Rx: Friend Or Foe?

Well, the answer is both and it is dependent upon your understanding and approach to the program.

We’ve received several questions and comments recently in regards to scaling workouts, and concerns about the programming being too challenging or geared toward elite athletes. We’ve also noticed some bad habits/trends/stubbornness in some individuals’ approach to their training. Our goal is to provide a better understanding of how we prescribe workouts. This will help each athlete better navigate through prescriptions and set themselves up for success.

Let’s start at the beginning: The Program

Understanding the programming is the first step to having a proper approach to your training. Constructing workouts is considered an art form by many. It’s a challenging task to put together a safe, effective and efficient program for an individual, let alone for a largely populated affiliate. With our overall goal being GPP (General Physical Preparedness), we strive to provide an effective pathway to inclusive fitness. To be prepared for the unknown and unknowable. To be as well rounded of an athlete as you can be. We want our community to have the ability to run fast, jump high, move loads, master gymnastics basics, and do them in as many combinations and variations as possible.

Now that we know our goal is GPP, how do we get there? 

SUBU’s class program could be considered one of the most challenging and demanding affiliate programs in Central Florida, and for good reason. Progression. It’s what drives us to keep coming back week after week. It is our responsibility to challenge our athletes to be better. To move faster. To be mentally stronger. To become and maintain the best version of themselves. As our athletes have progressed through the years, so has our program. It has to evolve along with our affiliates’ capacities. If our workouts and prescriptions stay at a standstill then so will our fitness [in the long term].

Included in each program are prescriptions, otherwise known as Rx. It is the suggested standard for each workout. Prescriptions range all the way from range of motion, movement variations and load amounts for weightlifting movements. These will vary depending on movement volume (amount of reps to be completed), rest duration, and more importantly, workout stimulus (how the workout is meant to feel). Once the stimulus and goal for each workout is determined, we then must decide how to apply these standards based on our best athletes to fit the desired stimulus. You may have heard the term “Program for the best and scale for the rest.” That statement at a glance may seem harsh to some, but it holds much truth to how programming should be written. If one writes prescriptions based on the largest population of athletes then the fittest ones would not be challenged and would very likely plateau. The needs of our best athletes that compete in CrossFit and the needs of the athletes that show up in order to lead healthy and fit lives only differ by degree, not kind. We as athletes all have the same needs, but we have many differences in our current abilities and our workouts must be modified to fit those abilities. This is where scaling comes into play.

Why do we scale? And why do so many athletes see it as a sign of weakness? 

Far too often as we take scores on the whiteboard do we hear, “I got X amount of reps but I only did 65lbs”, or “yeah, I finished but I scaled the hell out of it” as if they’re not proud of the work they did. Or on the other spectrum we hear comments like “I only got 5 reps but I did Rx!” and “I didn’t finish under that cap but I Rx’d it!” Both of these circumstances have their place and time, but for the majority of training, that kind of thinking can actually hinder your success. On one hand athletes often sound discouraged because they have the letter “S” next to their name, or on the other, some athletes go far beyond their abilities just to avoid it next to theirs.

So what does scaled truly mean? Scaled simply means that the suggested standard was modified to fit your current level of fitness; your Rx, if you will. It means that modification was made so the intended stimulus for the workout can be met. It doesn’t mean you backed down from a challenge or that you were too weak to attempt what other athletes were able to complete. Scaling should be viewed as a form of progression. Remember that concept that drives what we do? Progression is the name of the game. How you scale a workout should be based on what is attainable at your current ability and what is going to challenge your capacity. Choosing what will help you progress closer to that standard. Scaling also shouldn’t be based on just making a workout easier, it should be seen as a realistic challenge that will improve your fitness. 

Which leads us to the approach.

How do we choose when and what to scale? It will take some trial and error. The more experience you have with CrossFit and the way your body handles the movements and volume will help make that decision. The most important factor is communication with your coaches. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, that’s why we’re here! Coaches are your biggest tools. As coaches we have a general sense of our members’ fitness capacities. We see our athletes day in and day out. Once that knowledge is applied to the desired stimulus of each workout and your short and long term goals, finding adequate scales is a piece of cake! 

Communicate with your coaches.

Don’t be afraid to have an S on the whiteboard. Here’s a secret: nobody else cares if you did Rx or if you scaled. Make the necessary adjustments to get the most out of SUBU’s program. Scale when needed. Rx when it’s appropriate. Scale UP when it can be a more adequate challenge for you. Start by setting your pride aside. Have some fun. Trust the process. And Show Up and Blow Up!

May 31, 2020 by Miguel Senior