CrossFit Cuspis

SCALING: 🏃 YES, YOU CAN SCALE THE CARDIO TOO

We talk a lot about scaling weights and gymnastics.

But what about that 400m run?
Or 20-calorie row?
Or 50 double-unders?

Those have an intended timeframe too.

Imagine the workout is designed so everyone spends roughly two minutes running each round.

If one athlete finishes 400m in 1:45 and another needs 4:30, those athletes are having very different workouts.
>The second athlete might run 200–300m instead.

That’s not cheating.
That’s scaling.

The same concept applies to rowing, biking, skiing, jump rope and other conditioning movements.

💡 CUSPIS TIP: Scaling distance or calories lets athletes spend a similar amount of time working, even when their speeds are very different.

SCALING: 🤸 SCALE THE SKILL. KEEP THE CHALLENGE.

Can’t do the prescribed movement yet?
That’s okay. But your replacement movement should still accomplish something.

Take pull-ups. Depending on the athlete, we might use:
➡️ Strict pull-ups
➡️ Banded pull-ups
➡️ Jumping pull-ups
➡️ Ring rows

Those aren’t necessarily “levels” you have to graduate through. They’re tools.

The right choice depends on what we’re training that day and what YOU need to develop.

A good scale should let you move safely and successfully while still providing an appropriate challenge.

You shouldn't finish thinking, “Well, that was nothing.”
You also shouldn't spend half the workout staring at equipment because the movement is beyond your current ability.

💡 CUSPIS TIP: Scaling should meet you where you are, not leave you there.

SCALING: 🔢 SOMETIMES, KEEP THE MOVEMENT AND CHANGE THE REPS

Scaling doesn’t always mean swapping out a movement.
Sometimes the better option is simply doing less of it.

Let’s say the workout has 10 pull-ups per round.
You can do pull-ups...but 10 would take forever.

Instead of immediately switching to another movement, your coach might have you do 4–5 pull-ups per round.

Now you get to practice the skill you’re developing without completely changing the stimulus of the workout.

This works with lots of movements: pull-ups, toes-to-bar, push-ups, double-unders, handstand push-ups and more.

There’s value in accumulating quality reps of a skill, even if you’re not ready for the full workout volume yet.

💡 CUSPIS TIP: If you can perform a movement but struggle with the prescribed volume, ask your coach whether reducing the reps makes sense.

SCALING: 🏋️ HEAVIER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER

The board says 95/65.
You can lift 65 pounds.
So you should use 65 pounds…right?

Not necessarily.

The better question is: WHAT are you supposed to be able to DO with that weight?

If the workout calls for sets of 10 that should be completed unbroken or with one quick break, but you know you’ll be doing singles by rep four, the weight is probably too heavy for today’s stimulus.

Your 1-rep max matters.
But so do the number of reps, workout length, movement combination and intended pace.

Choosing 55 instead of 65 isn’t leaving 10 pounds of fitness on the table.
Sometimes it’s exactly what allows you to train harder.

💡 CUSPIS TIP: Ask your coach how many reps you should reasonably be able to perform when fresh. That’s often a much better way to choose your workout weight.

SCALING: 🎯 START WITH THE STIMULUS

Before deciding what weight to use or which movement to do, there’s a more important question: What is this workout supposed to FEEL like?

Is it supposed to be…
⚡ Fast and nearly unbroken?
🏋️ Heavy with deliberate reps?
🔥 Short and intense?
🏃 Longer and sustainable?
😮‍💨 A grind that tests your ability to keep moving?

That’s the intended stimulus of the workout.

If today’s workout is designed to take 8–10 minutes and your version takes 22, you didn’t necessarily get “more” out of it.

You trained something different.

Scaling helps us preserve the purpose of the workout while meeting each athlete where they are.

💡 CUSPIS TIP: Listen when your coach explains the intended stimulus before class. It’s not just an introduction, it’s one of the most important pieces of the workout.

For the next couple of weeks, we’re talking about one of the most important and sometimes misunderstood parts of CrossFit: SCALING.

🚫 SCALING ≠ FAILING
Let’s get this out of the way first.

If you scale a workout, you didn’t do “less CrossFit.”
You did CrossFit.

Scaling simply means adjusting a workout to match your current strength, skill, capacity, or needs. And EVERYONE scales.

Maybe you’re working toward your first pull-up. Maybe 95 pounds is too heavy to cycle safely today. Maybe you’re an experienced athlete who needs to reduce the reps because yesterday’s workout smoked your legs.

The goal isn’t to prove you can survive the workout as written.
The goal is to get the intended training effect from the workout.

Sometimes that means Rx.
Sometimes it doesn’t.

Both can be great training.

💡 CUSPIS TIP: Stop asking, “Can I Rx this?” and start asking, “What version of this workout is best for me today, to get better overall?”