I wanted to do a run after my regular workout, and I was thinking an 800 m run would
CrossFit Assault Bike
suffice.
Well, there’s a workout I have been wanting to do all week that is 2 rounds of a 400 m run and 21 thrusters (a front squat into a push press) at 65 lbs.
Why not do this one, I thought.
Not the best idea. Even though I love thrusters, after DT yesterday (a CrossFit Hero workout that involves deadlifts, hang power cleans, and push jerks at heavy weights), it wasn’t the best idea. Luckily, it was a short workout.
3 Lessons Learned from Recovery Workouts
Make sure your recovery workout is just that: a recovery
Listen to your body: don’t overdo it
Make it light, easy, and fun
The best part about working out is how you feel afterwards. Enjoy the work, but then celebrate the accomplishment!
There are various areas of our lives that we feel good about: spiritual, physical, mental, relational, financial, and overall quality of life.
Feeling good is a challenge for most of us in at least one of these areas. We struggle with one or more of these aspects every day.
For me, it’s been the physical.
As you know, my hormones have been all over the place, and I’m still trying to figure out what to eat and when and what time of the month, so I feel really good physically.
There are days when I get it right and days I don’t get it right.
And if I’m doing really well with the eating/hormone balance, then I’m usually struggling with some kind of strain or pull instead.
I try to accept that this is the life I’m chosen, but some days are just plain hard to get through.
I keep going. Every day hoping to get it just a little bit more right and praying I discover the secret and balance of eating, sleep, and working out to make it the best day ever.
Another needed workout. Heavy clean and jerks, which I have little confidence in and bar muscle ups.
My bar muscle up form sucks, and I’ve been struggling with them. I struggled today. But once I got over the hump so to speak, I got them again.
CrossFit Chest to bar Pull Ups
For me, nothing is really easy in CrossFit except body weight exercises and the long game. Everything else is a push to the end.
Overcoming Mental Barriers
In CrossFit, so much of this sport is overcoming mental barriers. You see a workout and you think, “I can’t do that.” And then you do and you wonder what why you thought you couldn’t.
Our bodies will do whatever we tell them to do–if we tell them to do it enough. This is the essence of building strength. With enough practice and repetition, human bodies can do anything–almost anything. We can’t jump to the moon!
How do You Overcome Mental Barriers?
There is no easy way to overcome mental barriers except to push them. Until you do them or push to the edge, your mind will tell you that you can’t do it.
For instance, heavy clean and jerks. I suck at them. They are hard for me. But I keep doing them. They don’t really get any easier. But in my mind I know I can do them; whereas, before I would doubt myself.
Ring muscle ups. I still don’t have them. I took a break from trying to do one because I strained my right arm. It’s finally better, so now it’s time again to take them on again.
No part of me wants to, I’ll be honest. It’s not going to be easy.
But when I finally get one, that moment will be magic.
Has this ever happened to you? You show up to do your WOD/workout and it was exactly what your body needed that day?
This happens to me occasionally and today’s workout was exactly what I needed after my CrossFit competition on Saturday.
I warmed up with cardio: an EMOM (every minute on the minute) of row, burpees, and double unders–perfect to get the body warmed and work all your muscles.
Rowing in CrossFit Competition
The workout was 5 rounds for time of:
15 cal row
10 bar-facing burpees
5 power cleans, climbing in weight each round
I had so much fun doing this I did an extra round! It was one of those workouts you never want to stop. You just want to keep going and going and going…like the Energizer bunny.
I polished it off with some strength work and felt amazing even though my arms are still incredibly sore from Saturday’s CrossFit competition.
Recovery Tips for CrossFit Competitions
Hydration. You used a ton of energy in one day and you need to replenish. Drink water till your heart’s content.
Active Recovery. Take one day off and then get moving! Get your muscles working to get rid of the lactic acid build up and start feeling better sooner.
If you’re sore in some areas, work the others. Give your body time to rest, but that doesn’t mean don’t do anything. Work your legs if your arms are sore and vice versa.
Don’t kill yourself in the next few days, trying to beat the best guy in your box. The last thing you want is a strain or injury.
Listen to your body. Do what it’s telling you: rest, recover, light exercise, massage, etc.
Every CrossFit competition is different. After some CrossFit competitions, I’m fine and not sore at all. After other CrossFit competitions, I’m wrecked and need more recovery time.
Find a workout that’s right for you where you’re at right now. You’ll feel so much better afterwards and be on the road to recovery. Happy Competing!
My home box, CrossFit Endure, hosted the Granite Games Throwdown today.
Third Place Granite Games Throwdown at CrossFit Endure
It was an awesome day, great weather, full of fun and friends and challenging workouts, laughter, and camaraderie.
The gals and I finished third place, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Both are some strong ladies who know how to bring it! Thanks, Michelle and Candice, for making great memories!
Running a marathon is not easy. It’s long. It’s hard. There are obstacles along the way.
I’ve been struggling lately with my diet/bloating issues and CrossFit. All of it has been blah.
Each day I fail in the little things–dietary commitments, pushing myself, and overall just getting things done.
Running a 5k
As I was running this morning in the perfect silence of 3
am,
I was going over in my mind yesterday and what I needed to do today and the next day and the next to get where I need to go.
The word recommit kept playing over and over in my mind.
In the end, that’s all I really can do. The past is past. The future is what I make it. So I need to recommit to my goals–all of them–and move forward. Just like you do in a marathon.
My daughter and I ran the 5k Pancake Stampede today in Littleton, CO. The 5K race course ran along the Platte River on the Mary Carter Greenway with the start/finish in front of Hudson Gardens Event Center.
It was a flat 5k running course with plenty of geese and ducks swimming in the river. It was an early start (8am), so we beat the heat. It wasn’t my best time, but it was good enough for 3rd place in my age group.
Afterwards, Littleton was celebrating their Western Welcome Week and had a pancake breakfast at Arapahoe Community College. My daughter ate 4 pancakes, while I drank coffee.
For the past 2 months or so, I’ve been extremely unmotivated to do CrossFit. My arm was messed up for a while (it’s much better now). I got frustrated with ring muscle ups. And I’ve been fighting bloating issues for two weeks out of every month–which leaves me feeling drained and blah.
Tips to Regain Motivation
I’m at the point now I need to get re-motivated. So how do you do that? Here are several ideas I’ve had:
If you don’t feel like working out, don’t. The workout will only be half-hearted and you’ll leave feeling like you wasted your time.
Do a different sport. Run, swim, basketball, biking, hiking, soccer, etc. Do a different activity that takes you away from the barbell.
Hire a private coach. Nothing is more motivating that having to show up and do what you’re told. Try a couple sessions for an added boost.
Get an accountability partner. Nothing pushes you like someone else. Set a time and place and show up and do the work!
Finally, let time pass. Soon enough, circumstances will change and a switch will flip. Try not to get impatient and let time do her thing.
Staying Motivated
Am I there yet? No. Still muddling through the days one at a time, but I know it’ll come again.
After all, the CrossFit Open is 6 months away. That’s my motivation…
Looking for a CrossFit Hero Workout that was short, I picked Artie. Named after Police Officer Arthur “Artie” Lopez of New York, Officer Lopez was killed in the line of duty in 2012.
It is a 20 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 air squats
5 pull ups
10 thrusters at 65 lbs
This is Cindy with some thrusters, I thought. No problem.
It turned out to be a problem.
About round 3, I kept thinking, This sucks. I don’t want to be doing this.
After each round, I’d check the clock and think, Ok, only 14 minutes left. Ok, only 11 minutes left.
Those were some LONG minutes!
I finished with 9 rounds overall. I was elated to be done, and I went on my merry way.
The next day, I wasn’t quite so merry. My quadriceps were screaming at me. My arms were sore.
I had a CrossFit competition at Official Fitness in Windsor, CO. It was called the Silly Summer Showdown since it was built around odd objects.
Odd objects in CrossFit are not one of my strengths. But my weekend opened up and a friend wanted me to do it with her, so I signed up.
One of the workouts had pistol squats in them. This is an advanced move in CrossFit where you do a squat on one leg (body weight) and stand up. It’s very challenging for most because it not only requires a lot of strength, but it also requires coordination as well.
I have never done a pistol squat in my life without assistance. But I didn’t want to do scaled because I’m not a scaled athlete, so I signed up for this as RX (or prescribed). In CrossFit terminology, this means doing a harder workout.
My goal was just to get one. I know. Lofty, right? But that was my goal.
My gymnastics daughter who was with me (and is my official CrossFit photographer at these events) said I could do them.
The CrossFit Workout was:
Pistol Squats
4 Rounds for time of:
10 chest to bar pull ups
10 hand release push ups
10 pistol squats
But every minute on the minute you had to stop and do 5 wall balls. The time cap was 8 minutes.
I do my first round of pull ups and push ups and get to the pistols. I do one almost easily. I was ecstatic! I keep going, the whole 8 minutes and ended up doing 20 pistol squats!
Even though I didn’t do so well in this CrossFit competition, I had won in my heart. I was beaming after that WOD, so excited to have accomplished a move I never thought I would.
TIPS ON PISTOL SQUATS
So how did I do it?
I wore lifters (olympic weightlifting shoes). Lifters have a higher heel, therefore allowing you greater range of motion and stability.
I had the strength. It’s amazing to me how much stronger I am than 6 months ago. CrossFit works. Any training program works if you stay consistent. Slow, methodical progress you can’t see every day happens. Trust the process.
I pressed through my heel. After a few, I found the technique. Press through your heel until you stand back up.
I used the bounce. Use the bounce at the bottom to get back up.
CrossFit is about believing in yourself, pushing the boundaries, and having the self-confidence to just do it!
Officer Arthur “Artie” Lopez of New York, Officer Lopez was killed in the line of duty in 2012.
My Journey to the CrossFit Games 