I recently joined a new CrossFit facility here in Montpelier called The Confluence.  I’ve had the introductory lessons and having returned to Vermont after a family trip, am launching back into it.  I’ve been watching the Workout Of The Day (W.O.D.) on their website and frankly, was getting a little turned off by the routines.  Looking at a Knees To Elbows (KTE) and Handstand Pushup assignment the other day, I thought, “No way can I do those.”  When I went online and saw YouTube videos of buffed thirty-somethings doing them with ease, I was even more convinced.  I’d completely forgot about scaling and how important that is to most CrossFit participants -- particularly folks like me in their late 60’s.

I talked about this today with Nick, the fitness trainer, and he explained how they scaled the routines.  The KTE’s could be done with the knees just brought up to the horizontal plane, with the thought that later on, they could worry about touching the elbows.  Some participants could do them fully -- others scaled them.  He went on to explain that no one at the workouts did a full handstand pushup (everyone is learning as we go) but rather knelt on a box and did a pushup from there.  

He put together a little routine for me called a AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) consisting of 10 squats, 5 KTE’s, 10 Box Jumps, and 5 Pushups.  I had ten minutes to do as many as possible.  Here’s how we scaled them:  

• Squats - as low as you can comfortably go
• KTE’s -- don’t worry about the elbows, bring the knees up to horizontal
• Box Jumps -- do stepups, rather than jumps
• Pushups -- OK to do them from the knees.

It’s important to find out what works for you, and not get put off by the “gung ho” routines on the web.  The principles are the same, whether you do them all flat out or scale them.   
 

Nick and I talked about CrossFit for seniors, for physically unfit folks, for non-athletes -- and the importance of scaling exercises to fit an individual’s fitness level and goals.  It’s a subject I’m very interested in -- stay tuned.

 Photo by  ColbyOtero 

A few weeks ago, I joined a new CrossFit group forming in Montpelier, The Confluence.  They are constructing and equipping the facility as they attract new members.  I’ve had two introductory sessions where I was introduced to the overall concepts and some of the specific exercises that comprise this intense, efficient workout.  There’s tons of information on the web, including many workout examples, but for a brief introduction, click here.

Much of the CrossFit workouts involve some variation of the squat -- so this is the first thing we practiced.  Easier said than done, especially done correctly.  I expect to get a lot better at the squat since it’s the basis of many of the Olympic lifts and the ball toss.

So we worked on the medicine ball toss which starts with a squat and then the ball is tossed upward against a wall, caught on the rebound, and then back to a squat.  It’s one thing to do a couple, it’s another thing to see how many you can do in five minutes, or do twenty, do another exercise, and then go back and do twenty more, etc.  Crossfit takes the basic movements and adds time resulting in a cardio and strength workout.

Jumping rope, particularly “double unders,” is another basic thing we were introduced to.  The instructor asked me the last time I jumped rope and I told him, “about 55 years ago.”  It wasn’t pretty but little by little, the technique came back.  It’s a tough aerobic activity -- never seemed that way when I was eight.

Kettlebells, parkour beams, rings, and bar weights are all part of the introductory sessions.  I’ve yet to meet pullups and a few other routines.

The literature on Crossfit says: “Increased power, strength, cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, flexibility, stamina, coordination, agility, balance, and coordination are each important to the world’s best athletes and to our grandparents.”  

Well, I’m in the grandparent cohort and it is important to me -- now to dive into the program.  Stay tuned.

photo from Confluence website

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