Hey Fran Lovers,
So by now most of you have met and have perhaps, with repetition, begun making peace with the lovely workout we call “Fran.” We can talk a lot about takeaways and favorite moments of the challenge, but I would be remiss in my duties as a nerd if I did not highlight a few statistics first ;).
- 9 people completed the challenge from beginning to end.
- Of those 9, the average percent increase in power output from Week 1 to Week 8 was 45%. That is essentially the simplest measure of how much better, on average, they performed at the end of the challenge compared to the beginning.
- Milo took the top spot with a 98% improvement. Ninety. Eight. Those of you who had the distinct pleasure of watching him struggle through quite a few heavy thrusters can appreciate how hard he worked for that.
- Steve and Yaya took 2nd and 3rd place with 62% and 52% improvements, respectively. Prizes forthcoming!
- You can check out your own results and details on the Franuary Scoresheet within the Coach’s Log.
Now, the first thing I would like to highlight in the grander scheme of things is how awesome it was to see each of you pushing and cheering each other on. One of the highlights of the CrossFit community and overall experience is that you develop a unique sense of the struggles your peers go through in the course of a hard workout, because you often literally experience the same thing moments prior. When we repeat workouts as frequently as we did in “Franuary,” this sense becomes heightened because you are getting regular weekly doses of the same flavor of intensity, and it can get pretty emotional sharing that corresponding pain in close quarters. This is amplified further by the expectations you set for yourself (even though we encourage you to primarily just do your best, the two are not mutually exclusive) when you know you have a time to beat, and you know your peers are also throwing down to exceed their own previous best. In short, there is great bonding to be had in the suck. My favorite moment was every time this happened.
Secondly, the data we collected was legit. To be honest, I was a little worried at first that we would come across logistical difficulties of getting everyone keeping good range of motion and rep counts, maybe some unintentional sandbagging at first, and perhaps a few lackluster performances throughout that could sap enthusiasm. But I kept a close eye and was pleasantly surprised to see so many amazing and repeat PR efforts. I know a few of you were uncertain whether you could do any more based on the hard target you set the 1st week, let alone the 4th week, but for the most part it wasn’t even close. And I’m pretty sure those weren’t fake collapses-into-a-heap I witnessed repeatedly.
I feel pretty confident saying that the basic intended lesson of Franuary holds true: you are capable of much more than you think. Seriously, there is a beast in each of you that is slowly but surely finding a new home in CrossFit. Keep tapping into that 5th gear on the days when you can. When you are ready, there will be a 6th, and a 7th, and perhaps more.
Finally, a special shout out to Anthony, who set a high bar to beat his 4th week, went for it today despite sub-optimal conditions, and bombed out (and still beat his Week 1 score by 21%). Your efforts uplift us all.
-Mauricio
If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. – Bruce Lee
