You Only Get One Body
Written By Cat Blatner
It’s no secret that the sport of CrossFit is super demanding on the body. We ask a lot of ourselves when going into a season of heavy weights, high volume and a variety of movements. It can be easy to get carried away with volume and intensity. Often times competitive athletes will make the mistake of training volume and intensity versus quality movement and focusing on their recovery.
Assess Your Body Daily
We all have good days and bad days. I am fortunate enough to train with some of the best athletes in California. I’ve seen each of them make decisions about training based on how their body was feeling. The best athletes know when to say enough is enough. If they aren’t feeling great and their bodies aren’t cooperating with the program volume, they will trim the workload and focus on something that doesn’t cause them pain or discomfort.
Don’t Risk It
If you feel pain. Stop! It’s as simple as that! All it takes is one step past that line and you can compromise your entire season for one workout. Listen to the signals! Your body is trying to talk to you and if it says something isn’t right, you better believe it. Pain is a great tool and it can tell us when we’ve pushed too far. Be grateful that your body is communicating with you and respect what is it saying.
Mobility and Circulation
If you are forced into a day of rest and can’t deal with the boredom, use this time to focus on a your range of motion and getting some blood circulating! Blood is a great healing agent and it is super beneficial to get a low intensity sweat going. You don’t have to do sprint intervals on the assault bike to get your blood moving, 20-30 min of light cycling will suffice. Follow up with some mobility drills and corrective work. This is a great way to spend your time on a day of rest.
Remember, you only get one body and breaking it won’t improve your fitness. Take care of yourself and listen to the signals your body is sending, it doesn’t lie to you!