Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Workout 1/23: HSPUs, L Pull-Ups, Lunges

"Have you let them beat the creativity out of you already?" I am watching the movie "Speak" with my students in class today. It's the end of the semester, and many of them read this book as part of their independent reading, so I figured it was a nice end-of-the-semester reward for their hard work. This quote always strikes me because we as teachers have a job that requires balance. We need to tap into so many areas of students' skills and still make sure we are teaching the content that will help them succeed in life. Creativity is key! Teachers must be creative, we must dig for students to use their creativity, and we must acknowledge when students excel creatively. For all of my teacher readers, be creative this week at least once.

Speaking of creativity but trying not to sound like a broken record, CrossFit is perhaps the most creative fitness program I have ever participated in. What other program have you heard of that utilizes handstand push-ups or L-sits or L-Pull-ups? Sure, gymnastics uses these on a regular basis, but not many fitness programs for the general public would use them. Thank you CrossFit for pushing me to something uncomfortable, new, fun, and beneficial.

CrossFit: HSPU, L-PU, WLS
As many rounds as possible in 15 minutes of:
3 Handstand Push-ups
6 "L" Pull-ups
9 Walking Lunge Steps
(6 Rounds + 3 HSPU + 4 Pull-ups)

*After Round 4, I gradually moved from "L" Pull-ups to "V" Pull-ups to "High Knee" Pull-ups to Regular Pull-ups. I think my abs are going to be a bit sore tomorrow...good!*Photo courtesy of CrossFit Oakland

1 comment:

Tanya said...

Being a science teacher, creativity is the name of my game. Every day. This is why I get so exhausted all the time. Enabling my students to tap into their own knowledge and creativity while not giving them the answer is an act of creativity and perserverance. It would be so much easier to give them the answer and move faster, but then the process of figuring it out for themselves is lost, as well as the development of their critical thinking skills.