Move, Lift, Work: What the Three Parts Are

Move-Lift-Work runs a week today, Saturday 10 October. Entries closed on 21 September, so this is for the people already on the list, and for anyone who wants to come and watch.

Three parts, and the name tells you what they are.

Move is the engine piece. A long mixed-machine effort with some straightforward bodyweight movements. This is the long grind. A test of pure engine.

Lift is a strength test. You build to a heavy single in short lifting windows on a running clock — a set number of attempts and a fixed gap between them, so choosing your jumps matters as much as what you can lift.

Work is a CrossFit workout against a time cap. The high intensity piece.

It is an individual competition this year. Every entrant does all three, and the three scores combine into one placing.

The Work piece runs at three levels. Same workout, same clock, three sets of loads and three versions of the gymnastics. The person doing jumping pull-ups and the person doing bar muscle-ups are working at the same relative intensity for their own capacity, and the scoring reflects that. Everyone is doing their version of the same competition.

Registration first thing, the three events in sequence through the morning with a gap between each, prizegiving early afternoon. Athletes go out in heats of three or four with a judge each. Standards get briefed before every piece, and a rep that does not meet the standard does not count.

Two things to sort tonight. Bring more food than you think you need, and something warm for between events — you will spend a lot of the day standing around cooling down.

And this week, do not do anything different. There is no session between now and Saturday that will make you fitter, and there are several that could make you sore. Train as normal, sleep as normal, turn up.

If you are coming to watch, arrive whenever suits. Stay for the last heat.

Think you're not fit enough to ever be able to do a competition? You're wrong. There's no better feeling than the knowledge you've done something you never dreamed you could. If you're new to all this, fifteen minutes on the phone with Jeremy or Beth, free and no obligation, at crossfitchiltern.com.