CrossFit Athletic Group

Welp, I don't think I can say for certain that the torch has been officially passed, but I think Aaron Sexton has made an emphatic case for revenge on the Limiting Factor post:

At some point Aaron is going to get sick enough of me kicking his ass in workouts that he'll stop drinking five Bang energy drinks for breakfast.

Today at the 10 am session, Aaron hit a 2:25 Fran as rx'd, which is the fastest time in Champions Club history, and even faster than my own personal record. I'm seeing a point this Summer where him and I will have to square off in Helen to settle some things...

After the workout, the topic of fitness testing came up among the 10 am group; as it turns out, Jessica's soccer team has to do a fitness test tomorrow which is something along the lines of:

1 mile run (under 6:30)

Rest 1 minute

800-meter run (under 3:30)

Rest 1 minute

400-meter runs (under 1:45)

Rest 1 minute

200-meter run (under :40)

Rest 1 minute

10 40-yard sprints

First off, from a physiological track and field perspective, this makes no sense; from a soccer player perspective it makes even less sense. In track when an all-out time trial is a part of practice, the only other parts of practice are the warm-up, mobility, and cool-down. The coach here is expecting a pr effort on a mile, then multiple other significant efforts with only a minute rest in between. Not possible kind sir or ma'am: either they won't be significant efforts (in which case the girl should be a cross country runner) or the desired times won't be met.

Secondly, this tests mostly aerobic capacity and recovery (which is technically also part of your aerobic capacity). Even the "sprints" at the end are hardly going to be sprints after everything before it. But what about lower body strength? What about push-ups? What about hollow rocks or sit-ups? What about doing a max plank hold immediately following the mile? The ability to be strong and express your strength when you are dead-tired is, I'd imagine, just as big of a part of soccer as it is of any other sport.

Lastly, what if the best player on the team fails the test? Is she really going to sit the bench? Cecilia never passed a fitness test before 2019 and... /checks website archives... yup.

Way more often than not conditioning at practice is really a waste of time. There are way too many missed lay-ups, bad first touches, botched grounders, and missed serves to justify running suicides. The conditioning comes with the regular skills and drills and scrimmages done at game speed, and Jessica's actual fitness test is whether or not she is fit enough to hold off the other girl going after the center back spot.

Judging by her 4:38 Fran time today, I'd say she is.