The Drop-In Diaries: CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge

The second leg of our family vacation took us to San Diego. We stayed in the Kensington neighborhood, and the nearest box is CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge. I dropped in on Friday, July 20 at 6:30 am.

CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge Facility

Like my home box, Clear Lake CrossFit, CrossFit 858 is located in a no-frills converted garage. There are restrooms, a separate office and entryway, and a water cooler. I spotted several Assault Air Bikes alongside the typical rowers, barbells, excellent rig setup (although Clear Lake CrossFit has the best rig because of the lower pull-up bars I’m convinced Holly installed just for her vertically challenged clients), and the like.

It's another drop-in! Find out what I thought of my experience at CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge.

The Programming

CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge follows a training cycle, but that doesn’t mean a drop-in can’t get a good workout. On the day I dropped in, the WOD went like this:
We started with a warm-up jog and some mobility work. The owner (who was also coaching) is a big fan of making sure you warm up your shoulders or whatever you’re going to be using most in the WOD, so we did some work with bands.

Strength/Skill

As I mentioned, because CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge does strength cycles, the strength portion of the WOD was to get to a 1RM on your push press. I was sleep-deprived, and I’m not used to working out first thing in the morning, so I didn’t try for a new max.

Metcon

I liked this one! It was a 6-minute AMRAP:
6 dumbbell squat cleans (40/30)
8 handstand pushups
I went with 20-pound dumbbells and did my first 8 handstand pushups on the wall. The second round, I got four. The third round, two.
After the metcon, Mark led the group in some cool-down stretches. I liked that a lot.

The Coaching

Mark, the owner, is a really good coach. If I lived in San Diego, I’d want this to be my home box. The other coach I met, Diana, seemed very knowledgeable and encouraging. Both Mark and Diana brought dogs, welcome spectators to the class.
I would come back to CrossFit 858 Mission Gorge in a heartbeat – it’s a really good box with good coaching and programming.

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