Freedom, Independence, and Liberty

Contrary to the the title of this post, we are not discussing what you may think, instead we would like to introduce you to a new way of thinking when attacking your daily workouts.

This is our newly defined 3 tier workout levels. It is a simple system you can use to consistently “modify” workouts for how you feel that day. We are not looking to water-down workouts, but instead provide you daily options when it comes to loading, technical skills, and endurance.


The idea is to create simplicity and provide readily available levels/options that everyone can reliably go back to each class. Athletes may choose to move between the tiers as desired. We will create a stimulus for each workout while allowing everyone to do the workouts together, in the same class, as close to possible to the original stimulus.

We would encourage you to complete the workout as written in each tier, but also understand there may be additional needs to further modify the movements, loading, or repetitions in the chosen tier to accommodate other needs or concerns. Your Coach can assist you when the need arises to further modify one of the tier options.

Does this mean RX and Scale are going away? Not necessarily. First, our workout tracking software, SugarWod, does not support the multi tier system as cleanly as we would like. For tracking and historical data, only the Freedom track should be marked “RX” in SugarWod. For the time being, the other two tiers, Independence and Liberty, should still be marked as scaled.

There is a HUGE push in the community to change the way we look at RX versus scaled. As CrossFit continues to grow and age, we are seeing a shift in the general population of athletes. There are now more variables in the community and the method of tracking needs to improve to support the community. We all know various flaws in the RX versus scaled methodology. What we do not know is how to appropriately change it. Several options are being tested daily in CrossFit gyms across the world, we even saw some changes in the 2021 Open.

With the help and assistance of our Mayhem Affiliation, this is a start. Athletes will be able to see the additional tiers in SugarWod by clicking on the “Workout prep notes” link at the bottom of the workout description.

Freedom:

This tier is your typical “Rx’d” version of the workout. This is a great option for athletes who want to train all the typical skills we see in CrossFit and some of the heavier loads from time to time. The athletes that do this tier may want to train for the Open and/or other competitions.

Independence:


This option is tailored for the “Everyday Athletes” who want to lift and hit the metcon as close to Rx’d as possible, but without the full magnitude of load and skill. This is an excellent, consistent scale for Masters 45+ who want a consistent tier they can come to each workout.

Liberty:

This option will be our very basic workout for athletes just starting off or simply those that want to get a good sweat in. The focus will be on scaling movements, load, and/or equipment to make workouts as clean-cut as possible for athletes who just want to move without heavier loads and complex/skilled movements.

Example Scaling: “Amanda”

Freedom:
9-7-5
Squat Snatch (135/95)
Ring Muscle Ups

Independence:
9-7-5
Power Snatch (115/80)
Burpee Chest to Bar Pull-ups

Liberty:
18-14-10
Alternating Dumbbell Snatch (35/25)
9-7-5
Burpee Jumping Pull Up