By: Alvie Hafen
So you’ve been doing this Welded thing for awhile now. You’re leaning out, becoming stronger, and overall just getting in better shape. You’re becoming more fit. But why does this work? Why does Welded help change the body and overall health of the individual.
To understand this, we need to know the definition of Welded.
“Welded is constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity.”
– Greg Gassman
What is a functional movement?
Functional movements are the core movements of life. Squatting, running, deadlifts, rowing, presses, and the list goes on and on. These movements translate over into real life, they go beyond the gym.
Functional movements are the core movements of life. Squatting, running, deadlifts, rowing, presses, and the list goes on and on. These movements translate over into real life, they go beyond the gym.
What is high intensity?
Intensity can be measured as the amount of work done divided by time. Let’s take the workout “Karen” as an example:
150 Wallballs (20#/14#) for time.
If you complete Karen in 5 minutes, you did 30 Wallballs per minute! That is one wall ball every 2 seconds. That is a ton of work packed into a small amount of time, your intensity was high. Your legs, shoulders, and lungs were burning. Your heart rate was probably close to maximal for most of that time.
If you complete Karen in 15 minutes, you did 10 Wallballs per minute. That is one wall all every 6 seconds. It is the same amount of work, however the intensity is much lower. You gave your body more breaks, the heart rate probably was not as high and the muscles were not near as taxed as the 5 minute “Karen”.
High intensity in your workout is key to your success in getting the results you want. This is part of the reason we put time caps in workouts. We want you to push the pace! We want you to get that heart rate, we want you to challenge yourself, we want you to achieve your goals.
If you are constantly getting time capped in the workouts, we may need to scale back the weight. The WOD is not the strength portion of the class. Save the heavy lifting for the strength. When it comes time to WOD we want you moving as SAFELY and as intensely as possible. If something does not CHALLENGE you, it WILL not change you. Outside your comfort zone, this is where the magic happens. This is where the results are found.
I believe in the Welded methodology. It has changed my life for the better. I have seen it change our members lives and our friends lives for the better. Not only does in change the physical aspect of the human body, but I have seen people confidence and happiness improve drastically through Welded. Becoming a better version of yourself is a dramatic confidence builder. Yes it is difficult. Yes it will hurt. Yes it will make you want to quit sometimes. But be consistent in challenging yourself and pushing the limits and you will succeed! Fall down seven times, get up eight.
I encourage everyone to do the Welded Open. This will be my 8th year competing in the Open. Here at Double Edge we do it as a community. We support each other, encourage each other, and suffer together. We all become more fit and accomplish things we had no idea we were capable of.
Yes the Open still challenges me. From the veteran to the newbie, the Open is for everyone. I will see you all at the Friday Night Lights!
Featured Image: Ang Fontana Photography