I'm currently training just to train. Life has been pretty busy and stressful these past few weeks and months, so I'm going back to my roots. I'm training because I love to train. It's my release, my escape. Currently I'll be following a upper/full body/upper split. I'm taking a break from events at the moment and just putting in work and enjoying training again. I'm sure I'll get my eyes on a competition at some point in the future, but not right now.
Since I’m not training for a specific goal at this point and I’ve never done a CrossFit WOD I decided to do one just for fun. I asked my Facebook CrossFit friends what they recommended. I had a wide variety to choose from, but of course I’d chose the one with pressing overhead. So my first was “Grace”. “Grace” is simply 135# clean and press for reps as fast as possible.
It really wasn’t that bad at first, but the weight felt so light I had no technique for the clean or press. It was pretty much a muscle clean and half way strict press. I busted through the first 23 reps consecutively in a minute. It took me 56 seconds to finish the other 7 reps. This tells me how specific my conditioning is to strongman. In strongman our events are typically 60 seconds or less.
Personally I see very little value in using CrossFit to help someone become a better strongman competitor. Nothing against CrossFit at all, but specific programming for strongman and proper off-season, pre-competition, etc. phases will yield far more for a strongman competitor than using CrossFit. With that being said, for something different in the off-season or used for conditioning to add variety it can fit. Especially if someone is just looking to mix things up (as I did). However if you’re preparing for a specific contest I see very little to no value. Proper programming specific to the competitors needs will deliver much more. This isn’t a bash against CrossFit. If you enjoy CrossFit by all means continue doing what you do. I’ve got plenty of friends who love it. However when it comes to training for specificity CrossFit WODs aren't optimal.
6.22.15
A. "Grace"
1:56
B. Blast Strap Rows
3 sets of 10
C. DB Curl / Hammer Curl Superset
10 DB Curls / 5 Hammer Curs x 3 sets – rest 1 min btw sets
D. Hanging Leg Raises
3 sets of 10
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i9-eXlz3u8&feature=youtu.be]