The chipper
In CrossFit, the workouts change every day.
There’s a short hand for the daily workout called the WOD (workout of the day). Each WOD is variable in structure and how it measures your final score.
Some days you do an EMOM, every minute on the minute, changing which exercise you do per minute. AMRAP, as many rounds as possible, of a specific group of exercises in a certain amount of time.
And then there are workouts that are ‘for time’, meaning you do the listed exercises with your finishing time being the way the WOD is scored.
This morning at my WOD was just that ‘for time’. Not only was it ‘for time’ but it was L O N G — it’s what my coach lovingly refers to as, a ‘chipper’ workout.
Meaning? It’s a lengthy workout that you have to chip away at or a workout that makes you feel like you’ve been thrown in a wood chipper. Pick your sentiment.
I made it to the gym before my normal class time just to do my own thing and have my own space. I just really wanted some me time. Knowing it was a ‘chipper’ I decided to really break down each set to smaller sets and hold myself accountable to digest each micro set as it was, until I was finished. I moved through everything, modified plenty, but still moved. To my surprise, I finished and well, I finished…fast.
Maybe it was the space to myself, the me against me mentality, or the fact that there’s just a lot my body needed to move through. Regardless, seeing my final time really gave me a sense of pride and a bit of a chuckle.
How often do we look at our goals/struggles of life as something so big? Daunting. Something you surely know you’ll need help with. This morning’s WOD, was my reminder of how important it is to take a problem and make it smaller.
Focus on the next five steps, before you know it you’ve finished 30 burpees. Instead of going fast, go sustainable and you’ll bike 125 calories in under 10 minutes. Do what you can now and don’t stop. Slow down, change the way you’re moving, but don’t stop.
Feeling a lot more aligned with chipping away than feeling chipped.
<3
