CrossFit: I Am A Chipper WOD

I had this epiphany while driving home from CrossFit last night, and maybe I’m just boring, but it totally inspired today’s post.

Here’s the deal: I really, really like chipper WODs. Like, I think they’re actually fun. For those of you not immersed in the functional fitness world, let me explain what a chipper actually means—because no, I’m not talking about that wood chipper thing in Fargo that ate up an entire human body.

Blurry but you get the point

In CrossFit, a chipper WOD is a type of workout where a series of different movements are strung together, often with high reps of each one. They’re usually difficult and you really have to put your head down, grind it out, and “chip” away at each movement before moving on to the next. For example, yesterday’s was as following:

I knew I was going to be exhausted heading into Big Horn yesterday, and honestly, I debated skipping it. My calves were slightly sore from my foray into zero drop running, and my body was spent from lifting boxes and furniture all weekend. However, once I saw this workout posted on Sunday night, I knew I wasn’t skipping a day—chippers make me so happy afterwards!

Still, I struggled to get into the car and I even considered flipping a U-turn when I was halfway there. I was just exhausted! However, my brain kept going and I found myself at Big Horn. I still felt tired through the front squats, and found myself second guessing my decision. However, I was already there, so I got ready for the chipper and set up my area.

And you know what? Sure enough, the workout lit me up and set me on fire! My body woke up, I got into the groove, and I was able to go home and be productive for the rest of the night.

Grocery shopping at Sprouts in my Reebok Nanos after the workout

So what’s with the chipper workouts? Why do they seem to work so well for me? I thought this through (hence my previously mentioned epiphany in the car ride), and I’m pretty sure it’s because I am a chipper WOD. As in, that’s how I function and that’s how my personality works. Y’all know that I have a zillion different hobbies, ranging from running to hiking, backpacking to mountain biking, peak bagging to skiing, and CrossFit to ballet. I’ve never been the type of gal who settles into one sport and one sport only. Sometimes I wish that I would just so I could be really good at something, but alas, it’s just not me. It’s not who I am. Do you think it’s possible to have a workout at least semi-define you?

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If you could “be” any type of workout, what would you be? A long, slow run? An action packed ski descent? (Is that a stupid question?!)