So I know its been, wow, over a month since my last post. Its been a busy month, and as usual, life gets in the way of life. Two separate weeks of business trips, followed by a week of laziness, really made November fly by. The last two weeks at the gym have helped hold off any turkey day weight gain, but the prior 3 weeks put a damper on any weight loss.
It has been a good month though. Good trips for work, good work on the race team, and good improvement in the gym. To set the stage for my rant about gyms, I want to share a "test" I found in the November 2010 issue of Men's Health. It asks "Are you Men's Health Fit?" First the tests.
Test 1: Plank position. Hold the standard plank position for 60 seconds. If you can, elevate your feet and try to hold it again for 60 seconds. If you can do this, put your feet back on the floor and rest your elbows beneath your eyes instead of your shoulders. How'd you score? Average is 60 seconds with the standard position. Above average is the elevated feet positioning. MH Fit is the extended arm position.
Test 2: Overhead Squat. This is like a normal back squat, but you hold your hands above your head, like how Olympic lifters catch the bar when doing the snatch. Average is being able to bend your knees to 90 degrees, but only if your heels come off the floor. Above average is getting to 90 degrees and keeping your heels on the floor. MH Fit is doing this with a 45lb barbell. (Yeah only a 45lb barbell.)
Test 3: Deadlift. This is the standard lift of a weighted barbell from the ground. Average is 1.0-1.25 times your body weight. Above average is 1.25-1.5 times your body weight. MH Fit is more the 1.5 times your bodyweight.
Test 4: Standing broad jump. Name says it all. 6-7 feet is average. 7-8 feet is above average. MH Fit is more than 8 feet.
Test 5: Push-ups. Standard push-up with 1 sec pause at the bottom, which is "essential" and thereby makes it more difficult. 16-29 is Average, 30-44 is above average, and 45+ is MH Fit.
Test 6: Chin-ups, regular dead hang pull-up. 3-7 is average. 8-10 is above average. MH Fit is over 10.
Test 7: Mile run. 9-12 minutes is average, 6-9 is above average, and MH Fit is under 6 minutes.
Now for example, here are my scores, a 6'1" 290lb, 31 year old desk jockey:
1. Average, I failed on the elevated feet plank.
2. MH Fit. Not only can do an overhead squat with 45lbs, I can overhead squat 175lbs.
3. Above average. I can deadlift 405lb. If I lose 20lbs I'll be MH Fit.
4. Average, my broad jump is about 7 feet.
5. Above average. I just 32 push-ups, and I'm sore from a workout a few days ago.
6. Below average. I can't do a pull-up, but within the next year I will.
7. Average. I run an 11 minute mile right now.
So scoring that up, I end up in the upper Average or lower Above average area. Which isn't too bad for guy who works out 3-4 times a week, huh? It seems weird to me, because I wouldn't put my "fitness" level that high. But then again, most days I compare myself to other Crossfit'ers, not to regular gym goers or other everyday people. So how did you do on the test? I would guess that the majority of my gym would achieve above average, with many of them finishing in the MH Fit level. I guess that shouldn't surprise me when Crossfit's motto is "Forging Elite Fitness." Top level Crossfitters would crush this test, and that includes the girls.
Okay, okay, the Crossfitters score well here, but why, right? There are a few reasons really, and it gets a little hard to explain. But essentially it comes down to the training methodology used. Crossfit (CF) revolves around constantly varying our workouts and our weights. We do everything from high rep, low weight, sprint workouts, to slower heavy weight workouts over longer periods of time, to every combination in between. The goal is to create athletes who can handle a broad range of activities. Now I'm totally butchering the "intro" explanation given by CF trainers, so if you'd like to learn more about it, stop by your nearest CF gym.
Outside of the CF mantra, there are other reasons I think their methodology works well. One of the biggest things I love about CF and my gym, is the community feel it has. People cheer you on during a hard workout. People ask where you've been if you've been missing. Its great extra motivation to not skip a workout when you know friends will be asking where you were. Its also good encouragement to go do the workout and see them. Completing something and sharing pain or suffering creates bonds, ask anyone who has done service in the military (and thank them while you're at it). I never, ever, ever got that feeling of community at Bally's.
Another thing CF does really well, is it pushes your boundaries. Workouts generally have some sort of "scoring" component. Either the most reps in a certain amount of time, or the most rounds or simply finishing the workout as fast as you can. Having that added competitive edge for a workout really gets you to push yourself. It also helps that the trainers hound you not to stand and catch your breath for too long. You finish workouts, and you are totally spent. Or at least you should be. Unfortunately it never gets easier either. If you're stronger or faster, you push yourself faster or with more weight.
Now I love this, the competitive edge to the workouts is something I haven't felt since I played sports in high school. Since then, workouts were just something you were supposed to do. Their goals were never as clear as they are now. I push myself harder in a CF wod then I ever did at the gym in Bally's. And this was never more clear to me then when I tried to workout on my own at the hotel in Columbus, Indiana when I was there for work. I'm sure everyone has slightly different answers and reasons, as to why they love Crossfit, and to find out, just stop by a local CF affiliate and ask one of the members.
Speaking of goals, I thought I would share my goals for my 2nd year at Crossfit. The big one is to be able to do a deadhang pull-up for the first time in 15 years. Also, along the lines of the MH Fitness test, I want to do a body weight overhead squat. That's an ohs with my body weight on the barbell. Both of these will clearly be aided in my weight loss goals as well. I also want to run a 10k in under an hour.
Well until next time, and hopefully that'll be sooner then this last one was.
Photo's courtesy of Carla at Shootingthegap.
