What Does Dan Do, viii
SCALING WORKOUTS
Just because I scale my workout doesn’t mean I’m old, weak or wimpy. I may be those things but it has nothing to do with scaling. A couple days ago, the mainsite WOD was a bunch of barbell work at 155lbs. Looking at the lifts, rounds and reps it became clear quickly that I needed to scale the weight. Individually the lifts weren’t hard at the written weight, but considering the rounds and reps I decided 135 would be a better weight based on my understanding of what the WOD was supposed to feel like and soreness from the previous few days.
A key part of the CrossFit philosophy is the unlimited scalability of our workouts. Scaling is no more complicated than adjusting the workout to fit the ability of the athlete in order to produce a desired physical stimulus. Depending on the condition of the athlete performing the WOD, scaling may include adjusting the reps or number of rounds, subbing exercises or even the range of motion if appropriate. The intent of scaling is not to make the WOD easy. The intent of scaling is to normalize the workout so that diverse groups all have a similar (miserable?)experience.
Take the infamous benchmark “Fran”. Doing 95lb thrusters and pull-ups are doable for some, very hard for some and “easy” for others. Here is how we might scale Fran.
Workout intent: With this session we want a Fran that will be in the 3-5 minute range and will leave all participants gasping (even writhing!) on the floor.
Athlete #1
Experienced and competent CrossFitter : Do the workout as written
Athlete #2
Healthy 70 year old who cannot do pull-ups but has decent stamina and strength: Thruster weight is scaled to 35lbs and instead of pull-ups will do ring rows with heels 24 inches in front of rings.
Athlete #3
Fire breathing CrossFit Stud: Keep the thruster weight at 95lbs but require chest to bar pull-ups.
Athlete #4
Healthy 35 year old who hasn’t quite been able to kip pull-ups but is strong on thrusters through the full range of motion. Use a pull-up band to assist pull-ups and keep weight as written or even slightly under written standard.
Posted on July 26, 2009, in WOD and tagged WDDD. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
This was a very timely blog entry for me! I was just looking up “scaling” on the main site. So what about Athelete #5 — the injured athelete who doesn’t want to lose all previous gains, yet doesn’t want to be stupid and do serious damage to herself?
Good question Michelle,
Scaling for an injury is an important aspect of your programming. In the case of your shoulder you can always move to one armed lifts using a dumbbell and let your sore joint rest. Sprints, squats, lunges, jumping, sit-ups and probably deadlifts should be OK too. The important thing is to keep working the parts that are not injured. This also doesn’t mean the “constantly varied” aspect of your CrossFit training is out the window. WOrking one arm overhead lifts (with a dumbbell or barbell) is very different from a standard barbell lifts. Try some one arm snatches with a barbell. Try bench press with a barbell/dumbbell. I know you will worry about one arm getting weaker but worry more about that over the long term. Getting your body healthy is most important; without a fully healthy body your fitness will forever be compromised.
In addition to scaling your WODs make sure you are icing regularly and gently stretching through your current range of motion. If pain persists then it’s a good time to visit the doctor and get an assessment.
Dan