Typically in the CrossFit world, gyms use specific "benchmark" workouts to test fitness. They'll repeat these workouts every so often to test the progress of their members. Often times these workouts are named after OG CrossFit women, or legends in the CrossFit world. For example, walk into any CrossFit gym in the country, and they'll be able to tell you how fast they can perform the workout "Fran."
At Synapse, however, we do things a little differently. We still want to test your fitness, but some of the more typical CrossFit workouts don't serve the purpose that we're looking for in our programming. So, we have created our own benchmark workouts after Original Synapsters (OS's). These are men and women who have been with us for what seems like FOREVER. They were all there in our first location (what is now the massage parlor in Tarzana), where there was little paint on the walls, words of the day, and sometimes we all canceled class to go ate bacon at whole foods. Times have changed, but there are a lot of OS's that still WOD hard on a daily basis with us. We have immortalized them forever by dedicating our benchmarks to our incredibly dedicated Original Synapsters.
This week, you will see 2 OS's, on Tuesday and Thursday, entitled "Hayes" and "Nancy" after Dan Hayes (6am Tarzana) and Nancy Aldrich (9am Tarzana). Next week you will see "Jackson" and "Wild Turkey" on Monday and Wednesday.
There will be 4 weight options for the workout listed on the board. Your goal is to eventually be able to do the workout at the first weight, but that may not be possible yet. No worries! This gives you a goal to work towards. Keep track of your times and weights, as we will be repeating these workouts 2 months from now.
While the typical day at Synapse is a "training day," these are "testing days," and a different attitude is required. While there are strict standards for the movements in these workouts, feel free to pull out all the stops and really go for these WODs. Remember you are only competing with yourself, and that competition should end once the WOD does! Have fun with this- these are some really spectacular WODs that we designed to allow you thrive. GO FOR IT! ALLOW yourself to compete and push yourself a little further than you thought possible.
Amazing things are about to happen this week! Good Luck on Hayes and Nancy, Synapsters!