When looking at a workout you will always see Rx which really means “as prescribed”. When you first open SugarWOD you will see a quick overview of the workout itself and at the very bottom you’ll see Rx with some numbers next to it and that will match what it says for Intermediate within the workout notes.
Keep in mind that the workout notes will show the beginner and advanced versions of the workout as well. The beginner version is scaled DOWN from the original Rx/Int and the advanced is the scaled UP version.
KNOWING THE STANDARDS
Every movement we do has a standard and here are a few examples:
- Push-ups – Your chest touches the floor while your thighs and hips stay off the floor and you finish with your elbows completely locked out.
- Thrusters – Your squat was below parallel and you pressed the bar overhead until the elbows were fully locked out.
- Lunges – Your back knee touched the ground and when you stood back up your knees and hips were fully locked out.
- Pull-ups – You started at a dead hang and pulled until your chin went over the bar. These could be strict or kipping.
- Strict Pull-ups – Start at a dead hang and got your chin over the bar but you didn’t kip at all.
- Chest to Bar Pull-ups – Same as pull-ups but you physically made contact with the bar below your collar bone.
- Hang Power Cleans – Because it’s Hang the bar starts at the hips and finishes with you standing all the way up and with your elbows in front of the bar before bringing the bar back down.
- Burpees Over the Bar – Your chest touches the ground and you jump and land over the bar with both feet at the same time.
WORKOUT EXAMPLES
With each movement, there is a prescribed weight, range of motion, distance, or height. If you can check all of these boxes for each movement, you’ve done the workout Rx. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
With this workout, as yourself these questions and if you can answer yes to everything, you’ll click the Rx button.
- Rowing – Did you do the number of calories it says? Guys are 30 and the girls are 24 calories.
- Wallballs – As a guy, did you use a 30# wall ball and throw the ball above the sticker on every single rep? As a girl did you use a 20# wall ball and throw the ball and hit the sticker on every single rep? Did you squat below parallel on every single rep?
- Box Jumps – As a guy, did you jump on a 30-inch box? As a girl did you jump on a 24-inch box? When you landed on top of the box, did you stand up all the way?
- Timing – Did you finish all the rounds AND reps before the time cap?
With this workout, as yourself these questions and if you can answer yes to everything, you’ll click the Rx button.
- Run – Did you go all the way to the 400-meter mark and back every single round?
- KB Swings – As a guy, did you use the 53# KB? As a girl, did you use the 35# KB? Did you finish the swing with the KB all the way overhead and the bottom of the KB facing the ceiling? Were your arms straight/elbows locked the entire time for every rep?
- Lunges – When you stepped backward, did your back knee touch the ground on every single rep? When you brought your foot back in, were both of your feet side by side with your knees and hips locked out?
- Timing – Did you finish all the rounds AND reps before the time cap?
WHAT IF I WAS PRETTY CLOSE?
There are a couple of scenarios where you’re close but not quite Rx.
- Let’s take push-ups for example and you’re doing 10 rounds of 10 push-ups. The first 8 rounds look perfect and then you find yourself starting to “snake” on the way up. First, be happy to get 8 rounds done with good form but know that in the last two rounds a bunch of those reps were not up to the standard so you won’t click the Rx button.
- Let’s say the workout is pull-ups and heavy power cleans. You get excited that you did the power cleans at the Rx weight for the first time but you did jumping pull-ups instead. Sure, you Rx’d the cleans but not the pull-ups so you did not actually Rx the workout.
FAIRNESS
Recording scores, times and reps are not everything but they do help with motivation and provides a little competition.
Imagine you just killed yourself doing a full workout Rx and you’re pumped. Now imagine someone else who went way faster or did more reps than you but didn’t really do all the reps, didn’t squat below parallel, toes didn’t touch the bar on every rep and they clicked Rx. Don’t be that someone else!
RECAP
- Hold yourself to a high standard with all of your movements. Quality over Quantity every time.
- Make sure every rep has the right weight, range of motion, distance, or height.
- Cutting corners to finish faster will hurt you long term.
