Hi, my name is Pat (aka, cpj), and I am addicted to CrossFit…
I am an athlete, a coach and a co-owner of an Affiliate…
The below statements are in jest, wherein lies a bit of truth… go ahead and read on, and ask yourself if you can replace my name with yours (in the first sentence above)!
Monday: “Trained really hard last week… thank God for Sunday rest days! What? Squats again? Why do my coaches hate my legs? Double unders too? What the…”
Tuesday: “Feeling a little sore today, but I know I will feel great once I get moving. Wall balls? Why? My legs hurt!”
Wednesday: “Holy barbells Batman! They want me to do what? How many times? With how much? Hmmm… what did (insert any name here) do today? Hell, I am going SK… I don’t care what anybody says!”
Thursday: “Man, I am freakin’ sore! I should probably take a rest day… but I really like this WOD and I see some times on the board that I think will push me to do well (I mean… I can beat that time!). I will train today and rest tomorrow.”
Friday: “I really should’ve taken a rest day yesterday… my time sucked and I think I might have tweeked something. I really love today’s WOD though, and everybody else is training today, so I will train today and rest tomorrow… take the weekend off!”
Saturday: “What? A benchmark WOD? I am in!!!”
Sunday: “Why am I so freakin’ tired?”
Monday: “Coach, I feel like I am reaching a plateau, and I have some minor injuries that aren’t going away. What should I do?”
That is how my weeks used to go (except I was asking myself those questions!). I mean, hell… all of those games athletes train 6 days a week, so why should’t I? Well, I shouldn’t have to really answer that question, should I?
Resting, taking forced rest days, and resting an injury are the absolute hardest WODs you will ever experience.
But
Resting is a necessity in CrossFit, and it should be treated with the same intensity and level of respect you give to every WOD.
My personal experiences have taught me valuable lessons that I have communicated to almost each and every one of you who have approached me about a plateau, or an injury. I have had to sit on the sidelines for as long as 3 months because I was too proud to rest an injury, and allowed that pride to blur my fitness goals… ultimately delaying my growth as an athlete and a CrossFitter.
We want to create sustainable fitness… be fit for life! You can’t be fit for life if you can’t lift your arms over your head, hang from a pull-up bar, squat, or push yourself up off of the ground (cough, hrb, cough!).
Resting is hard, but it’s damn important… so when we “suggest” you rest, it’s not because we don’t like you, or we want you to go home… it’s because we care about you and want to see you grow and succeed as an athlete. It hurts my heart when I witness you gut out an injury when I know in my soul you should be resting or modifying the WOD (and I have told you as much). You are an adult, hence you have to make and live with your decisions… but sometimes asking for help and ignoring that advice is simply just a bad one.
I am at the shed every day… and I see all of you at least once each week. I try to listen well and intelligently address your questions and concerns. So I ask that you all do the same for me (and all of your coaches).
Are you resting enough?
Are you training injured, or trying to train through an injury?
Are you choosing your WOD levels based on knowledge, ability or ego?
How’s your diet?
These are important concerns I have as your Coach… and I am not the only Coach at the shed!!
We realize that the answers we provide to you are not always what you want to hear… nobody wants to rest when all their friends are training… but taking that rest day will reap tremendous rewards, build strong character, and provide great opportunities for you to learn about your body’s ability to recover and perform.
… my name is Pat, and I am addicted to CrossFit.
