Raw Strength

Today we do the CrossFit Total–a series of three heavy lifts:  the back squat, shoulder press, and deadlift.  It is an excellent metric of your raw strength that we schedule 3 times per year to test your improvement.

The designer of the CrossFit Total, Mark Rippetoe, explains the workout in a CrossFit Journal Article from December 2006.  (Free CF Journal download.)  The following come from that article:

What is the CrossFit Total?

The CrossFit Total is the sum of the best of three attempts at the squat, the press, and the deadlift, the three most effective lifts in existence for developing and testing functional strength.

It’s a test, and it’s designed to measure what’s there, not create something that’s not. That’s what training is for.

How should I do the CrossFit Total?

For people not used to doing single maximum attempts, some tips on how best to safely do them are in order. After a warm-up, the squat will be performed first. Some squatting with the empty bar should have been included in the general warm-up so that the knees, hips, back, and shoulders are not too terribly surprised. Anyone in a position to attempt a legitimate CrossFit Total should be familiar enough with their capabilities on the lifts to have a fairly good idea of just what might be possible for a one-rep max (1RM). This number is what you warm up intending to do. A meet situation will involve three attempts, and this is a good way to determine a true 1RM.

How much weight should I use?

The first attempt would be a weight you know you can do for a heavy set of three. The second attempt would be a weight you know without any doubt that you could do for a single, having just done the first attempt. And the third attempt is the weight you want to do, based on your performance on the previous two attempts. If you have made a mistake setting your first attempt, the next two will need to be adjusted, but you should know what you can triple, and this will always be a safe first attempt. And since you know this weight, you know what weights to use to warm up for it: you’ll use the lightest weight that you normally start with for your first warm-up when you train, and 90% of the first attempt for the last warm-up, with either three or four relatively even increments in between these two.

Workout of the Day

CrossFit Total

Back Squat 1-1-1
Shoulder Press 1-1-1
Deadlift 1-1-1

Record total combined weight for your best of each lift.