Indicators & CrossFit Competition

"do what you do but know why you're doing it." - Charged GBH

I really don't care what people do, but I ask that they have a rationale for doing it. It does not bother me in the least, for example, that people vote for politicians who are against taxing the rich. But I'm assuming these people are rich. If I though about it, and I had to quit thinking about it, the truth that poor people vote against taxing the rich would drive me crazy.

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about how I balance CrossFit with power lifting, how does one know how much to CrossFit, and in general, questions about exactly what I do and if it's right for everyone.

There is exactly one rule: move and don't injure yourself doing it.

I decided well over a year ago now that I would attack the Colorado State squat record at 181 pounds. Everything else follows. If my squat is going up, I can't be terribly wrong in my training, and I can afford to look at secondary performance indicators.

There can be an obsession with CrossFitters using their Fran time or a similar metric as their performance indicator. This is not wrong, and it might be right if exercising is their sport. In my case I'm not interested in how long my training sessions take; rather, I'm interested in the sureness with which I approach a 440 pound squat.

I did decide though that I'm not willing to ruin my life in pursuit of my quest. I don't care what I squat if I'm obese and can't move. This also is easy to monitor. I see which notch my belt is on which is adequate for nine months out of the year. The other three months I need a little more accuracy so I watch the scale.

If you pay attention, you'll find solid indicators of your training's efficacy. Saturday I got a facebook invite to climb Pike's Peak. I may or may not go, but thinking about it I realized I'd think something was seriously wrong with me if I doubted my ability to walk 26 miles, even if the first 13 gain 7,000 feet in elevation.

I strongly suspect I'm not the best CrossFitter in the world, but I can see I'm doing enough to keep me happy.

Today I came within two or three feet of crashing my F-150 into the side of a car that ran a red light. As I stomped on the brake, I had the normal physiological reaction - my heart rate immediately went up to an estimated 180 beats per minute, and I screamed, "Jesus Christ you fucking idiot." But two blocks further on, my heart rate was normal and while I thought that motorist's medical marijuana card should be revoked, I no longer wanted to grind his or her face into broken glass on the sidewalk. I know, then, that I am doing enough CrossFit to de-stress and probably give myself reasonable protection against heart disease.

To me, now, that is more important than my Fran time. To you it can be if you choose, but it's perfectly okay to use the Fran time too if that's your thing. You might very well decide to base your exercise frequency and intensity on how many people of your preferred gender check out your ass. That's also perfectly fine, and in fact that one makes me a little jealous.

In sum, figure out where you're going and find two or three indicators that will tell you if you're making progress.

Lately it's been suggested I should do the CrossFit master's competition in October. While I know it will be fun, I remained on the fence because experience tells me it won't help my squat go up, and my weight is close enough not to worry about how much conditioning I do.

I decided to enter. To me how I finish will not be my chosen indicator. I want to see if it makes me a better trainer.

You guys deserve that.