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.
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.