other minute. Although I dumped the snatch at the end, I still pulled from the ground 3 times, still snapped my hips 3 times, a heavy shrug of those thiccc traps 3 times, dropped under the bar 3 times, and locked out 3 times. 

Sure, I didn't stand it up all the way, but I still did almost all the work for that rep. I much rather count that failed rep than try again, exert more effort than was intended, and falling off the pace of the whole EMOMsimply to prove a point to myself. What am I even proving? I hit that snatch like 12 times already in the workout. It would prove nothing, mean nothing, and be more detrimental than anything else.

Now, before you get all bent out of shape, there are definitely exceptions to this line of reasoning. Those exceptions are as follows:

1) Risk of Injury: Nothing should come in between a coach and maintaining the safety of the client. If someone is over-extending, rounding, or otherwise rotating their bodies in some way that increases the risk of injuries, DON'T count that shizz. Stop, teach, and move on at a slower intensity. Always.

2) Competition: This is a different animal altogether. There must be standards upheld to make competition fair, and it is judged accordingly. Lack of ROM could provide an unfair advantage in competition, and even though it bugs me to hear people gripe about it, I get it. Competition needs standards, so that is a different beast.

The issue I have is watching a bunch of average joes get together, and bitch and moan about one another because they aren't being perfect. Nobody is perfect, nobody needs to be perfect.  As long as they are safe, working hard, and growing, who cares if they hit depth on their squat every time, or hit the target every time.

It's exercise people. Chill the fluffernutter out, and support one another. 

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