CrossFit Training: Time is of the Essence

Summer is flying by and the Suicide Hill Mud Plunge is now just six weeks away. Today, I reached the halfway point in my Cross Fit Training and I’m finding that time truly is of the essence.

This week’s workout kept the theme of making as many natural, athletic movements in the shortest amount of time. I had to run 400 meters on their outdoor course, perform 5 box jumps onto a 24-inch platform, and throw an 8-pound wall ball 8 feet above my head and catch it into a squat that brought my pockets below my knees.

And that’s just the first circuit. Immediately after, I had to start all over and complete 3 more rounds.

“This is actually a great workout for our CrossFit teen classes. We have our high school kids that are coming in and working on their fundamentals to make them better and stronger for basketball and volleyball. These are great ways for athletes to improve their jump shot. You’re going to find that you’re going to be able to run faster and jump higher when you can do things like this,” explained Angela Kiviniemi, a Level One Certified CrossFit Trainer at CrossFit 906 in Ishpeming.

During the second set I really did feel like I could jump a little higher and sink my hips a little lower; which, ultimately, is the goal.

“What I like to do, as a coach, is gauge how an athlete is doing during the workout. When you did the workout today, you used an 8-pound wall ball. Now I know, just from watching you and the fact that you didn’t take any breaks while you were doing your wall balls, you can probably go up in weight,” Kiviniemi noted.

Although as I wound down through the final stretch, will was all I had left to go on, which seems odd for a twelve minute workout. But, that’s the hallmark of the CrossFit 906 mentality. Effectively burning through time by staying in constant motion.