A last-minute business trip took me to San Francisco, and before my plane took off from Hobby, I quickly looked for a box near my hotel. That box ended up being CrossFit Golden Gate, so I signed up for the 6 a.m. class on April 10, 2019.
The CrossFit Golden Gate Facility
CrossFit Golden Gate is located on the first floor of a mixed-use building, and it’s the kind of no-frills box I like. It has all the necessary equipment: barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and Concept2 rowers, and stacks upon stacks of bumper plates. Even more importantly, the rig is set up so that someone who is 5’1″ can easily jump up and grab it. And of course, there are bathrooms and a water fountain.
The Programming
Scott, the coach that morning, made sure we warmed up with some activation stuff: Cariocas, jogging around the rig, knee hugs, walking lunges, and the like. The day I attended seemed to be very upper body-heavy.
Strength
4 rounds NFT:
- 8 Z-Press
- 6 chin-ups
I had never seen a Z-Press before going to CrossFit Golden Gate. Apparently, this is a strict press from the rig, but you are sitting under the bar. It’s pretty difficult, and I felt completely inept. I managed to do two sets at 40 lbs. and two sets at 45 lbs. For the chin-ups, I did two regular and then four ring rows to round it out.
Metcon
The metcon, or WOD, was a series of 2-minute AMRAPS:
- 12 hang power snatches
- 12 T2B
- 90s rest
Then:
- 10 hang power snatches
- 10 pull-ups
- 90s rest
Then:
- 8 hang power snatches
- 8 chest to bar pull-ups
Then:
- 6 hang power snatches
- 6 bar muscle-ups
By the time we got to the bar muscle-ups, I substituted Pendlay rows per Scott. I don’t have chest-to-bar pull-ups, so I did regular ones. I also scaled the toes to bar.
It was a good workout, and Scott did a great job coaching. I felt a little out of place because I was the only one using an empty bar for my snatches – but that’s what I’m able to do right now. Progress, not perfection, because at least it was a standard women’s bar! If my travels do take me to the Tendernob district of San Francisco again, I’ll drop in at CrossFit Golden Gate for a good workout.
Read more box reviews and my drop-in adventures as part of The Drop-In Diaries series!