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If you’ve done CrossFit for very long at all you know that most workouts are written with a specific weight in mind. We describe that weight and the overall movement standard as doing the workout as prescribed or Rx’d for short. Even though there is a weight or movement standard listed, its not always the best idea to go with that. There are a lot of reasons that people should scale workouts. Below is a list of 3 Common reasons why you should Rx Every Workout.
1. You Aren’t Strong Enough
This one can be a very hard pill to swallow, but we have all been there at some point. The weight listed in the workout, or the movement itself is just too hard. This is where leaving the ego at home is needed and trust the fact that you came to class to be better tomorrow. The point isn’t to show everyone how awesome you are today and put yourself at risk of being able to show up tomorrow. Often times we get caught thinking “I can do that weight”. I encourage you to think about how you would do the reps. If they aren’t on par with the best person in class, it’s probably a good idea to scale. If there’s any question, ask the coach. Most likely they’ve already hinted at their opinion.
2. You are Too Tired
If you’re human, my guess is you are, then sometimes you aren’t on top of your game. Blame it on lack of sleep or too many workouts but sometimes you show up at the gym less than 100%. Its perfectly OK to scale a workout. In fact if you aren’t feeling ready, you’ll probably get more benefit from backing off an little bit. Its times like this that injuries can start to sneak in if you aren’t taking care of yourself.
3. You Need to Work on Skill
Every workout that we do in CrossFit has a skill component, or a component that requires a little practice. Often times we are strong enough to perform the movement but lack the skill to do it consistently. When a workout comes up and you don’t quite have the movement down effectively, its a good time to scale. Scale can be a movement in theprogression or just fewer reps. If you find yourself a little tired, it might also be a perfect time to focus on performing the movement better rather than going faster. Just like trying to lift a weight that is too heavy, constantly trying to do reps of a movement that you constantly fail at can also lead to injury.
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This is by no means a complete list. The reasons can be as varied as the athletes. But typically once someone starts performing workouts and putting the Rx on the whiteboard after their name, they don’t want to let that go. It isn’t intended to be a status symbol or a measure of value. That little symbol is simply there as a not on how the workout is performed. Keeping that in mind and training the desired components of the workouts will help make them more effective and help you in the long run.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
