November 11, 2007
Forging Mental Fitness, by Jim Decker - Nov 06 CFJ
At the recent CrossFit certification seminar in Boston, someone asked a question that really got me thinking. I paraphrase:
I think I understand the theory behind most of the workouts—that is, strength training, metabolic conditioning, form or technique practice—but what about "Linda"? [Linda is 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 reps each of deadlift at 1.5 x bodyweight, bench-press at 1 x bodyweight, clean at .75 x bodyweight, for time.] Is that a strength workout, but with a metabolic conditioning benefit? What is the real goal?
In his response, Coach Glassman said something about how Linda seemed like a good workout when it was created, but it has become the most hated workout of the day (WOD). Apparently, one of every three complaints about workouts is reserved just for Linda, an impressive number since it is one of thousands of WODs created since CrossFit went online in 2001. According to Coach, anything that gets that kind of reaction has to be effective, thus worthy of repeat. I began to think about that question from a different perspective, and how I had been thinking of a different answer based on my experience as a CrossFitter and a soldier.
Excellent article, Jim. Well written and dead on the money. We gain much more than physical fitness through CrossFit and that makes us better people as well as athletes. Those who think they are only "average", find out they are much more than that, more often than not exceeding their own expectations in the process. It's a beautiful thing.
