Wednesday 110824
/Bench Press 3/5/7
High Rep Bench Press
Three rounds for time of:
50 Pull-ups
185 pound Deadlift, 21 reps
Power output, scaling, and intensity
Four performances from yesterday's WOD, "Isabel" (30 snatches for time)
Ryan @ 75lbs 2:50
Dallas @ 95lbs 2:19
Arnold @105lbs 2:27
Gene @ 115lbs 3:44
Which athlete had the best performance? Is it the one with the fastest time? The one who lifted the most? It's hard to tell when an athlete does the same workout at two different weights, and it's even harder when comparing two or three athletes who've lifted two or three different weights! Luckily, the fine people at www.cathletics.com created a calculator that can be used to measure power output.
Plugging the stats from each athlete and their weights lifted and times to complete the WOD, we get the following:
Ryan 206 watts
Dallas 297 watts
Arnold 296 watts
Gene 178 watts
If we judge by power output, Dallas, who used the second lightest weight of the four, had the best performance, and Gene, who used the heaviest weight, had the worst. This may have been obvious, since there was almost a 90 second difference in the times, but the difference between Arnold and Dallas's workout wasn't as easy to see, and I think most people would be surprised that Ryan's workout at 75lbs had a higher power output than Gene's at 115lbs!
Why do we care? We want our workouts to be intense. We want to move large loads, long distances, and do it QUICKLY. Power output measures exactly that. We want to progress towards doing the workout as rx'd, but not if we have to sacrifice intensity. All four of these athletes can snatch 135, but if doing so 30 times takes 12 minutes, we've missed the point of the workout!
Based on the performances yesterday we can also make recommendations for the next time this workout comes around. Ryan, Dallas and Arnold will all move up in weight, maybe 10lbs each. Their goal will be to complete the workout in the same times above. Gene will stay at this weight, and work towards a faster time, and a higher power output!