AFTER ACTION REPORT

I've alluded to a few key points in previous posts that succinctly foreshadow the experience we had this weekend but without getting wrapped up in the minutiae and shortcomings of the competition I will endeavor to motivate anyone who strives to become more than who they are to make the decision to test their mettle in competition. This being my first competition it is obvious that wods determine the quality of the competition and preparation determine the quality of performance. That said, attitude determines the quality of the experience. Of course winning would be nice as would world domination but the outcome is nothing more than a byproduct of experience and preparation. For this reason, clear objectives, strategies, anticipations, and expectations must be held in front of the external validation that motivates us to seek or avoid the stage. The truth is that regardless of how poorly programmed the wods may be competition will make you do every rep at 100% resulting in a performance that could not be replicated outside the sterile laboratory.

With quality control being nothing more than a pipe dream in the cf community there are more than enough competitions throughout the fruited plain. From what transpired today it should be known that, especially in a smaller competition, the entire spectrum will make a showing. The point of this is that you could do your homework and get the most bang for your buck thereby having an enriching experience or you could join the herd of mediocrity or those who didn't bother to work on mastering the fundamentals. Being able to do muscle ups in a lower level competition isn't as essential as being able to utilize proper rowing form or double unders or any one of the other fundamental movements. If one doesn't make the decision to compete, mastery of the fundamentals is still imperative. Although everyone has a weakness or two it is completely insufficient to ignore the fundamental movements in the hopes that a miracle will confer proficiency.

Unlike the sterile environment in which we train competition demands relinquishing control. The demands of preparation bestow the responsibility of being ready when your number is called. Factors such as temperature, warming up, equipment, and standards may change the game but survival demands adaptation. Performing in front of a crowd and potentially finishing last are issues of contention but by mastering self control and cultivating our solipsistic universe we tune out and dial in. Competition, if anything, will teach us how to perform at our best under less than ideal situations, one of the most fundamental qualities necessary for survival and world domination.

Training starts tomorrow.

Much of Crossfit now exists in a world of resident experts and self-adjudicated virtuosos. All magna graduates of a 16 hour certification, sent off on the righteous quest of forging the elite. Proud of the new affiliation, determined to prove their worth, they seek the commissioning of a masterpiece. Artistry of little thought, less experience, and high expectations, is sculpted from ignorance and complacency. Evidenced and influenced in part by the constant reproductions on display daily at a mainstay website. Programming is a fine art, requiring a steady hand and precision use of the chisel. It carves out capacity, defines personal progress, and depicts performance. Without proper consideration and due diligence, it more closely resembles a kindergartner's finger painting project.

On exhibit today in the gallery of Crossfit Charlottesville, four fine examples of mastery in the aforementioned medium. The first two wods, both addressing a single competency, did nothing more than evaluate an athlete's ability to perform in the a particular discipline. While there is nothing fundamentally wrong with rowing 1500m or deadlifting 289# pounds repetitively for three minutes, basing two-thirds of a competition (only the top five male and female athletes competed in the fourth wod) on only two aspects of our craft hardly constitutes work over modal domains. The remaining wods epitomized lack of planning and foresight. Assigned to the first heat, I had the distinct opportunity to unknowingly test drive the third jalopy. A Jackson Pollock like goulash of nothing but extension exercises. I completed the burpees and thrusters, only to fall from the handstand position on the first rep like a mortally wounded buffoon. It became immediately apparent that finishing 25 HSPUs within the confines of a 10 minute cap was a fantasy. The rep scheme was modified mid-stream during the first heat, as every competitor experienced the similar strife. Additional modifications were made to the fourth program. Reducing the number of box jumps and hang snatches. This situation clearly indicates that these wods were packaged and gift wrapped for competition without testing. This is gross negligence, like overlooking a shiny piece of brass in the chamber when downloading your weapon.

High caliber programming is a finite skill, requiring constant reevaluation and critical thinking. It can not be relegated to a process mimicking an industrial assembly line. Call it what you will, bitter bias, egotistical analysis, or unfounded elitism, I simply don't care. There is a revolution brewing. A coup aimed at the deposition of the overlord, to transcend the boundaries of the current parameters. Join the Imperial Army in the battle for intergalactic conquest or be destroyed at the hands of our fully operational Death Star.

-Turbo J, Intergalactic Bounty Hunter