1/15 Monday - Origin Story of a CrossFit WOD

Bench press? Yeah, we got that. So does Chris and Tom. 
Have you every wondered how a CrossFit WOD gets its name? If you've completed our Foundations program, you know that the first of the CrossFit women workouts were named for destructive storms and hurricanes. Later, as CrossFit gained traction and Coach Glassman started training more women, he named workouts for real life Amazons. Today's workout is named for Powerlifter Lynne Pitts.
A competitive powerlifter in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Pitts discovered CrossFit in 2003. She started doing the workouts in her garage gym in New Hampshire and began posting her results. Back then only about five to 10 people posted each day. Two of her favorite movements were the bench press—she once had a double-body-weight bench press—and the pull-up. Here's how she describes the origin story of her workout:

“It was wake up, hop on the computer and find the workout,” she said. “I was like, ‘Holy cow, it’s perfect!’” Pitts said.

“Body-weight bench press—I’m a really good bench presser,” she said. “And pull-ups ... and I’m a really good puller-upper.”

Pitts did the workout that day and posted a score of 77 bench presses at 115 lb. and 95 pull-ups, hitting a PR of 30 pull-ups in a row in the first round.

Pitts posted her score at 5:13 p.m., and at 8:11 p.m. Greg Glassman, Founder and CEO of CrossFit Inc., commented under the name “Coach”: “Congratulations, Lynne! This workout will bear your name from here on!”

“I smiled from ear to ear, did a happy dance around. It was so cool,” said Pitts, who has worked for CrossFit Inc. since 2004.
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“It’s got two of my favorite things, and the best thing of all—and this leads to a later controversy—no time component,” Pitts said.

This workout is loved by many because it is not for time. As CrossFit has developed over the years it has become more common to move from bench press directly to pull-ups then rest as much as needed between rounds. 
Our coaching staff recently finished their Level 2 Training, and one of their instructors was Dave Lipson. Here he is in this 2011 CrossFit video demo of today's WOD. 

Click Here for The WOD