02.07.2010-Sunday-RedShed Rest Day

Beware the Lure of the Sexy Met-Con

(courtesy of Whole9)

For some (especially those new to CrossFit), the lure of something like the Filthy Fifty or the “300” workout is undeniable. Hundreds of reps of various bad-ass exercises all in one workout? That MUST be good fitness. These Sexy Met-Cons work primarily one metabolic pathway, with a very limited range of strength and power.

But who wants to work a boring 5×5 when there are plenty of sexier workouts to choose from? I’ll tell you who. People who want to be stronger.  Nothing builds muscle and strength like the big lifts – squat, press and deadlift – supplemented with gymnastics skills for core strength and low repetition Olympic lifts to develop explosive power. And I’m not taking a bunch of one rep maxes, either! Sets of 3’s and 5’s are your money-makers – where you train the body and build the strength. Missing your met-con? Work them in, but hit them hard and keep them short. Piling 30 minutes of “cardio” after a serious strength workout is, in a word, counterproductive. And for the love of Pavel, keep them simple. Thrusters and burpees, broad jumps and overhead carries, sprints and swings – all simple, all brutally effective.

Longer length met-cons (even those that go “heavy” for time) will not make you as strong as you could be. Sure, your cardio will improve, and you’ll most likely see some strength gains, but nowhere near the gains you’d see picking up heavy stuff with a tried-and-true 5×5, 3×5 and 3×3 protocol.

Make sure you aren't skipping out on the Shed's scheduled strength days!

And we'll leave the sexy to SvW's SKINS!

 

DAY 35 of the burpee/d-u challenge

crossfit.com

Comments

[J9]

Glad to see Gary and Phil return to Saturday morning yesterday!
You guys are making great progress and now have more motivation to get those double-unders...30 box jumps as a sub gets to be a lot of box jumps!

Happy Rest Day!

[Pat]

Coach's Reflection:

First, great find Janine. This is a great post regarding what we do, and how to come closer to achieving ultimate fitness.

Second is the reflection.
We are seeing a ton of progress, all of which has come at different rates of speed, based upon different rates of effort, which could be a result of different rates of readiness, willingness, coping skills and sacrifice.

I recently have experienced some gratifying compliments regarding our programming, and our approach to fitness. Not for nothing, folks... the RedShed is our life... we live it and breathe it (and try to have as much balance as owning a business will allow!). And the individuals who are experiencing the greatest results are doing the same thing. With that being said, we are not perfect, nor would we ever claim to be! We make mistakes, we cheat our diet, we fail A LOT! But the main thing that works for us (me), in my opinion, is understanding the big picture... learning from failure as much as success, and most importantly... staying informed and humble.

So on this rest day of reflection, look back at last week, and last month. Were you hanging around in the shallow part of the pool, or were you jumping into the deep end? When faced with challenges in and out of the gym, were you taking them head on or were you deviating from them? When self-doubt or failure took you to one knee, were you able to battle back and survive? Were you strong enough in your mind to let go, and believe that you could accomplish something great?

Understand that sometimes, in order to get where we want to go, we have to go back to the basics, start from scratch, learn from past experiences and use them to achieve our goals. And if your goals are not coming to you fast enough, there is a way to find out why...

...ask yourself if you are ready. Are you ready to make the sacrifices necessary to improve your health, improve your life?

Are you ready to jump into the deep end? You don't need to do a cannonball, you just need to be ready.

Yours in Fitness,
Pat

[Pat]

Oh yeah

enjoy the superbowl

if you can stay awake!

didn't the superbowl used to be a day game?? someone needs to write a letter to the commish!

[dp]

they need to make it a Saturday game.

[Maria]

it's a day game for me!! I've had enough of 6 and 7am games over here :)

thank you J9 for that article - that is something I need and should be doing more, instead of trying to see what my max is

[Chaz]

Pardon my ignotrance but what is a met-con?

Sadly, I had to concede defeat to the double-unders on Saturday...But I will battle back again!

After a solidly disappointing week of smacking my shins, arms, and catching the rope in my teeth I had no choice.

[Pat]

met-con=metabolic conditioning

[deb]

strangely enough, some of the bb/figure girls whose workouts and stuff I used to copy, are now doing crossfit (jen heath for one).

[Ro]

I am definitely ready to be in the deep end. My progress has been slow however progress it is and I am happy with it! My confidence to accomplish however with encoragement from you as our coaches and fellow shedheads has been great. For this I am very thankful.