Teamwork is taught to us through our younger years, drilled into us by our ill-tempered PT teacher during school days.

It’s a way of life we incorporate at work, at home, but never at gym. Mainstream gyms. Yes, the type where they promise results, without ever acknowledging your existence. Where the only conversation ever held with a fellow gym-goer is, “Are you done with that?” Which often receives a well-rehearsed, awkward grunt.

Who motivates you during the last set, yourself? Who pushes you, acknowledges your progress? Bob the trainer who’s asking for R1k a week for 3 sessions? Nooit.

I loved gym, the routine, the silence from the outside world when my earphones were in, 5 times a week. But after spending 5 weeks with the fellow comrades at Black River CrossFit, I’m never looking back. These smaller, more principled studios have a sense of community. There are no lockers where valuables are locked up. There’s an honour system works where you write up anything you had from the canteen.

We all sweat together, push together, and progress together. Yes, progress.

I’ve increased my deadlift, back-squat and bench-press enormously in the past 5 weeks, and without the support of the coaches and fellow members I would never have made it! Here’s to the guys who are fighting this challenge with me!

Please send through any progress reports you have, or eating plan questions to @rwdsailing #TeamRich – keen to discuss!

See you next week!

Week 5 training schedule:

Monday
Part A
1RM back squat

Part B
Fran

Tuesday
Part A
5-5-5-3-3-3-1-1-1
Power clean and power jerk
(Touch and go, practice cycling barbell, technique, add weight if form is good)

Part B
Emom16
Min 1 – row 12/10 calorie
Min 2 – 10M HS walk/ 2 wall climbers
Min 3 – 5 push up into shoot through into dip (paralette or stack weight plates)
Min 4 – run 100M while skipping

Wednesday
Part A
Fight gone bad

Part B
15 minutes mobility – work a tight area
4-5 mins assault bike at conversational pace

Thursday
Part A
Every 90 seconds for 8 sets
2 sumo deadlift
15M backwards sled drag (face sled)

Part B
12 min AMRAP
1 bear complex (155/105) (115/85) (3 hang power clean/ 3 front squats)
25 double unders
(After each set add another bear complex)

Friday
Part A
Find max bench press

Part B
Max strict pullups
(Then 3 sets at 75% reps of above with weight added)

Part C
Tabata assault bike

Saturday

Part A
Find max clean

Part B
Nasty girls

*scale with pullups alternated with ring dips OR ring rows alternated with regular push-ups

Part B
Spend 15 minutes working mobility