This past weekend on Saturday June, 6th, a workout of the day (WOD) titled “Big Floyd” was performed by athlete members of participating CrossFit gyms. The WOD, designed by Stacy Pugh from Black Power Cleans Lifting Club, is intended to commemorate the life of George Floyd and a show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Big Floyd” consisted of for time:
- 800m Run
- 25 Deadlifts (135lb/95lb)
- 25 Burpees
- 800m Run
- 25 Squat Cleans (135lb/95lb)
- 25 Burpees
- 800m Run
- 25 Push Press (135lb/95lb)
- 25 Burpees
- 800m Run
- 25 Clusters (135lb/95lb)
- 25 Burpees
- 800m Run
Those familiar with WODs may be familiar with “cash in” and “cash out” components. (It’s what you need to do to start the workout, usually a warm up, and cash out is what you need to do to properly end it.)
Pugh notes that for this WOD:
“Cash-In — Do your own research. Read anti-racist articles and educate yourself.
Cash Out — Donate, sign petitions, and spread awareness. Donate your money to the local organizations currently on the front line fighting for @blacklivesmatterdc, @minnesotafreedomfund. Sign the petition for justice for Breonna Taylor. Vote in upcoming local and national elections – this is the change to vote out officials who don’t support black lives and vote in the people that do. Get your local CrossFit box involved and encourage them to complete “Big Floyd” to raise awareness for black lives..”
Pugh uploaded this video to explain the workout:
In addition to the “Big Floyd” WOD, there were other variations such as the WOD designed by CrossFit Union Square simply called “Floyd”, which involved AMRAPs that lasted 8 minutes and 46 seconds long — representative of the amount of time that George Floyd had a knee pressed against the back of his neck by former police officer Derek Chauvin.
Unfortunately, the movement was interrupted the next day when CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman came under fire for a tweet he sent to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
IHME’s tweet read: “Racism and discrimination are critical public health issues that demand an urgent response. #BlackLivesMatter”
Glassman responded “It’s FLOYD-19”.
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The backlash to Glassman’s comment has been swift: Reebok made the decision to end their partnership with CrossFit HQ, Rogue Fitness plans to remove the CrossFit logo from the 2020 Rogue Invitational, and FITAID ended their sponsorship of the Games. Multiple athletes spoke out against Glassman, including 4-time Fittest Man on Earth™ Rich Froning and 3-time Fittest Woman on Earth™ Tia-Clair Toomey.
Glassman has since apologized for the controversy.
Feature image via Xena Goldman’s Instagram page: @xenadecia
