Saturday's class can thank Chris for a beat down.
My final post on programming isn’t quite complete yet, but I felt that it was necessary to explain a little bit about periodization. I’ll save most of the technical jargon for the final programming post. For now, I’ll just go over the broad overview of the concept of periodization.
The concept is simple: Cycle your training so that an athlete will be at their peak performance during their season. The main problem with CrossFitters is that the majority of us don’t have a season (except our volleyball, rugby, high school basketball players and CF competitors), so classic model of periodization pretty much goes out the window. CrossFitters are preparing for the unknown and unknowable so the point in planning to peak at any given time is pointless. Rather, it’s best for the average CrossFitter to cycle the intensity of his or her workouts on a 4-6 week cycle.
Sergio after 150 wall balls, 90 burpees and 1800M running.
Take any random sample from CFSB or any other CrossFit box and you will see that you have a group of athletes who are all working toward a common goal of becoming more fit. The only difference is that they all are taking separate paths to achieve that goal. Some of you are working toward your first pull-up (by the way, huge congrats to V and Rebecca S. for their first kipping pull-ups last night), while some of you are working toward a better butterfly kip. Likewise, we are at different stages of our training. Some of us are still working on perfecting that form while others may be working on that higher intensity. No matter what your focus is, remember that your WOD is yours and no one else’s.
Dane didn't want to do burpees or run so he decided to do 150 wall balls unbroken. How those legs feeling, brah? Cmon guy.
If you have pushed yourself hard for the past two days and the WODs were extremely difficult and your body feels like you got ran over by Lucy’s lifted F-150, then there is no harm and scaling down the weight or reps for that workout. Furthermore, if you still feel like your body is hurting, try only doing the WOD at 75%. Let the coach know so that they understand that you’re not sandbagging. Is this an excuse to do less every single day? Of course not, but it’s a way to scale your workouts so your training doesn’t suffer.
Mr. Meowsworth's favorite WOD. AMRAP of sniff cat nip, eat food, play with fake mouse, lick himself and nap.
In a more long-term sense, you need to choose one week out of every 4-6 weeks (depending on the WODs) that you will scale back every single workout and go about 75% of your max intensity. This will allow your body to recover from the stresses we put it through. Scaling the workouts back is better than taking the entire week off because it keeps your muscles active and keeps your mind in the routine of working out. Mentally the WODs can be taxing as well. Ask most of the competitive athletes about how hard it is to come back to WODs after their competition. It’s just mentally tough to motivate yourself to go to that pain cave after putting yourself through an intense competition. Rather than sitting at home and then dreading coming back to CrossFit, scale back workouts until you feel ready to ramp up the intensity again. When a blacksmith forges a sword, he heats up the metal and cools it down to make it strong. The same goes for your body and the training you put it through.
We make the most gains during our rest period not our workouts, but I understand that we are all type A personalities and we want to be the best and push as hard as we can every day. Pump the brakes a little, champ. Also, looking at the programming from the last few weeks, we noticed it has been extremely difficult. This week the programming has been taken down in volume and intensity with the intention of an example of a relatively lighter (not easier) week . I challenge you to come in and workout 5 days this week. The WODs will all be pretty short and sweet. Still come in and push yourself if you feel like it, but don’t be afraid to scale it back and give your body some active rest.
Workout of the Day 10/26/2010
A. Overhead Squat 5-5-5
B. 15-12-9
Overhead Squat (95/65)
Kettlebell Swing (2/1.5)
[...] Article courtesy of CrossFit SouthBay [...]