How intense should Crossfit be?

[Derek Maffett]

In my recent attempts at the metcon workouts (recent here meaning only), I have found myself doing pathetically. I am running the clock over twenty minutes on Fran. Only getting seven rounds on Cindy. From what I have seen, these scores are horrible, even for someone new to metcon.

Am I pushing these workouts hard enough? I generally go to a fair amount of throat/lung pain before I stop and take breaks until I think I am ready to handle more. The breaks seem like they are too long though, and I don't think I am pushing myself hard enough. It would be easier if there were a coach telling me to get going, since then I would get a proper idea of the necessary intensity, but I am doing this on my own and there is no Crossfit affiliate very nearby.

Could you all give me an idea of how hard you hit the workouts? That way I could get an idea of whether I am just being a sissy about it or I am just very poorly conditioned.

[Nick Cummings]

Don't be so hard on yourself. You have to start somewhere. That being said it might be appropriate to try scaling some of the workouts. Visit BrandX for some solid ideas on how to do so.

[Anthony Bainbridge]

A good rule of thumb is to check the scores in the comment section and find an average. Scale the workout so that you're within that range. It's obviously not scientific, but it's a good way to get a feel for where you should be.

For an idea on Fran, try what we call "skinny fran" ... do the thrusters with a broomstick and jumping chinups instead of full chinups. That way you go through the motion with less load and get an idea of what's "realistic." Then slowly increase load while staying relatively close to your skinny fran time.

And yeah, brand x is awesome for scaled WOD ideas!!

[Derek Maffett]

Thanks. I'll scale down more and see if things get better. I just wasn't sure if I was attacking the workouts as heavily as I should.

[Patrick Donnelly]

How intense should Crossfit be?
More intense.

Go as hard as you can, no matter what it is. You've spent a lot of time on strength, so expect to be unconditioned... It'll catch up quickly. Definitely don't worry about the Fran time... Those thrusters are like, 2/3+ your bodyweight, aren't they? I did a workout with 80# thrusters (less than 1/2 bodyweight) recently... First time I had done them in a MetCon... It was "fun."

[Derek Maffett]

Why would strength work make me "unconditioned?" It is anaerobic after all.

Fran was done with 65 lbs. 95 lbs is 85% BW for me.

[Dimitri Dziabenko]

I have a similar problem to that of Derek. I am 17/M/5'11" but I only weigh 160lb, so while I can "handle" most of the weighted conditioning work, my time pretty much sucks. Fran takes me about 15min (thrusters just feel so damn heavy), Elizabeth (unscaled) took me 34min (I am still a beginner, so both the 135lb cleans and the ring dips were hard), and Diane takes me 13min and I cannot go full ROM on the HSPUs. My question is whether I should scale the workouts and go at a faster pace, or stick with as rx'd and still give it all I've got but build my time from there? (Since Cindy doesn't involve relatively heavy weights and I get "breaks" between pull ups, my PR is 20 rounds, better than the other workouts).




Dimitri Dziabenko

[Grant Anderson]

When I first started (not very long ago), I think my body was shocked into thinking I was dying and needed to stop, so I took too many rest breaks. Lately I've been conciously trying to start the next set or round before I think I can, really forcing myself to speed up, and I think it has helped my metcon tremendously. I'm not saying you're taking too much rest, but if you start before you're "ready", it might be more "functional" given that in real life, you usually don't have time to catch a breather before saving someone or yourself.

[Tom Ellison]

One thing to keep in mind is that if you are significantly lighter than average, you may want to scale down the weights for metcon WODs. I believe that in the FAQs it says that one can assume the "average" crossfitter is 175 lbs, and that you can calculate the scaled weight by using a weight that is the same percentage of your body weight as it would be for the "average" 175 lbs athlete. Obviously a Fran with 95 lbs thrusters is an entirely different animal for a 200 lbs beast a la Greg A, compared to someone who is fit but only 140 lbs.

[Joe Cavazos]

I've actually got a question regarding this topic:

As a beginner (and a ~150 lb. one), a lot of workouts as Rx'd take significantly longer since each rep is just harder to complete at my strength. I realize that by keeping the weights up I am losing some of the metcon benefit, but is such a loss acceptable in exchange for the added improvement to muscular strength?