pursuit of silence wrap up

So for folks who followed my pursuit of quiet efforts, here’s the summary. If you need a reminder of what I had in mind, and what I wanted to accomplish, you can refresh your memory here

On paper, I’m 110 days into the initiative. In reality, it’s over. It all blew apart somewhere in September.

Ironically, but probably not surprisingly, at the point when things got truly stressful around the house and having that quiet would have been most beneficial, the effort seemed unsustainable and I fell out of the habit of carving out that time to be mentally still.

Part of the issue was truly logistical.

Immediately prior to Hurricane Florence, we brought our aging, ailing indoor/outdoor cat in to protect him from the storm. His health was such that as a family we agreed that he would remain indoors until he passed. He lasted far longer than any of us anticipated. I’m not begrudging him that. We all had our time to spend with him. Say our goodbyes to him, etc. But it meant that Erin and my bedroom, which was my go to space for privacy and reflection, became kitty hospice for something on the order of 6 weeks. I found Spaulding’s presence, for a host of emotional reasons, too distracting to meditate in that room any more. Losing that protected space made carving out time and space for reflection much tougher. I suppose like any pursuit though, one could make the case that this is simply an excuse. I wouldn’t argue.

While I failed to satisfy the conditions of the challenge as I initially laid them out,I learned quite a bit and have gleaned some lessons that I can take forward.

Here are a few:

-) Trying to develop that mental focus is not a linear process. My systematic approach, increasing the time for meditation by 5 minutes every 30 days, was probably flawed from the start. That’s ok. I did gain some insight from that.

Specifically, 20 minutes of reflection appears to be my prime window right now. 20 minutes without inputs or outputs refreshes me and helps me reset for the rest of my day. 25 minutes somehow was just too laborious. 30 minutes always resulted in a nap. Not a bad thing, but not the intended goal.

So going forward, trying to carve out 20 minutes a day to reflect is a healthy habit I’d like to maintain.

-) Journaling is not a bad fall back. Moving away from all the screens, shutting off the music, sitting quietly and putting pen to actual paper has been a great mental outlet all year. It became even more important over the last two months. To date, I have filled three 5 x 7″ Moleskine Sketchbooks with thoughts. During the past two months when I couldn’t find the space or the motivation to go truly silent, I spent a LOT of time jotting notes, scribbling out things and generally just getting shit out of my system. There was definitely value in that. Again, it wasn’t my intended goal or how I defined this challenge. So in that respect I missed the mark, but I still value the time and the lesson.

Guess that leaves us with the question: was the challenge successful? In the literal sense, no. I didn’t adhere to the parameters established, didn’t follow through. So no. On a more fundamental level, if we ask the question, ‘was the challenge valuable?’ Then the answer is a solid yes. I definitely learned a lot. Rekindled some alternative positive habits and certainly confirmed for myself that SOME amount of time dedicated each day to stillness and contemplation is a worthwhile pursuit and something I will endeavor to continue going forward. So with that in mind, mission accomplished.

 

value of a mantra

I’m a big believer in having a personal mantra. I don’t know if there’s science behind it. I’m sure there have been studies. I consider it more instinctual. A solid mantra, in which you truly believe, has the power to change your frame of mind and set you up for success. Whether you attribute it to positive thinking, walking the talk, whatever. They can be productive and constructive. I use them all the time with the various classes that I coach. One I chant to my athletes all the time is “One Pound. One Step. One Rep.” It has multiple layers.

On a broad scale, it’s a reminder that in order to be better than yesterday, and therefore making progress, we only need to lift one pound more, one step faster, go one rep farther,than the last time we worked. Gains are made in incremental steps. It’s a reminder to push oneself, expect better, but temper those expectations. Don’t look for the monumental gains and PR’s every time you exercise. That will only lead to disappointment.

On a more granular level, it’s my reminder, “Don’t quit!” I don’t know how many times I chanted “One step, One rep” to myself today, but I believe it’s the primary reason I ground through a WOD where from the moment the coach said “go,” all I wanted to do was quit.

Today’s METCON was:

Run 1 mile

Then

4 Rounds
20 Alt DB Snatches at 50#
12 Toes 2 Bar (I scaled Toes 2 Target)

I’ll be totally honest. I was really only interested in that run. I had no particular desire to complete the additional rounds. My legs and I have been through quite a bit over the last two years (Injury, surgery, infection, blood clots, the list is long and varied). They are both finally healthy strengthening both legs, cardio endurance, has been a primary training focus for the past few months. I sincerely can not recall the last time I ran a mile unbroken. Working just from memory, it’s been years. So I was really looking forward to that specific test. The rounds after were just work.

When the 6am crew took off for that run by the time I was 400m in most of the crew was out of sight. It was completely demoralizing. I wasn’t looking for a PR this morning, but nor did I expect to watch most of the class run away like they were on wheels! I didn’t wear a watch, so I had no sense of pace. That’s when I started chanting to myself, “One step. One Rep. One Step. One Rep.” It was just my signal to myself to just keep going forward. Let the chips fall where they may. I fell into a rhythm with it, much like a military cadence. When I returned to the gym and spotted the clock it read 9:08. Not a fast mile by any stretch of the imagination, but I was legitimately surprised and pleased. Frankly the way everyone else had run away, I was expecting to see 12 something. So it was a small victory. Then I set into the rest of the work.

The first round wasn’t bad. I was still celebrating the better than expected run time. So I didn’t mind the work too much. The second round things started to erode quickly. I went through every excuse I could think of to quit.

“Screw it! I’m coaching the next class. I should just stop, recover and prep for that.”

“Don’t quit. Coach Erin left plenty of time. One step. One rep.”

Third round the conversation went something like:

“Holy Crap! This is miserable. Walk away! Be honest with yourself. You didn’t REALLY plan to do this part of the workout any way.”

“Don’t quit! You wouldn’t walk out on an Open WOD, or a comp WOD. Keep going forward. One step. One Rep.”

Fourth Round

“DUDE! Why do you even bother?! You don’t have enough time to finish. Everyone else is standing around watching! Take a knee.”

“I MIGHT make it. I might run that clock to 21:59 (It was a 22 minute cap), but I think I can get the reps in. Everyone IS watching. That’s exactly why you DON’T stop. Finish it out. One step! One Rep!”

I won’t lie. I chalked my hands more than was  necessary. When I figured out that I would, in fact, have enough time to finish the METCON, I probably backed off a bit milking as much clock as possible. In the end, I finished the last rep at 21:12. But given how bad I wanted to just cave in and let that work out win, I’m counting today a small victory and appreciating the power of a mantra.

So my question to you: “Do you have a go to mantra?”

 

onto the next challenge

I recently set myself a challenge of going 100 days booze free. Why? Well, a few friends around the box have done it and I got curious to see: 1) if I could do it, 2) what the impact might be.

Some observations (believe me, it’s nothing profound)

-) Didn’t see the obvious physical rewards/impact I anticipated. I’ve gone 30 days or a touch longer booze free a few times and in some instances, I dropped as much as 7 lbs the first week of the effort. I was anticipating (read: hoping for) similar results this time around. Alas, that didn’t happen. There are plenty of other things about my nutrition that can use refinement. So I’m not surprised that the results weren’t that stark. I am surprised that there was no weight loss.

-) If I’m honest, I can’t say with any level of confidence that I saw any noticeable physical changes (improved sleep, body mass, etc) that I could tie directly to the absence of booze. From that, I’m going to go with the glass half full philosophy and conclude that booze (most frequently beer) wasn’t as a big an influence in my life and health as I presumed.

-) Did I miss it? Occasionally, but not as much as I expected. There were specific ‘moments’ over the hundred days where I really missed it.

Case in point, I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle earlier this Summer. While there I was eating fresh seafood on the waterfront on a gorgeous summer evening in an enclosed patio that was just a degree or two too warm for my comfort. In THAT moment, in that space and time it seemed like a cold frosty local microbrew would have been the perfect remedy and addition to the atmosphere.

Sure ice water was perfectly competent for resolving my heat issue, but it just wasn’t the same. It lacked the ambiance. It lacked the substance I desired. It lacked the atmosphere that I wanted to create and savor. There have been other individual moments along the way where substituting water or any other non-alcoholic beverage seemed somehow hollow or lacking. But the ‘ambiance’ or the ‘moment’ wasn’t worth sacrificing the larger goal of seeing this commitment through.

That focus and committing to seeing this challenge through really has been the bigger priority. I have found focus and willingness to stick to task to be a real issue. This challenge was an extension, or Phase II, of retooling habits and demonstrating to myself that I can remain focused on a task and a goal. Phase I was completing the 9 week gymnastics training program at our gym.

Will I drink alcohol again? I’m not a person who believes in many absolutes and short of clear medical repercussions, I’m not a fan of total elimination of any dietary element. I’m lucky. My life circumstances don’t require me to eliminate booze. I know many folks must. It’s a matter of survival, and in those cases, I support it completely. But I’m not there. So, the odds are, yeah, I’ll probably succumb to those moments and choose ambiance over discipline from time to time going forward. That being said, I truly want to limit those occasions to moments. I don’t intend to keep beer in the house and I will be FAR more cognizant about choosing my moments and not simply ordering a beer because I’m out to eat somewhere.

What’s next? On to Phase III. I want to continue to work to regain my focus. My brain is scattered in all manner of ways. Short of sleeping, there are very few moments during a  day where there isn’t some sort of input/output happening. I’m on screens of all types WAY too much. If I’m not on a screen, then there’s music playing. I’m working on dumping less of my brain into Facebook, but if I’m not unloading there, then I’m journaling. That’s not a bad thing, but if I’m not journaling, I’m making lists. I feel as if I need to take some time and simply get comfortable with being still and comfortable with quiet.

I won’t say silence. I share a house with 3 other humans and 2 pets. There is no such thing as true silence in our home. That’s not what I’m after though. I want to take time to calm my brain and be comfortable again without constant stimulus/input. I want to learn to resist the urge to ‘be productive’ every instant of every day.

So I think the next challenge will be a 4 month effort.

Month 1: 15 minutes of quiet per day
Month 2: 20 minutes of quiet per day
Month 3: 25 minutes of quiet per day
Month 4: 30 minutes of quiet per day

I’m defining ‘quiet’ as:

1) No inputs – that means time spent alone with no distractions from other people, no screens, no phones, no music (I anticipate this will be the hardest for me). Just me and the house’s ambient noises.

2) No planning – I’m not looking for deep meditation/blank mind state here. I’m not trained, nor that disciplined. However, on the other end of the spectrum, I’m not using this time to plan out my day or my week, etc.

I won’t be upset to ponder abstract thoughts (e.g.: I’m reading quite a bit on Tao lately. Thinking quite a bit about balance. I would consider deliberating those sorts of concepts as constructive for this time. I don’t however want to spend 20 minutes sitting on the bedroom floor mapping out the rest of my tasks for the day. That’s not the point.

As with the Booze Free Challenge, I really don’t know where this will lead, but I’m optimistic and looking forward to the journey. I’ll keep you all posted along the way.

 

bring a friend

When you come to the Open for a WOD bring a friend. Bring the hater, the doubter. Bring some one who’s never seen you WOD before. Bring that person in your life that just doesn’t get Crossfit. 

Let them see your nerves as the clock counts down “Three, two, one. GO!”

Let them watch you struggle.

Let them see your fear the moment the doubt grips you at your throat. “Oh, Shit! I don’t know if I can finish this!”

Let them see determination take over the instant you decide, “By God! I Am GOING to finish this!”

Let them see you FIGHT!

Let them watch you collapse to the floor when the coach calls, “Time!”

Let them see you roll there in a pool of your own making. The fear, the doubt melted off you puddled on the mats.

Let the doubter watch you rise when you finally accept the offered hand up from your judge even though your still only mostly breathing right.

Let them witness the high fives, the hugs, the celebration all around the room.

Let them see you accomplish things neither of you knew you could.

Let them see you climb!

Let them see you thrive!

When you come to the Open bring a friend.

Let them see you in a whole new way.

 

war of the wods self assessment

So. Back in October I initiated a self-devised training program in preparation for War of the WODS 2018.

I said then that I had two goals: 1) my goal was to finish on the podium.  2) I also said that “for this event this time around, I want to compete and have absolutely no excuses and no question in my own mind that within the confines of my life, I gave this competition all the attention that I could afford.” How’d it go? Sit back. Let’s chat.

Did I finish on the podium? Not even close. I ended up 12 of 16 athletes. (https://www.breezescoring.com/warofthewods) I have decidely mixed feelings about that.

While there was no Rx/Scaled distinction for athletes in this 46+ division, the weights and movements were all established at the level of Scaled athletes in the age bracket below us. In my mind, that makes this a ‘scaled’ event. Turns out that repeat Crossfit Games Masters Champion Will Powell competed in this division on Sunday along with a couple of his training buddies and one or two other truly elite level athletes! That’s like taking your rec league softball team to a weekend tournament and discovering you’re in the same bracket as a Majof League Baseball team! This meant there were two very different competitions happening in this division on Sunday. There was the battle for the podium among these elite athletes…and then the rest of us.

I’ll confess, when I said back in October that I was hoping to podium, I was naive. It never entered my consciousness that athletes of this caliber would be in the competition. Ah well. Nothing to lose sleep over. It just ‘is what it is.’

For the second goal I would give myself a grade of a B (and that might be generous. I don’t know. I struggle with being objective in all of this). My training plan focused on the following:

1) Basic CF Training: this was simply getting in 4 consistent work outs per week. I was reasonably consistent here. Not perfect, but pretty good.

2) Rehab: I had a plan to focus on some element of rehabbing one of my creaky achy joints (ankle, knee, calf, shoulder) each day since late October. I believe I was most consistent in this aspect of my training and it paid HUGE dividends! So much so, that I stopped by my chiropractor’s office this morning and gave Dr. Krista a thank you hug!

All of my joints felt GREAT through the competition and still do 48 hours later! The best part was that of all the things that I might dwell on and fret over during competion, my body wasn’t one of them! I never worried, “oh, crap. How is my knee going to handle the twisting of the box jump overs?” Or, “Is my shoulder going to hold up for that 1RM Clean and Jerk?” My body was sound and healthy. That’s the first time in two years that I’ve felt this way!

3) Mobility: I did ok here. I did a fair bit of ROMWOD (not as consistently as I had programmed into my calendar, though). It became more a matter of mobility when the opportunity presented itself. I could definitely get more disciplined about this.

4) Nutrition: I missed the mark here. No two ways about it. I was 230# in October. I intended to enter the competition at 220#, hopefully closer to 215#. I weighed myself weekly. I got as low as 222# in November. I went into the competition Sunday at 225#. I simply wasn’t disciplined enough here. This is where I need to challenge myself most in the coming weeks and months. While all of my scores on game day were pretty consistent with my practice scores before hand, I just FELT heavy all day long. Felt as if I was just slogging through the day. That was a bit disheartening and a feeling that I just had to shove aside.

Skill Work: While this wasn’t a defined aspect of my War of the WODs training, another area where I probably did myself a disservice was in the limited skill work that I practiced over the past 3 months. I’ve been chasing a one-legged squat (a pistol) for ages. While this was the first thing to get compromised on any given training day, it probably should not have even been on my radar. It would have been wiser to a) be more dedicated to the training and b) practice a skill that we knew to be in the competition. Double Unders would have been a sound choice. Or perhaps more rig work to improve my pull ups.

A few other things that we learned/confirmed over the course of the day:

1) Skills/Technique Refinement – I mentioned earlier that I should have been working to improve my double unders. That’s evident when you look at the score board. Note: Crazy 8’s. That was 4 minute cap, 4 rounds 8 hang power cleans/8 thrusters 95#/32 Double Unders. I finished last with 90 reps. The guy in 15th beat me by 12 reps. That’s a big difference and the gaps only widen from there. Clearly, this is something that requires my attention. It’s a hole I need to fill.

Along those same lines, look at Down the River. That was 6 minutes to establish a 1RM Ground to Overhead, and max calorie row. Every calorie rowed was an additional ‘pound’ toward your 1RM. I hit a 185 Clean and Jerk, then rowed 87 calories in less than 5 minutes. For a final score of 272 and a 7th place finish. If you sort the scores for that event there’s a clear deliniation between the top 5 atletes (all scoring in excess of 300 points) and the rest of us in the 270-something range. Most of us employed the same strategy. Be warmed up well in advance. Hit something close to a 1RM in one lift, then row the balance of the time.

Here’s the thing. Nine times out of ten, I can power clean and then jerk 185# with confidence. Anything beyond that and things fall apart dramatically. I know that I have the raw strength to hit 200# or more. I’ve stumbled into a 205# clean on a day when all the stars were aligned. I’ve jerked it for a 3RM in competition before. So I KNOW the strength is there. The technique and CONFIDENCE are not.

I need to improve this aspect as well and need to talk to folks about how. This is actually where I spent the bulk of my spare time trying to hone a skill leading up to the competition. My logic was: if I could fix that flaw in my technique and make that 20# gain, that was going to be more beneficial then a few extra reps on my double unders. I still stand by that mindset. However, in the long run double unders are never going to go away. They will always be part of The Open. They will always show up in competitions. They are a skill I need to improve and make consistent.

2) Grunt Work is MY JAM! – I have always maintained that I LOVE the ‘pure work’ WODs. Give me something with low skill/technique, just lower the shoulder and go type WODS, and I’m good to go.

Check out the score for “All In” 6th place. That was a WOD where you push a wagon loaded with 225# thirty-five feet down the floor, then pull it back hand over hand via a provided rope. Max distance in two minutes. The trick here is the wagon has some sort of magnetic resistance on the axle controlled by a lever. So that adds drag to the wagon. I am very proud of this score. Especially when you consider that I did this WOD twice!

The first time I ran this WOD, there was confusion about where the resistance should have been set. My judge set it on the wrong setting. I failed to ask/check/confirm and I ran the event with the drag higher than it needed to be. This happened to two other competitors in my heat. So we were granted a second attempt late in the day. This is what I jokingly referred to as my bonus or “value added” WOD. Afterall, I only paid for 5 workouts. So this was a ‘free’ WOD. And if I had to repeat a WOD, this is the one I most wanted a second crack at.

It was, in the end, a very good day.

The Minuses – 
1) Need to dedicate more time and effort to ‘mainstream’ skills going forward.
2) Need to help myself out and sincerely pay attention to nutrition.

These learnings are not new or surprising, but they are significant and were demonstrated dramatically this weekend.

The Pluses
1) I’m overall satisfied with performance/results.
2) Feel like the training/preparation strategy was generally sound, but needs some refinement.
3) Pleased with how I mentally adapted to the challenges of the day (the competition level, judging challenges, extra WODs) and maintained a positive attitude.
4) The way my body performed and recovered in the days after the competition!

Will I do the competition again next year? At the moment I just don’t know. I enjoy this competition. It’s run very efficiently. The WODs are typically very attainable. I love working out in the atmosphere of the Greensboro Coliseum. It is without a doubt the biggest arena/event that I’m aware of in our area, short of Regionals. I really enjoy that aspect. However, there are a lot of variables that would impact my decision to participate next year. So, for now…we’ll see.

 

a rubber ball

So I’m standing outside the elementary school today, waiting to meet my wife and daughter before the school day begins. Students are streaming in. Suddenly, I hear this “Thwok! THWOK!” I look across the front of the school and there are two faculty members bouncing a rubber ball off the side of the building and a kid is catching the ball off the rebound then returning it to the staff members for another toss. When that kid made the third consecutive catch they all celebrated as if the child had just scored a World Cup goal. There were cheers. There were arm raised in victory. There would have been high fives, but the kids was too busy sprinting and leaping in circles celebrating. When the celebration was over, the kid returned the ball, grabbed their backpack and headed into the building.

Over the course of 15 minutes or so, I saw another 3 or 4 students step up to the challenge. Each time it was the same. Three tosses, three catches…CELEBRATION!!!!

About the third time through, the impact and importance of this simple interaction struck me.

That’s a handful of kids who entered that school today with a smile on their faces and CONFIDENCE in their hearts!

In this time where we all seem to be pounded with a barrage of anger, mistrust and venom this small group of young people started their day with a feeling of self-worth, pride and accomplishment.

What a profoundly valuable gift for those men to bestow on those kids through such an elegantly simple interaction. And it was EASY! It looked natural! Each exchange took what, two minutes? At most!

Imagine what we might all accomplish, if we tried to follow that example. If we took the two minutes each day to build some one up rather than rail to tear others down.

To the faculty members with the red rubber ball…thank you, gentlemen. Thanks for all you do as educators, but even more so, thank you for the gift you bestow upon those young people.

 

are masters special

So I read this article: “What Crossfit Masters Wish Every Crossfit Trainer Knew.” If you’re inclined, you can read it here (http://wodmasters.com/crossfit-masters-athletes-wish-crossfit-trainers-know/) The crux of the article is to try and help resolve the following issue: “Many Masters Athletes have felt ignored or that our unique experiences, injuries and needs are misunderstood by crossfit trainers who have had little knowledge about working with our age group.”As a Master’s Athlete (age 47), a reasonably experienced (6+ years) Crossfitter, and an always developing (2+ years of experience) Trainer, this might be the first fitness article I’ve felt I have reasonable credibility to discuss. To be clear, what follows are my opinions based on experience. This is my perspective. This AIN’T Science! There are no links to peer-reviewed, scholarly papers here. Please just keep that in mind.Here’s my primary train of thoughtAre Master’s as a group truly unique that require specific attention? I’m not convinced.

I submit that INDIVIDUALS are unique and based on where they sit on the CF Wellness spectrum somewhere between sick and fit, as well as the NEEDS of our lives, then the DEGREE of intensity at which we train changes. And EVERY athlete regardless of age or ability needs to communicate and collaborate with their coaches.

Yes, we all scale/modify our workouts, but age is only one variable in the equation. Do coaches need to be aware of and sensitive to that variable? Absolutely. Yet it’s still just one of many of which trainers should be mindful.

Additionally, those of us who have stepped into the role of coach/trainer have embraced a leadership role and therefore the onus is on us to lead the conversation/collaboration and try to consider all the variables. But I’m still not sold that Master’s are inherently different than any other category of athlete.

The first part of the article where I get hung up is the “For Crossfit Trainers working with Masters Athletes: what you should know” section. It appears the author solicited community feedback and MUCH of it looks to be individuals projecting their unique needs across the group. That’s tough to do. Masters are generally accepted as 40+ years old (35+ if you adhere to the Crossfit Games rule book). That’s a pretty broad spectrum. It’s REAL tough to make generalizations.

Everything that troubles me with the article comes back to this statement: “We want to be treated like athletes, but there are some things that make us different than other athletes.” That impresses me as a “we want to have our cake and eat it too” sort of statement. My response as a trainer is, “We’re ALL different. That’s why everything scales and we customize each workout to the individual each day!” Please understand, I say that from the heart and with some experience. I work with a broad range of athletes, from kids 5 and up through to retired gym members as well adaptive athletes. I’m not being glib when I say, “We are all unique.”

I lead the First-Timers Workout at the box where I train. It’s the workout session where we explain the fundamentals of Crossfit to visitors who are thinking about becoming members but may have never experienced it.

As I’m prepping them for their first CrossFit workout, I explain to all of them that the keys to being successful are the ideas of degree vs need and prescribed vs scaled. I tell them, “we all have the same basic physical needs each day. We all have to get out of our beds and meet the physical demands our days place on us. What changes from individual to individual are the degrees the physical demands each person’s life impose upon them.

My 8yo daughter, me, my 70+ year old mother, and the elite athlete training for Regionals all have the same physical needs. When the sun rises, we all have to get up out of bed, fuel our bodies through out the day and meet the physical challenges ahead of us. What changes are the degree to which those physical demands challenge us. The key to ensuring that each of us gets the best workout possible safely taxing us to the best of our abilities maximizing our effort, but minimizing the risk of injury is through the concept of prescribed work vs scaled!”

Every workout every day, the coaches should be talking to all of their athletes, regardless of age/ability, and asking, “how are you doing? What’s working today? What aches today? How are you thinking about modifying the workout today?” In doing this, that coach is customizing the work of the day to help their athletes meet their goals.

As an athlete, my primary goal in Crossfit is to be able to keep up with my kids (in every sense of the expression). If I get running around the yard with them and they say, “Time Out, Dad. We need a break,” that’s it! Crossfit for the win! That goal defines the DEGREE of MY Need. It drives every training, nutrition and recovery decision I make. If I over train so that I’m unable to keep up with my kids, then I have to take time to re-evaluate things and adjust accordingly. Every person should be taking the time to do that. Figure out your goals, train, evaluate, adjust…repeat.

Now, the idea of ‘over training’ raises a couple of interesting aspects: rest and risk aversion. I would concede that these two concepts are frequent challenges within the Master’s bracket.

Rest:  “How many times a week should I WOD?” The answer is, “well, how do you feel?” Do you wince when you raise yourself up from your desk because you’ve done heavy squats 4 days running? You might need a rest. But again, you have to be honest with yourself and talk to your coach and balance your goals vs the feedback your body provides you as well as the demands the needs of your individual life place upon you. In broad strokes, is your workout interfering with your ability to get through the rest of your day? You may need to consider reducing your intensity and or increasing your rest and mobility work.

Risk aversion: This is another area where there may be a common trait/tendency in the Masters’ class of which coaches should be cognizant. Masters may be hyper-sensitive to the potential for injury. It seems like a reasonably fair statement to generalize and say Masters take longer to heal, if we get injured. So where younger athletes may be more inclined to step up to any physical challenge presented; a master may hesitate and spend more time mulling over the “actions have consequences” possibility.

My wife is a prime example. As she explained: “can I DO twenty inch box jumps? Sure? But if I miss one and wrench an ankle or split my shin, I’m out of the gym for weeks while I heal. Plus, it makes my life as a mother, wife, etc that much harder. I’m not going to risk that. So I either scale the box height, or do step ups. I understand it’s not exactly the same movement and I’m trading stimulus for safety. But that’s my choice.”

That’s a very fair risk/reward analysis and it’s worth coaches and athletes talking over…no matter the athlete’s age.

Some bullets in the original article talk about wanting more time for warm up, cool down and stretching because masters need more time with that. I can attest to needing more time than some of my younger peers. However, there’s an element of individual responsibility here and it’s two-fold.

One, if you’re an experienced crossfitter, then likely you know which joints/mucscles need extra TLC. So take care of yourself. Take the time to lube those spots up. For myself, I know that if I fail to foam roll the small muscles above and below the backs of my knees, then there will be no explosive squats/jumping movements. So I build 20 minutes into my morning to roll those areas out before I go out the door to train.

The second consideration in this, If you’re new to training, then you may not yet know your body’s patterns and tendencies. In that case, TALK TO YOUR COACH. Any competent coach should proactively be providing warm up/cool down guidance based on the work out of the day as well as their knowledge of the programming over time. If you’ve been doing huge numbers of pulls ups, that coach should be guiding you to roll your lats, stretch your shoulders, etc. If you have something else that’s sticky, ask your coach. They will be more than happy to provide suggestions of things you can do both in the box and probably at home.

So that’s my take. Master’s athletes aren’t particularly ‘special’ as a group. Every athlete is unique in their placement along the Crossfit Wellness continuum. That placement is a combination of:

• Their life experience

• Their fitness knowledge

• Their goals (both in fitness and life)

The role of the trainer is to take the time to evaluate each athlete and establish where the athlete sits on that continuum at that particular point in time. Then get to know the athlete’s goals, their needs and collaborate with that athlete to understand the degree to which they may need to scale their training (Down..or UP! As I like to point out to the First-timers, “anything I can make easier, I can make harder!”) on any given day, to provide them the most beneficial training experience over time.  How does a coach achieve that? Through two-way conversation between them and the athletes they train.

 

feeling a bit panicky

39 Days until War of the WODS and I have fallen way off my training plan over the last two weeks. Not real pleased with myself.

Built this plan, this calendar because I KNEW things would get weird. I KNEW I would need tools to stay focused. Still, I have let things slide.

There’s still time.

Time to refocus.

Time to reset.

Time to dedicate to being disciplined and making the right decisions.

So now, as I’ve done evey day since I started this plan I ask myself, what have you done today? The goal from here on out is to ensure that I’m honest with myself and satisfied with my answer.

 

 

 

falling behind

In both training and accountability, I have been a bit lax. I’m still getting the foundational work outs in and getting advantage from those. The rehab, mobility and skill work have suffered of late.

Thursday, 11/9
Est 1 RM with Good Form – Deadlift

This lift was a serious disappointment today. My all time best at this lift is 385#. I was no where near that. I lifted 315# successfully. I attempted 345# twice and failed badly. Issue is the instant I make the decision to lift, I’m rocking forward in my feet and once the bar leaves the ground, I’m forward and the lift is straining my back. So I bail.

I was so disappointed in the standard deadlift that I took the bar back to 315# and did successful sumo deadlifts at 315# and 345#. Thanks for the latitude on that Coach Tori.

Est 1RM with good form – Overhead Squat
Lift progression for this one was: 115#, 135#, 155# 165#, 185# and finally 200#!

That final lift is a 5# PR and was VERY Satisfying. After the disappointment of the deadlift, it felt really good to come back and succeed on this lift.

Friday, 11/10
Segment 1:
On the 2:00 x 7:
3 Hang Squat Cleans + 1 Jerk

I did two rounds at 75#, three rounds at 95#, and two rounds at 105#. This was light based on the percentages suggested, but given all the work in front of us and it being the fourth WOD of the week, I was comfortable with the decision to keep things on the light side.

On the 2:00 x 5:
2 Front Squats

Did one round each at 105#, 125#, and 155. The round of 155 was the fifth and final round. There were two rounds of 135# before it.

On the Minute x 3:
1 Front Squat

I completed these, but didn’t record the weight.

Segment 2:
3 Rounds:
7 Ring Muscle ups (scale as needed)
50 Air Squats
10 Hang Power Snatches (Rx: 115/80 S1: 85/55 S2: 65/35)

While there was a 12 min cap assigned to this METCON, Coach Doug advised that he wanted everyone to scale to a level where they could do all movements unbroken and try to be done under 10 minutes.

With that guidance, I scaled the Muscle Ups to Ring Rows and the Snatches to 95#.

Finished in 8:05. Very pleased with that.

Monday, 11/13

Segment 1:
Back Squat
4 Rounds:
In a :30 Second Window:
Max reps @ 70%
Rest 2:30 between sets

I completed sets of 8, 9 and two sets of 10 reps during this portion of the workout. I used 165#. It was a very interesting exercise in breath control.

Segment 2:
AMRAP 20 minutes:
10 Thrusters (Rx: 135/95 S1: 95/65 S2: 65/35)
30 Box Jumps (Rx: 24/20 S1: 20/16 S2: 16/12)
16 Chest to Bar Pullups (S1: Pullups S2: Banded)

I did the WOD with 95# thrusters, the 24″ box and chin over bar pull ups. Completed 3 full rounds and 14 reps in the time allotted.

Every now and then you run into a WOD that just WRECKS you. This turned out to be on of those WODS for me. At the time we finished the WOD, I didn’t think too much about it. I was tired and a bit achy, but it didn’t seem exceptional.

About two hours post-WOD, I felt awful. I was fatigued. My limbs all felt heavy. I just felt wiped out. I haven’t had that feeling in a long long time. I had done all my standard post-WOD things: hydration, nutrition. There was nothing unusual about that part of my routine. It seems the 94 box jumps, and they were all jumps, ate me up. In hindsight that probably shouldn’t be a surprise. It was a good hour before I got back to feeling normal again.

Tuesday, November 14
Segment 1:
Handstand Pushups
Max Handstand Pushups
Rest 3:00
3 Sets of 30%
rest as needed between

I was definitely feeling beat up from yesterday’s work this morning. Plus, the last two times I attempted HSPU practice, I left the gym with a stiff neck. So today, I simply worked holds trying to see how long I could do free standing holds off the wall.

Segment 2:
Power Snatch
On the Minute x 10
2 Reps

Two rounds at 95# and 9 at 115#. Not much to say here other than I am relieved these weren’t assigned as squat snatches.

Segment 3:
5 Rounds:
15 Power Snatches (Rx: 75/55 S1/S2: 55/35)
30 Double Unders (S1: Attempts S2: Singles)
200m Run
15 min cap

I attempted to run this WOD Rx. However, the double under gods were not friendly today. I could not find them at all. So, per Doug’s direction, I scaled to 35-40 seconds of double unders each round and dropped the rope no matter the count when that time lapsed.

I haven’t run in quite some time. I didn’t feel like I had any sort of stride until the third round.

When time expired I had completed 4 rounds and 12 of the 5th set of Snatches. Not thrilled with the day’s results, but I understand them and can accept them.

Very much looking forward to a session of mobility, rehab and some skill work tomorrow.

There are 61 days remaining until the War of the WODs.

 

grinding

Some days we scale…some days it’s best to take the WOD at face value, accept your strengths and weaknesses and just hit them head on.

Tuesday, November 8

Segment 1:
Handstand Pushups
10 minutes of practice

Worked on kipping form here trying to string one or two handstand push ups together with mixed results. The most significant thing to come from this segment was a strained muscle in my neck. It was annoying, but not debilitating. Enough to make me self conscious of just about every movement after it occurred.

Segment 2:
EMOM for 8 minutes
5 HSPUs or scale

In light of the stiff neck, I elected to do handstand holds here. 7 rounds of 25 second holds. The final minute I went upside down with the intent of doing a max effort hold, with the hope of staying inverted the full minute. Didn’t happen. Brought my feet down between 25-30 sec.

Segment 3:
AMRAP 15 minutes:
30 Double Unders
15 Power Cleans (Rx: 115/80 S1: 85/55 S2: 65/35)
30 Double Unders
15 Toes to Bar (S1: Knees to Elbows S2: Hanging Knee Raises)

I’ve been avoiding double unders for a while because they aggrivate my calf. Decided to test my rehab efforts today.

Coach Doug was pretty explicit that if our double unders were failing us and they were taking longer than 30-40 seconds each round, we were supposed to abandon them at that point and move forward with the WOD.

It’s not possible to modify that way during a competition. You kind of have to take the WOD as it comes and manage the best you can. So that was the mindset I used for today. I told myself, “Accept that the double unders are likely going to confound you and slow you down. Don’t get frustrated as the group runs away from you. Stay focused. Do the work and do what you can.”

Things went ok. I completed 2 full rounds, plus an additional 59 reps. Some rounds of double unders when better than others. At least twice I was able to finish in just two sets. At least one round contained multiple times where I only stuck a single rep then tripped. Mostly, I’m glad I was able to stay calm and keep moving forward. Will I be that calm on competition day? Who knows? For today, I’m satisfied that I was a bit stubborn, a bit tenacious and didn’t freak out when things didn’t work my way. That’s enough for today.

As for the crick in my neck? A day spent alternating between mobility and employing a warm rice bag has it feeling much better, but not completely pain free.