A time to scale

May 17th, 2010, by Jennie

In a world full of intense workouts, record boards and huge egos, there exists a time to scale. Not every workout that you do should be with 110% intensity. Know why? Because this is going to cause you to burn out. CrossFit.com promotes a 3 days on, 1 day off training schedule for elite level athletes, but even many top performers at the CrossFit Games scale back to a 3 days on, 2 days off rotation. And that's it. They aren't in the gym 8 times a day, 7 days a week. They aren't using their rest days to work on straight-bar muscle ups, or to run a quick 5K. They rest. They allow their bodies the time they need to heal. Elite level CrossFit athletes have not only dialed in the volume of their training, but they have also learned to listen to their bodies.

Are you listening to your body?

Your body is trying to tell you something. Each and every day your body is going to give you feedback on your CrossFit training. Are you doing too much? Not enough? If things for you go from "normal soreness" to "inability to raise my arms above my head", then you need to listen to your body. Stick to your normal workout schedule, but when you come into the Fort, come in knowing that you are going to go with 80% intensity. I promise it's not a "wasted" workout if you aren't on the verge of passing out at the end.

Josh Everett (2007 CrossFit Games - 3rd Overall, 2008 CrossFit Games - 2nd Overall) is a good example of this. In an interview before the 2009 Games he shared that he only works out with about 85% intensity, and reserves that extra "gear" for competitions. He knows that if he hits the WOD at 110% every time that he is going to end up in over training land. And believe me, over training land is not fun. Muscle-ups land? Totally fun. Snatch PR land? Amazing. Over training land makes sweet Suri Cruise weep.

Having trouble sleeping? Is your resting heart rate unusually high? Do you feel emotional and overwhelmed? If you answered yes to those 3 questions, then there's a good chance that you have walked through the gate of over training land. Talk to your coaches about this, as it's not something to take lightly. We are here as a resource for you, and we want to see you continue to train and train successfully. Listen to your body, and share the feedback with your coaches. We love you guys. We are here to help you make progress, and yes, we are even here to help you scale when necessary.

Category: CrossFit

20 Responses to "A time to scale"

  • Mark R.
    May 17, 2010, 12:49 pm

    Does this mean that we now get counseling for our overwhelmed emotional issues in addition to our bad lifting form...if so this gym has just moved into the stratosphere as far as being outta this world awesome!

  • Bill
    May 17, 2010, 7:28 pm

    I would like to add that your workout should not only not make you sore on a daily basis, but should leave you energized and wanting more. No pain, no gain does not hold true. Having the hunger, the desire, to workout is a good sign that you aren't doing too much. Just because you feel great, look great, and continue to improve on your performance doesn't mean that you should go harder, longer, faster, or more often in hopes of feeling, looking, or performing even better. Remember, there is a fine line between not training enough and training too much. More is most definitely NOT better in our case.

    For those of you who come to the Fort at least 3 days a week, but constantly feel like you were run over by a truck or haven't been making any strength or metcon gains recently, I challenge you to do the following 3 things: (1) Get 9 hours of sleep each and every night. (2) Improve your diet. (3) Spend 2 weeks with the A or B workouts and limit physical activity outside of the Fort to "playing". Things like going for a walk with your significant other or children, playing in the yard with the little ones, performing yard work, etc. constitutes "playing".

    See if that helps you regain some zest for your workouts, thus reclaiming your seat on the PR train.

  • Bethy
    May 17, 2010, 9:44 pm

    On a slightly side note... I see a lot of advice to take a break when PR's halt (and advice to STOP! when they backslide consistently, which makes sense).

    What of when you're still PR'ing? It seems to be the standard 'unit of exhaustion' measurement, but it doesn't look like it applies quite as uniformly as many would imply.

  • heath goodson
    May 18, 2010, 10:16 am

    Mark....people without little children I guess? 6 seems to be my average with may be one small nap per week.

  • Garth
    May 18, 2010, 11:28 am

    Yeah - 9 hours of sleep just isn't going to happen but I'm going to try my best along those lines and keep the room DARK! That helps a lot - eliminating all of the electronics, noise and light sources.

    Just so everybody knows, I'm going the scaled route on the metcons to focus more on the strength portion of the classes. Of course I can get thru most of the metcons as prescribed but they do wear me out and I end up missing out on classes including any strength component for that given day. By scaling the metcons, I'm hoping to get into the gym for the strength training more consistently and by getting stronger, I expect to see better metcon performance long term.

    Sorry if I ever let anybody down by scaling the WOD (Tom, Mark, Pete, etc) but that's the plan :)

  • zach
    May 18, 2010, 12:06 pm

    Garth,

    It looked as though you were following the percentages on the board this morning! Could it be?!?!?!? Good work buddy!

    Zach sleeps-like-a-bear-and-still-will-when-he-has-a-family Mitchell

  • Mark R.
    May 19, 2010, 7:46 am

    Zach-has-no-idea-what-he's-talking-about-when-it-comes-to-having-a-family-Mitchell...I can't wait to see how that one goes over with future Mrs. Mitchell, I just hope she lets you live long enough so my fellow 'Fort' parents and I can revel in your having to settle for less than 9hrs of uninterrupted sleep.

    Also props to Garth for listening to the old body and scaling it back a bit, I don't know where this new Garth came from but I'm starting to like working out with him :)

  • Garth
    May 19, 2010, 7:52 am

    Mark, where were you at this morning? Missed you man!

    I can't wait until Zach has kids. It'll be better than a TV drama series. Good times! Zach, what's the delay? We aren't getting any younger! How long are you going to keep us all waiting? Haha! :)

    Happy to scale today's WOD - double unders and burpees ((shudder))

  • Mark R.
    May 19, 2010, 9:55 am

    I was taking Bill's advice an getting some more sleep, be back at the GYG on Friday

  • zach
    May 19, 2010, 11:52 am

    I can't wait to have kids either! I'm gonna make sure they get as much sleep as I do. It'll be planned perfectly and n'sync with my schedule! :D

    Zach may-not-have-a-clue-about-being-a-parent-but-will-still-get-his-sleep-at-the-sacrifice-of-everyone-else mitchell

  • Bret
    May 19, 2010, 2:42 pm

    Damn I've missed you guys and its only been about a week and a half. This whole conversation has been hilarious!!! Thanks for lightening up the day!!!

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