When thinking about the goal of a CrossFit workout, it's important to consider the intended stimulus. Each CrossFit WOD has a designated stimulus designed to mold us into an all-around athlete. Instead of focusing on lifting the heaviest weight or going as fast as possible, we should ask ourselves, "What is the intended stimulus of this workout, and do I need to scale or modify the movements to achieve it?"
To make things easier, during class, pay attention to the intended stimulus. I can break it down into four one-word categories: Sprint, Threshold, Pacer, and Grinder.
Sprint stimulus workouts, like the benchmark WOD Fran, are typically done in 2-8 minutes and require working at a 90% intensity the entire time with minimal rest time.
Threshold stimulus workouts, like Helen, are typically 7-14 minutes long and require finding the zone where we can move as fast as possible without slowing down.
Pacer stimulus workouts, like Kelly, are 15-25 minutes long and require a specific strategy for pacing ourselves and spreading our efforts across the movements.
Grinder stimulus workouts, like Linda, are 25+ minutes long and focus on pacing our conditioning and testing both our physical and mental ability to keep moving until the job is done.
It's important to remember that CrossFit is not about RX'ing every workout, but staying within the intended stimulus of the workout. Over time, you will notice a difference in your strength, conditioning, and overall well-being.