5 Tips for Newbies on a WORM
If you have ever done a TEAM Comp at a Crossfit/Functional Fitness event, then more than likely you have encountered the dreaded WORM.
These come in various forms, whether they are 2-man, 3-man, 4-man or 6-man worms. They all equally deliver devastating fitness outcomes and can also help create an amazing team spirit, which I think personally is one of the greatest outcomes with the Worm.
Having spent over 8 years in the army, and then competing in various team sports, one of the first things you need to know is that you are only as fast as the slowest member of your group. So being able to recognise this is the first thing you must do. If you are the caller or the team leader on the worm, you must always factor this in when doing a big volume of work like worm squats or thrusters. You push too hard too early, and you will kill the team and I have seen on countless occasions where people on teams have cooked off at each other because they were made to feel bad for not keeping up and then they lose their cool.
So here are five tips for newbies or even experienced athletes to think about when on the worm......
1: Don't call from the front. I have seen this on so many occasions and it creates more harm than good. Why?
The person at the front has to half turn so other people in the team can hear him or her. In doing so, it twists the worm and creates unevenness along the line. Especially when the worm is long. Remember in a comp, there will be between 8-16 teams around you all doing the same, plus music plus crowd noise. They all play a factor in all of this
You can't see what is happening behind you. You can't see if someone is out of time, you can't see if someone is slowing down or moving incorrectly.
Your job at the front is to control the pace, and listen to what is being called by the actual caller.
2: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
You don't have to the "fastest" with the worm, you just have to be the smoothest. In training, you should try and find a rhythm first with all the movements, and as you and the team get better with each movement, then it will get faster. Walk before you run!
3: Only one person calls.
This comes with practice practice practice and TRUST within the team. You might have the urge to pipe up in the middle of the workout and say something, but DON'T. leave that for the caller to do. If you guys have the worm on the ground, that might be the opportunity to say something, but not mid-movement. that just causes confusion and shows you are not trusting the caller in captaining the worm.
4: Practice Practice Practice make better.
The more you can practice on a worm before a comp, the better your timing will be and also the better your confidence will be and the trust you have with your teammates. The more you do, the better you and your teammates will be.
5: Back yourself.
A majority of the movements you will encounter will be movements you do in a WOD already (maybe with DBs or Barbells) so the movements you encounter shouldn't be too hard for you to master. Practice practice practice.
As you can see, these are not rocket science, but practical advice for you to get success on a worm.
All the best for your training and we look forward to battling you all on the competition floor soon.
#team808
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