Written by Reid Worthington
Congrats to Reid on the recent opening of his own facility, The Lumberyard, in Anaheim, CA. Check it out HERE!
Preparation, preparation, preparation!! That’s the name of the game for me at this point. As the SOCAL regional approaches in a few short days, my workouts have consisted of timing, efficiency, and transitions with my teammates. It has been a rewarding experience for me this year choosing to go team. Working with people on a daily basis that want the best for you and encourage you to turn your brain off and work has made me a better athlete and teammate. After the regional workouts were released, my only concern was the strict hand stand pushup workout. Prior to this, I would say that hand stand pushups were my greatest weakness. In order to overcome this, I have done EMOM capacity training every other for 8-10 min. This really helps with the work to rest ratio of 20 sec on/ 40 off. Being a “heavier” athlete, big sets of 10 or more fatigue my shoulders quickly, so I work around 4-6reps minute over time to build capacity.
On the other hand, Im extremely excited about the gymnastics and weightlifting events coming up. Over the past 4 weeks, I have put 20 pounds on my hang snatch and hit multiple sets of 15 or more muscle ups. Being patient on the bar and allowing my hips to jump the weight up, instead of “muscling it,” has made me more efficient in all aspects of weightlifting. I also believe this has helped me to become more “gymnasty” on the rings, toes to bar, and pullups.
If you are hitting a plateau, like I was, try slowing things down and work on your mechanics. A few steps back, even when training for upcoming competitions, will help you make leaps and bounds forward. Gymnastics and weightlifting for me are all about “mileage.” The more efficient reps you can get in per week, the more skilled you become and less work you do when it comes gameday. We all want to perform our best when the time comes. Foundational movements and mechanics are the best way to build that foundation to succeed.
-Reid
Reid Worthington is a competitive CrossFit athlete based out of Orange County, CA. Worthington played linebacker at Northern Arizona University, before playing professionally in Europe. Reid found CrossFit in August 2012 and finished 20th in the ultra-competitive SoCal Regionals in 2013. Website, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter
