It has been a couple of weeks now since the March 2007 TSC and I have been thinking a lot about the event since then. I had a wonderful experience and really cannot recommend this contest enough. There are several aspects of the event that contributed to my enjoyment and make me suspect that I will be a long-time returning participant.

First, the group energy enables you to easily find an extra 10% in yourself and that's a nice surprise when you are used to training on your own. I attended the event in Denver hosted by Front Range Crossfit. It was a great group of athletes participating and everyone was genuinely rooting for others to do their absolute best. The energy was palpable and past personal-records were dropping like flies. Seriously, whatever you can do on your own, you'll do significantly better in this type of atmosphere.

Second, the TSC seems to be a perfect blend of events to measure overall strength and fitness in a non sport-specific way. This has been addressed before but here is a quick re-cap: Deadlift, Pull-ups, 5-minute snatch. The deadlift is an excellent measure of raw strength. You just can't get more basic than lifting a really heavy thing off of the ground. It's primal.

Next are pull ups and there is no better indicator of upper-body strength relative to weight. I have always been impressed by anyone who can knock out more than 10 perfect pull ups. At this event, I was in a room full of guys where 15-reps was just about average. That's motivating.

Last is the snatch test and this is all about how much work your body can do in 5 minutes. Its 5 minutes of hell but feels so good when you finally stop that it's actually worth every second! Well, that might be a stretch. Anyway, my guess is that you get a 15% benefit from the group on this one. The last minute is all about remaining focused (and conscious) and ignoring the very sensible signals that your body is sending. The room rooting for you that last 60 seconds is an incredible boost.

Lastly, periodically testing yourself in a competitive event is a great way to track your progress and stay motivated for a life-long strength/fitness program. All competitors at the event in Denver were awarded T-shirts. On the back of the shirt, in big bold letters, it says: FACE THE TRUTH. This really resonated with me. The truth is that I competed in March 2007 and the results are now part of the public record. The next time I compete and look at the results the truth will again be very apparent and I will face it. I will have improved, maintained, or lost ground. I plan to participate in this event, at least once a year, as long as I am able. If you can join me, I'll be rooting for you.

--Kevin

2007-03-27