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To the Athlete Who Keeps Racing the Person on the Next Rig

5 days ago
6 min read
To the Athlete Who Keeps Racing the Person on the Next Rig

LETTER TO THE ATHLETE · TRAINING SMART · BY COACH FRITZ

You were pacing fine until the person on the next rower pulled ahead.

I know what happens in the next ten seconds. Your split drops, your breathing gets ragged, and the plan you made in warm-up is gone. Two rounds later you are the one fading, and you walk away thinking you lack an engine. Most of the time you just ran someone else's workout.

This letter is for you. I want to explain what that chase really costs, then give you a way to use your own numbers so the room stops steering your pace. You will leave with three sessions and one simple rule for the middle of a WOD.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Dear Athlete, You Are Not Slow. You Are Borrowing a Pace.

Here is a pattern I see a lot in athlete video. The first round looks controlled. Then someone nearby speeds up, and the reps get shorter, the transitions get rushed, and the barbell starts getting dropped instead of cycled. Nothing about that other person's workout was written for you. You can't see their training history, their body size or how well they slept.

Swimming as a kid taught me why lane lines exist. You can hear the swimmer beside you and still hold your own stroke count. Chasing the next lane in a short sprint is fine. Chasing it in a long swim ends badly. Most WODs in a normal class are the long swim.

I am not telling you to stop being competitive. I like that you push. I am asking you to point that drive at the right target, which is the best version of your own workout.

What Chasing the Next Rig Actually Costs You

  • Pace. A small overshoot in round one tends to cost more time later than it saves up front. The fade usually shows up as a slow final round, not a fast first one.

  • Load. You pick the barbell because the person next to you did, not because you can cycle it. The set you planned in two breaks turns into five.

  • Positions. Rushed reps get shallow, bent-armed or off balance. That means no-reps, and no-reps are slower than any pace you were trying to beat.

  • Tomorrow. An overcooked session leaves you flat for the next one. Your weekly training quality drops because of one Tuesday you wanted to win.

If you notice yourself loading heavier or rushing positions just to keep up, stop and scale. Technique that breaks down under fatigue is where ttweaks and strains tend to happen. If you feel sharp or lingering pain, get it checked by a qualified professional rather than training through it.

Build Your Own Lane Numbers Before the Clock Starts

You can't ignore the room by willpower alone. You need a number that is louder than the person beside you. Here is the four-step version I give my athletes.

  1. Name the stimulus. Read the workout and decide how it should feel. For a 15 to 20 minute piece, I want RPE 7 to 8 early and RPE 9 only in the last 3 minutes.

  2. Set a round target. Use your last similar workout. Pick a round time and aim to finish every round within 10 seconds of the first. Even rounds beat a fast first one.

  3. Pick load by cycles. Choose a barbell you can move in sets you can plan, such as two sets for round one, using about 70 to 80 percent of your best unbroken set.

  4. Write it where you can see it. Put the round target on your hand or the whiteboard next to your name. When you glance at it, the number wins.

Coach's cue: Hear them, don't follow them. Check your number, not their score.

Three Own-Lane Sessions to Practice This

Use these once a week each, ideally on days you would be training anyway. Rest only as written, and keep the screen or the clock as your only competition.

  • Split Lock Row (about 22 minutes). After a warm-up, row 4 x 4:00 at a split you could hold for 10 more minutes, about RPE 7, with 90 seconds of rest. Goal: all four splits within 2 seconds per 500m of each other. If the person beside you pulls away, let them go.

  • Round Target AMRAP (15 minutes). Each round is 5 pull-ups (or ring rows), 10 push-ups and 15 air squats. Before you start, set a target of 1:30 to 1:45 per round. Write each round time as you go. Goal: your last round lands within 10 seconds of your first.

  • Load Check EMOM (10 minutes). Every minute, do 3 power cleans at about 65 percent of your best, then spend the leftover seconds on easy bike calories. Goal: every rep looks like rep one, with 15 to 20 seconds to spare. If a friend loads up, you stay put.

Log your splits, round times and how it felt. After four weeks you will have your own data, and that is a much better coach than a glance sideways.

The One-Breath Rule and When Comparing Helps

Mid-workout, you will still feel the pull. When it comes, use this: take one breath, check your target, then slow your next rep, not your next minute. You are correcting by a small amount, which is much easier than recovering from a blow-up.

Comparing is not always bad. If the person next to you has a pace that matches your plan, use them as a pacer. After class, compare your score to last month's you, or to someone at a similar level on the same scale. That is information. Comparing in the middle of round three with the wrong person is just noise.

Where I Stand

I think the whiteboard is a record, not a verdict. I would rather see you finish in the middle of the pack with even rounds and clean reps than win the first five minutes and limp through the rest. I know some gyms push you to keep up with the group, and I understand the energy, but I coach pace before pride.

Try this today: In your next 12 to 20 minute workout, write a target round time on your hand before you start and stay within 10 seconds of it every round, whoever is beside you.

Own-Lane Quick Recap

  • Their workout is not yours. You can't see their training history, size or recovery, so their pace is a poor target.

  • Chasing costs more than it saves. A fast first round tends to show up later as a slow last one, bad reps and a flat tomorrow.

  • Use a louder number. Set a stimulus, a round target within 10 seconds, a load you can plan and write it where you can see it.

  • Practice it on purpose. Split Lock Row, Round Target AMRAP and Load Check EMOM each train staying in your lane.

  • Use the one-breath rule. When you feel the pull, breathe, check your number and slow your next rep.

  • Compare with purpose. Use a matching pacer or last month's you, not the wrong person at the wrong moment.

The Lane You Actually Race In

You are not behind. You are an athlete who cares, and that is the hardest part to teach. The work now is learning where to aim it.

Pick one workout this week and run it by your own numbers. Notice how different the last round feels. That feeling is worth more than any spot on the board.

If you want sessions with pacing targets and loads already written for you, take a look at Sphere Programming.

Your turn. What is the one movement where you most often speed up to keep pace with someone else, and what does round three look like after that? Tell me in the comments below. I read every one, and your answers shape what I write next. If this helped, tap the heart so it reaches more athletes.

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Coach Fritz Bautista · Head Coach, ATHLETESPHERE

CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2) ✓ · CrossFit Programming Certificate · MBA Graduate · Digital Marketing Certified · Coaching athletes from all walks of life online

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