Let’s start off with what a Met-Con stands for: Met-con which is short fro metabolic conditioning is a cornerstone in CrossFit style training and programming. A great example is Cindy: You complete 20 minutes of work with each round consisting of 5 pullups, 10 pushups, and 15 squats. Your score is the number of rounds and reps completed in that time cap. Met-cons are hard for those not fully conditioned in other aspects of endurance and stamina.
These short Met-Con’s might look “easy” on the board but then all of a sudden a simple body weight workout turned into a complete nervous system shocker that takes time for you to recover from. Just think of Fran, a workout that has two exercises leaves even the fittest of the athletes gasping for air at the end.
Every Met-Con has it’s place in programming. There are going to be days that you need to tax your endurance system with longer WOD’s that range up to 45 minutes or short weight lifting ones that tax your central nervous system for short bouts of energy. The mid-range workouts are the hardest to accomplish. WHY ? Good thing you asked because here is the reason. Think of track and field, the hardest run is 800 m. That is because its a full out LONG sprint that you need to maintain the pace for the entire duration to complete. Same goes for mid-range WOD’s. You are taxing your body at a steady pace that is hard and uncomfortable.
For a more advanced athlete, performing a 20 minute WOD might cause slight fatigue but it subsides quickly due to training capacity. For beginners or athletes who train 3 days on average, the recovery time is going to be a lot longer. Your muscles might be more sore and you might not have the energy to continue into another workout or training session. This all leads to your work capacity and training volume. The more time you can spend in the “uncomfortable” zone the more your body learns to challenge itself and adapt to those changes. Start small and work your way up to a longer duration. This is called progressive training. You then add volume to your high-intensity met-con when your progress stalls.
So what if a met-con is like REALLY short.. say 2 minutes short ? You then LIFT and lift heavy ! Challenge your body to grow and always push yourself like you are competing against numbers not another person!!!
Have FUN !!!