CrossFit has a level of competition in to it. You are always chasing someone even if that someone is the you from yesterday. Many workouts may include movements that seem intimidating or because of injury are impossible for you. That is okay! This is why scaling exists in CrossFit.
When we say scaling, we mean modifying a workout or movement to provide a challenging but doable version. This means that something like handstand pushups might become wall holds or simply regular pushups. Pull ups can become banded pull ups or ring rows. An 800 meter run might become a 400 meter.
At the Citadel we do not provide strict scaling. In the CrossFit Open You will see a workout have several versions. They could be one for older individuals, scaled individuals and the fittest among us. We have a wide range of athletes though so we allow you to scale yourself. This means that the pregnant woman, the sixty five year old and the beginner can have a workout similar but tailored to them.
Often you will see a workout that has, say three movements. You might be able to do two of thos movements at weight easily. The third movement might be well beyond your abilities. So let your coach know and either they will provide a scale or you can let them know what you are comfortable doing.
Scaling is part of the journey and something we encourage our athletes to do. CrossFit is hard and every workout should provide you with a challenge but a workout should never be impossible. If you are interested in improving your fitness no matter where you are in your journey. Give us a call. We have a free ten day trial and a community ready to encourage you all the way to the finish line.
