9
Dec / 11
From the CFI Vault: Measuring Intensity
Categories: Workout of the Day
posted by: Ruth
Intrepid Holiday Hours: Closed Dec 23rd, 24th, and 26th, but we’ll be open New Year’s Eve for 9am and 10am classes as scheduled!
What measures intensity? The size of your grimace? The rate of your heartbeat? The volume of your grunts? The size of your sweat angle? The amount of effort in suppressing Pukie? Scientists, fitness companies, and trainers alike have all come up with all sorts of voodoo and black magic gizmos to measure intensity in athletes. The most common of these is a heart rate monitor. Although not completely arbitrary, heart rates can be affected by so many other variables: fear, caffeine intake, and is relative to the individual.
CrossFit defines intensity as doing the WODs as hard and fast as mentally and physically possible. Given this definition, we need a quantifiable measure to determine this intensity. That factor is TIME. Did you knock 10 seconds off your Fran time? Finish your 5k a minute faster? Eek out another 2 rounds in Cindy? Congratulations, you’ve increased your physical and/or psychological limits and jacked up your intensity.
During this next WOD, between agonizing breaths, think about your limits. Can you push a little harder? Go a little faster? If so, DO IT. Push that envelope and discover how much more you have to give.
Also, we’ll be putting together our first box of goodies to send to Tom, who is deployed overseas. Feel free to bring anything to send him, from cards to pictures, to goodies, etc! The box will be over by the water cooler in the gym. We miss you Tom!!
WOD 12.09.11
Deadlift 1×5 or Wendler
3 rds:
- 40 Double Unders
- 12 Power Cleans
- 12 Toes To Bar
- 12 Burpees
- 10 Pull Ups
Intrepid Holiday Hours: Closed Dec 23rd, 24th, and 26th. We’ll be open New Year’s Eve for 9am and 10am classes as scheduled!
1 Response to “From the CFI Vault: Measuring Intensity”
Dad
December 9, 2011 at 6:19 AM
I know intensity… It is giving Ruth a beat down in fantasy football… at least she made the playoffs, SeAn!!!