RX means to do the workout “As Prescribed”. This means with the appropriate weights and movement standards. When we say movement standards we mean full range of motion, with proper and consistent mechanics through the entire workout.
In our endless pursuit to keep up with the guy or girl next to us, either literally or on the whiteboard we often skip out on the latter part of that statement and focus instead only on the weight part of the equation. Stop. Stop now. RX Is not the end all, be all to your workout, to your training and to your long term progression.
There is absolutely, 100% no shame in scaling a workout appropriately. It’s often the smarter choice both for your safety and for your long term training goals. We fall back to the basics: Mechanics, then Consistency and only then Intensity. Intensity can apply both to the load and to the speed in which you attack your workout. Both need only to be added once the first two are achieved. This applies to each and every lift or movement we do. The old adage “Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast.” Is a great one to keep top of mind.
Most workouts we do have a desired stimulus. Depending on the structure of the workout. Sometimes a 5 out of 10 or an 8 out of 10 but pretty rarely should you be doing a wod with a weight near your one rep max. There’s no way for you to get through this without sacrificing form and endangering yourself. This often requires swallowing the ego a little and scaling the weight appropriately. Talk to the Coach, find a weight you can move through properly and you’ll still achieve the desired stimulus of the programming.
You should only be competing against you. Constant forward progress and improvement is only achieved by training intelligently which means leaving bravado and ego at home. Takes more far more strength to do that then it does to throw a few extra plates on the bar and meathead your way recklessly through a wod.
Train Hard. Be Safe. Be Smart. Get Strong.
CROSSFIT FORTIS