Laura, how low can you go? how low CAN you go?
We have to look at the warm-up in relation to our workout like we look at foreplay in relation to sex (or squishy as Matty Stewart likes to call it). The warm-up will allow us to push harder thus keeping the intensity higher while minimizing the chance of injury. Most of us sit or are sedentary for the majority of the day. Our muscles, joints and tendons need to be prepared to meet the intense demands of our workouts.
The warm-up is often an overlooked area in most programs. You are encouraged to come early every day and grab a foam roller and/or lacrosse ball and start working on the sore and tight muscles. Also use this time to practice those troublesome double unders or kipping pull-ups or handstand push-ups. Think of this time as not only your warm-up, but as your time to get better at the things you are bad at.
Self Myofascial Release
This is where we exchange pleasantries with the foam roller and lacrosse ball. SMR helps break up adhesions on our muscles. These knots are formed from the constant breaking down and building up of muscle fibers. Over time this leads to tightness, inflexibility and immobility. By doing this before the workout, our muscles become more elastic and pliable. These healthy muscles will be less susceptible to injury and more tolerant to fatigue.
Dynamic Warm-Up and Prehab
The warm-ups are designed to prepare your bodies for the same movements as the workout. The coaches also use this time to watch how you move so they can address any poor movement before we start the stopwatch. The warm-up here can also be used to address your specific trouble areas whether it be tight hip flexors or a previous injury.
Prehab is the practice of strengthening some of the smaller, supportive muscles to help prevent injuries. We train at high intensity and utilize multiple muscle groups where we are pushing, pulling, running and jumping. By practicing some prehab, we are able to help reduce injury and address any personal muscle imbalances.
Lastly, use the warm-up to address areas of improvement. This is your time to practice certain movements at light weight and work at doing them with near perfect form. Shira did a great job at making double unders a part of her warm-up every day and went from barely being able to do one to doing 75 in a row (probably more by now).
Workout of the Day 8/26/2010
A. Gymnastics Skill Work. If you have muscle ups, you have the option to do 30 muscle ups for time.
B. 21-15-9
Pull-Ups
Box Jumps (30/24)
Push-Ups
Kettlebell Swings (2/1.5)
nice again Forrest. Thanks
The correct term is “squishy squishy”..its latin for “lets cuddle”
I found a pretty good article this morning on Crossfit Watertown:
PATIENCE IN CROSSFIT
(Words by Lisbeth Darsh/CrossFit Watertown.)
When we think of CrossFit, we don’t often think of the term patience. CrossFit is about going hard and getting results, right? Stronger, faster, quicker, harder? Tear it up, knock it down, 3-2-1-Go!
Yes. And no.
See, to build anything you need hard work. But nothing grows overnight. As stupid as it sounds, you have to tend the garden for a long time before you grow some tomatoes. We know that when it comes to plants, but we forget it when it comes to growing athletes. Or just plain people, too.
You’re not going to learn how to snatch well overnight. Nor will you perfect POSE running in an afternoon. Or a week. Or a month.
The simple truth of the matter is that good things take time. And great things take even more time. To think that anything worth its salt will grow overnight is simple foolishness. The best gardeners and the best athletes share a common trait: patience.
So lace up your sneakers, get your barbell ready, open your ears and listen. Learn. Make mistakes. Learn from them. Wait. Try again. Mess up again. Wait. Have patience. Persevere. Then, act. You might be surprised by the results.
Not doing something all the time is not the same thing as doing nothing. We forget that in CrossFit, and in life.
Learn a little patience. Give good things a chance to grow.
No comment on the ‘squishy’ topic other than to remind you both of “Rule #1″. I’ll leave it at that.
Btw Forrest, I’m diggin the changes to the gallery. Nice!
Glad you like the new gallery. I’m working on some other great changes to the website over the next week or so.
Forrest,
Are there any weekly patterns to programming? I.e. Monday is easy, Tuesday sucks, Thursday is more running, Friday big lifts, etc? Or is it pretty random? Just curious because I’m trying to plan my week and I don’t want to Cherry Pick WODs (which is now the name of my band) but I also don’t want to be stuck in an endless loop of doing the “same” WODs each week.
I see you SBB…See you talking bout Self Myofascial realease. Def a love hate relationship but can attest to its benefits especially if you incorporate it with a good all around sweat building warmup, and not the stand around and try not to be noticed by any of the coaches till the class actually starts…..Every time I have been injured in crossfit in my short time here has been when my warmup consisted of talking about Matt Stewart and sergio nazzaros cuddle sessions the weekend before…just sayin
I see you Dane, lookin’ like a huge Zac Efron. I see your warm-ups when you just kind of walk around touching different pieces of equipment making it look like you’re doing something. I think the injury in the gym is directly related to how much cuddling Matty (AKA Game Shark) and Sergio (AKA Hey guise, vas up? It’s me SERGIO. Check out my awesome Jay-Z hat and sweet tribal tattoo AKA Frodo) are doing. I would blame that ankle sprain on their spooning.
Jeremy, there are no weekly patterns to the programming. Every week is different for the exact reason: everyone has different schedules and needs to be exposed to as many different types of workouts as possible. I’ll cover it more in Part IV and V of the programming. For now just keep coming as much as you can and crushing the WODs. Can’t wait for Cherry Picking WODs’ first album comes out.