kettlebellguy

I do a lot of research on aging and exercise. I have also been researching Crossfit and older adults. I came across a Crossfit workout called “Respect Your Elders”. The basic concept is simply scaling the workout based upon your age. Here is the workout as written:

WOD 4-05-08 “Respect Your Elders” (created by ML)

100 reps minus your age: Air Squats
100 reps minus your age: Walking Lunge
100 reps minus your age: Kettlebell Swing 1 Pood (35#/16KG)
100 reps minus your age: Sit-Up
100 reps minus your age: Push-Up
100 reps minus your age: Wall-Ball 20#/14# OR Thruster 45#/30#
100 reps minus your age: Burpees
100 reps minus your age: Double-Unders

I shared the workout with Brian thinking it would be a fun thing for one of those days where he might be looking for something different. I thought it would be expecially cool when we had a class with a lot of 20 and 30 year olds…..at least fun for me.

I figured maybe some day he would pull it out of his bag of tricks, not expecting that I would get the opportunity to do it so soon or under such strange conditions.

This morning as I pulled up to the gym I noticed the lack of cars. For the past couple of weeks we had been running between 8 and 11 people for class, this morning I saw only two cars belonging to Brian and Jerry, the trainers. I should have been smart enough to turn and run then.

I went in and we talked about where everyone was. I really did not want a class with all the attention on me. Then Eric walked in. I was really glad to see him since there would be at least two of us.

Then something happened that had never happened before. Jerry was doing the warmup with us. What’s this all about? Jerry is a trainer, he never does the workout with us. He must have decided to do it with Eric and I since we had such a small class. But, this is all good. It means Brian will have to watch all three of us meaning I only have to worry 1/3 of the time.

We did our warmup and did a cool team competition on the rowing machine and then it came time for the workout of the day to go up on the board. Brian never puts the workout on the board in advance, it is always a suprise.

“You can all thank Terry for this workout”, I heard Brain say, and my heart sank. Jerry is only 29 so……he had a lot more to do than I did for this workout and he has me to thank for it. I can only trust in Jerry’s good nature for the next time he is my trainer, rather than my classmate. I wonder if it is true what they say about payback?

I heard Jerry saying “Thank You Terry” on each one of his pushups. At least I think that’s what he was saying. I could hear my name for sure but rest was a little garbled.

Here is how Brian adjusted the workout for us:

85 reps minus your age: Air Squats
85 reps minus your age: Walking Lunge
85 reps minus your age: Kettlebell Swing 1 Pood (35#/16KG)
85 reps minus your age: Sit-Up
85 reps minus your age: Push-Up
85 reps minus your age: Wall-Ball 20#/14# OR Thruster 45#/30#
85 reps minus your age: Burpees
85 reps minus your age: Double-Unders (or 3 X your number single)

Results
Terry–18:27(30 reps)
Eric–16:59(40 reps)
Jerry–27:36(56 reps)

I did ok on this workout. My biggest challenge is the burpees. Perhaps if they had been positioned earlier in the routine I would have done better. I got them all done but each and every one was a struggle.

Jerry worked his butt off. I was impressed with his ability to keep going and finish the workout. And as usual Eric confirmed my belief that he is actually a mutant. It was a great morning.

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