21-15-9

Debra asked, “Why don’t we do 21-15-9 anymore?” As soon as these words were spoken Cara replied “You shouldn’t have said that.” Hehe.

This week is 21-15-9 week and an opportunity for more benchmark WODs. We are going to see how a simple rep scheme can be used in different ways to produce different stimulus (aka pain) and how effective each of these similar, yet different, events will be.

For our strength program we are on week #4 and you should all have your 1 rep maxes (or equivalent 3 or 5 rep sets) and these need to be entered into the spreadsheet so we can hit week #1. A bunch of you are still flailing around trying to use the charts and figure out what your max number is for each lift. This spreadsheet will take care of that for you. Type four numbers and you have the whole month planned out. If you prefer the chart system, that’s fine but please write your numbers down so we don’t have to compute them every day.

A question came up a little while ago. Why do we focus on strength so much? I think it’s a great question and deserves a thoughtful answer. So here goes.

· Being strong, and getting stronger, empowers you to do the things you want to do better. Whether you need to walk up several flights of stairs, pick up a box or run a long race, having strength will make you better prepared for the task.

· Time lifting is one of the best opportunities for everyone to talk about and focus on their form. We squat a lot because the squatting movement is vital to our lifestyle and is a basic exercise that just has to be done and done correctly. We use heavy weights and discuss the important parts of the lifts (back position, knee position) and the finer points (hips back sooner, toe in a little more, squeeze your shoulder blades) so you know the movements well.

· It makes conditioning “easier”. When we do the 21-15-9 WODs this week there will be 45 of each exercise. Thrusters, deadlifts, cleans, pull-ups, dips… these will all be done at lighter weights but will be very hard to complete. When you have locked in your form with strength training you are stronger to complete the lift and your form is correct which will make you more efficient while under duress. If you can’t squat, doing Fran with PVC pipe can be a complete knee destroying disaster.

· These are just the training aspects. Lifting heavy things is great for your increased bone health, adding lean muscle mass, your metabolism and fat burning, reduced risk of injury, stronger ligaments and tendon and you get mentally tough under the barbell.

Train hard this week!

A classic of Debra during a CF Total. She uses much more weight these days. You can thank her for the 21-15-9 week!