Chill Out!

Chill Out!
Written by Tino Marini

All high level sports have one thing in common: they have an off-season.

As the Sport of Fitness grows bigger and bigger with more sponsorship opportunities, more competitions and more investment, then naturally the level of competition increases and the harder people train to reach that elite level. Unfortunately, we are not designed to hammer our bodies day in and day out for 365 days per year. So, like other high level sports, we need to really incorporate an off-season.

Now that the Open and Regionals have come to an end, 99% of us will be gearing up to start training for the 2017 season. But how many are actually taking some time to relax and reset both physically and mentally? With many of our athletes, the first email after their Regionals weekend is, “So when are we starting back up again Coach? Tuesday?”

Our response is always the same: “It’s time to take 1-2 weeks to allow your body to reset both physically and mentally.”

Their response is always the same: ”Two weeks?! What the heck am I going to do with myself?!”

People forget that they have been training hard since last year and for the vast majority many will have competed in several competitions, been to numerous athlete camps and have “training weekends” with their buddies where they did the Iron Triathlon on Friday, Murph on Saturday then hit the CrossFit Total on Sunday, then were unable to function on Monday. As CrossFitters, we tend to push things to the extreme and having the mentality that more is better, but our bodies can only sustain this for so long.

As coaches we are all about seeing our athletes train hard, increasing their numbers and making progress, but our number one priority is to ensure our athletes are healthy; not just physically, but also mentally. Taking some time off before you throw yourself into the 2017 season allows you to go into your off-season cycle mentally fresh and physically able.

Whether you’re an Open, Regionals, Masters, Teen or Games Athlete you need to take that time off. How long to rest depends on how long you feel your body needs to reset so that it’s ready to start training hard again. For some it may be up to a month, not be because their body needs it, but rather because mentally and emotionally the stress of training three times per day and competing for three days has taken its toll.

If you want longevity in the sport and want to continue to compete at the highest level you possibly can, then you need to take the time off. There is no harm in twiddling your thumbs for a few days, getting outside and, most importantly, spending time with your loved ones who’ve had to endure your three a days, weird eating habits, complaining about how sore you are and countless social events you missed because you had to get your eight hours of sleep before your first session at 5:00 a.m. Take some time to enjoy the off-season and restore yourself mentally, physically and emotionally.