The Dark Side

In the CrossFit Universe, I am a Sith Witch. The Dark Side. I'm an endurance athlete. Love it. Absolutely love it.  In my universe, I'm a competitive age grouper who has qualified for our national championship race, twice.

And no, I'm not the stereotype that CrossFit loves to sell. Few endurance athletes fit that mold but that side of the story doesn't make good press.  And it's another post all together.

For a while, I drank the Kool-Aid. Took the blue pill. While I was able to make CrossFit programming work with endurance work in my younger days, it was always an awkward relationship. I had to be very choosy about which days I would attend, often taking a lot of time off during heavy build weeks or near big events. Not Ideal. Costly, for sure, Looking back, I was paying for a gym that only fit into my training 6 months out of the year. But it was fun and the strength gains were both useful and impressive.

What went wrong? Injury. Just as many had predicted.

Then there was the recovery issue. I aged up. My 40+ year old body does not recover as it did in my early 30s.  Since my CrossFit injury (kettlebells), it's been a downward spiral for all sports. CrossFit Solo may be the only way to save my long term athletic and health goals. And a visit to a PT but that's also coming.

So why even cling to CrossFit? Because unlike many, I see benefit to both styles of training. There is value in the combo of strength and interval training that makes Crossfit what it is. Efficient.  Effective. I will always love it.

But to be effective for someone like me, it has to be applied carefully. Heck, forget about me. Look at the athletes who qualify for The Games. They don't follow the HQ WODS.  They need more than standard programming designed for 100 people at your local box. Individual planning within a multisport framework doesn't fit into the culture. Can they help me scale it, yes?  But what if that workout is just totally wrong for me? Crickets.  And let's not even talk about scheduling.

So where does that leave me?  CrossFit Solo.  Time to find my own way.  I'll never be able to go back to 4-5 days of CrossFit a week but I still love the old school WODs and strength training. There isn't a lot of information about combining these sports, particularly in older athletes. This type of stuff falls way outside the expertise of the CF trainers I know right now.  They are experienced, awesome CrossFit coaches but my goals are bigger.  So I'm going it alone.

Take a solo

Hey gang,

     While I am flattered for all the phone calls and emails we have been receiving about our box I gotta clear a few things up.

     A musician takes a solo, a sailor goes solo around the world, a paratrooper does their first solo jump, and in our case we have gone solo.  We are but one.  Ronin for a time.  Our facility is the size of a milk crate but packed with drive and ambition.  And that also means, y'all can't make any money off us by trying to sell us stuff.  While I love the calls in that it makes us sound HUGE, really we are "phenomenal cosmic power in an itty bitty living space."  (I still miss you Robin Williams.)

     The name Crossfit Solo was almost Crossfit Mono, but that sounded like an extremely contagious disease.  Crossfit Uni came to mind but I don't ride a unicycle.  Then like lightning, CrossFit Solo just popped in there.  "Ray.....What just popped in there?"  The name works on many levels, one, the One, and of course Han.  Our goal is to maintain what we achieved at our long loved St. Pete CrossFit of six years.

     We can't take members.  Well at least no plans to.  Though we have six years experience in Crossfit and combined over 15 years of marathon, triathalon, and Age Group National Qualifying members as well as Croffit Open RX'd division participants we can't coach you.  Not that we don't want to but the focus of this gym is to inspire you to do the same.  Focus!  Focus on your sport whatever it may be.  One of the top athletes in the world is Tony Hawk.  Don't believe me?  He still absolutely shreds at 47 years old.  But time and dedication got him there and you can get there too in whatever it may be.  Your coach can give you the tools and technique but you must provide the drive.

       Things to keep in mind.  CrossFit HQ and every subsequent gym posts their workout of the day or W.O.D. for free.  Every single day.  See what they're doing.  Find a gym you like, and join up.  Drink the blue Kool-Aid and go for it.

    And lastly, because, well, Hugh Jackman.  <= awesome link here.  Deadlifting 400 pounds.  4 times.  With a pirate beard.  Being watched by Grumpy Cat.  OK not the last part.  Until next time kids.      

Functional

     The rig is up and functional.  I highly recommend the CAP workout station we ordered from Amazon.  At only a 100 bucks plus shipping it is quite good for the average person wanting to set up a home gym.  The one major detractor I had was, like many people who ordered this, some parts where missing.  Many of the reviews on Amazon reflect my own.  But I also improvised on the missing parts and in the end it cam out kind of more bad ass.  I incorporated non matching Jeep hinges for the large double washer plates on the bottom and the top.  So now, door hinges from the "Chariot of the Free World" adorn our rig to make it stronger and more bad ass.

     Please keep in mind this rig only holds up to 300 pounds so for the serious strong man who can already squat over that you'll need to bump up to the Rogue system but for my progress is shouldn't be there for another year or so.  Speaking of Rogue, the Echo plates from Rogue are fantastic.  They are almost half the price of the colored plates but the quality is great and at only 91 bucks for 35's and 100 or so for 45's you can't go wrong.  The only minor issue is that being made of heated and poured rubber they'll make your whole gym, garage, or house smell like a 1971 pick-up filled with used drag racing tires baking in the hot sun.  That being said your excuses are going away.  Or least mine just did.

Before setting up.

And After.