2818 Rah Rah Sisboom Bah!
MetCon//
7 Rounds For Time
7 Chest To Bar Pull-Ups
9 Box Jumps 30/24
Run
There are a couple different ways we structure the stimuli of our workouts. We have Time Priority WODs where there is a set amount of time and we want to do as much work as we can in that time. In Task priority WODs, there is a prescribed amount of work and we want to see how long it takes to complete that work. AMRAP (20:00 5 pull-up, 10 Push Up, 15 Air Squat) and For Time (20 rounds of ‘Cindy’ as fast as possible) feel different, we’d attack them differently, they achieve similar but different adaptations, but socially for the group dynamic, they’re potentially wildly different (but we want to avoid that).
You’ll notice during an AMRAP everyone is working, coaches are coaching which includes technique, logistics and effort. If everyone’s safe and moving well, it will sound basically like encouragement. Everyone finishes at the same time.
What this post is really about is the end of any Task Priority aka ‘For Time’ wod. Everyone is going to finish at different times. You might be racing someone or yourself, but unlike the AMRAP, there will be a period of time, possibly even a long time between the end of your WOD and everyone else’s. You can and should encourage your fellow athletes, but there are some right and wrong ways to go about it.
You shouldn’t just shout “let’s go [name] “ arbitrarily. It’s innocent enough and I don’t question your genuine care for that person, but CrossFit is such that the movements are measurable. That person’s limiting factor isn’t that there aren’t enough people shouting their name, they’re just resting, which is probably an important part of them being able to do the next rep safely. For the same reason, let’s say someone has another lap left or some more burpees and they’re the last person. Doing those final reps with them isn’t helping them, and even if it did help, that’s not the intended stimulus of the workout. The board won’t ever say, 5 rounds for time but 3 of them are on your own and the 4th and 5th round you have to put up with Joe bringing a bunch of added attention to himself by shouting at you and doing extra burpees next to you like a high school football practice. Let them finish on their own terms.
Community is really important here at Harvest so here is how you should go about cheering on your friends at the end of a For-time WOD. When coaches are instructing effort, what they do is let people rest, if coach thinks the athlete should be ready to continue, they’ll say something like, “alright, it’s time,” or “yup, you’re ready, let’s go.” And it’s usually descreet. Let coaches coach effort. What you should do is this, and it’s an awesome way to go about it. Your friend is staring at the bar, let them stare at the bar, but once they start back in on some reps, that is the right time to be vocal, “yah good job man! You got this. Great rep!”
Just waiting that moment for someone to pick up the bar and start moving on their own terms, is night and day different from yelling some version of “GO HARDER.” Random shouting says, “I’m done, you need to finish too because I’m weird about waiting.” Watching and praising says, “I’m actually invested in what you’re doing and I understand what you’re going through.” And doing the reps with them is just obnoxious.
For-time workouts are really important to our intensity and fitness, but it’s inevitable that there will be a last person. Having been the last person as many times as I’ve been first, I’ll say that I just don’t appreciate someone inserting themselves into the end of my workout, but at the same time I love being praised for moving when it happens! I have a suspicion that most people feel the same way.