OPEN GYM 9A-NOON!

There was a lot of great content floating around Facebook and the blog the last few days about the importance of rest and recovery.  For those of you who missed Coach Eric’s post (or if you aren’t on Facebook), here’s what he had to say:

“Rest and recovery takes patience and discipline. I could argue that they are more important than exercise itself. But I digress. A great tool to use for your rest/recovery is a heart rate monitor. Calculate your max HR. 220-age=MHR. This is a very simple, basic start. Take 60-70% of that and concentrate on maintaining for 20-40min. (Rowing, Walking, Riding, Whatever) This does a million different things for your body, all good and beneficial (I can elaborate more later). What this also does, especially for work out junkies (myself included), is that it gives us something to do/concentrate on and makes us feel like we are getting a workout in without the stress of an actual WOD. Just a thought…any questions feel free to ask. Otherwise I will be away until December. Good luck, be strong and stay healthy.”

Tanique showing hard work pays off.  She’s come a long way on OHS!

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REST? WHO NEEDS REST??

If you’ve done one… or a hundred workouts at the Cove, you know it works because of the high intensity you achieve with each WOD. But our bodies can’t withstand that kind of intense exercise every day – so we need to EMBRACE THE REST DAY.  Here is some guidance we can offer, but you MUST listen to your body first and foremost!

CrossFit recommends athetes follow a 3 on 1 off program, which means 3 days of doing the workouts and taking the following day to rest.  Most athletes will need that day of rest in order to allow the muscle tissue to regrow and the body to recover from the training. If someone is brand new to CrossFit, your body might not be able handle that much intensity/work initially.  The Cove offers programming 6 days a week, Monday-Saturday, and while we love seeing each of you, we do NOT want to see you every day.  Often times life schedules need to dictate workout schedules. We realize not everyone’s schedule is the same and some will come in on certain days, and some on others. Some folks like to come in Monday-Friday and take the weekend off (5 on and 2 off). This may work for some, but what needs to be monitored is how that athlete is responding to the training. On the 4th and 5th day in a row, are they still feeling strong and are they still able to hit the conditioning portions of the workouts hard and keep the intensity that we are looking for in order to gain results?  Is soreness or muscle fatigue setting in.  If that’s the case, go for walk, come in and row, stretch or ride the bike – but skip the WOD.

What tends to happen is you start enjoying coming to the gym so much because you are seeing results and you are making friends and getting connected to the community and you don’t want to take days off – but this can also lead to some nagging injuries if the individual is not listening to their body. We have seen it happen time and time again and, we too, have made this mistake more than once. So what does someone do on his or her rest day?  Taking a full day off to do NOTHING is definitely an option but you could also consider some ‘active recovery’ activities (from our friends at CrossFit Invictus):

NOTE ABOUT ACTIVE RECOVERY – The activity selected must be restorative for you. It can also be an opportunity to work on a skill (like swimming or rowing), but the effort expended should leave you feeling energized at the end of the session, not depleted. I would also always prefer to see active recovery done as soon after rising as possible on the active recovery days. It’s an opportunity to start some blood flowing and aid your recovery.

Aerobic Restoration ( 25-40 minutes of work at a 60-70% effort – easy, restorative pace)

* Swim

* Row (focus on mechanics, smooth and efficient with a very low stroke per minute pace)

* AirDyne (keep the pace conversational and relaxed)

* Cycling (get outdoors and enjoy the scenery as you ride)

* Hike (nothing crazy here, find a nice easy slope and go for a walk outdoors)

* Restorative Yoga

Mobility and Maintenance

Kelly Starrett is the mobility guru and has a solve for almost anything.  Whatever your pain or sticking point, he’ll have a mobility drill for you.  Google “Kelly Starrett (insert body part here)” and you’ll find a wealth of videos and information.

Inflammation Maintenance

* This could be a lot of things, but think in terms of compression, contrast baths, salt baths, castor oil packs, etc.

Nutrition Preparation

* Ensure that you have quality foods prepared in the appropriate quantities to fuel your efforts for the remainder of the week.

Mental Restoration

* Different for everyone – could be meditation or could be gathering with friends; the key is to engage in activities that make your life full and help you recharge your batteries.

 Regardless if you are a competitive CrossFit athlete or just someone looking to get fitter – remember more is not always better, but better is better. Learn to listen to your body, learn to be ok with missing a day here or there in order to take care of yourself. You are only going to get stronger and faster if you allow your muscles a chance to recover.

STRENGTH WOD

WOD

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IT’S PARTNER DAY… WEAR YOUR SOCKS!

We used to call Friday workouts “Bring a Friend Friday” but recently have just called them “Partner WODs”.  Some of you have asked if you can still bring friends along on Fridays and the answer is HECK YES!!!  We love having your friends experience what you go through every day… and we love the camaraderie it creates for the members who get to pair up together to work out.  Fridays are some of the toughest workouts… but also the most fun.  Our mantra is and will always be “the more the merrier”!  

And as you’ll see we have rope climbs today!  Bring those fancy socks!

PARTNER WOD

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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. ALREADY??

There are 56 days left until the New Year.  Before we even starting thinking about 2016, have you stuck to your resolutions for 2015?  If you’re like most people, you wanted to get ‘in shape’ or ‘lose 10lbs’.  According to Nielsen, the top resolutions are below, but its funny how CrossFit can help you get LOTS of the below accomplished.  Fit and healthy are no brainers.  Losing weight comes with working hard when you’re here — and eating well when you’re not here.  We’d argue our members tend to live fuller lives and typically spend less on things like drinking and eating out often (thus, spending less and saving more).  By being here we get to spend more time with friends (our new CF friends! and other friends are always welcome). We need to be more organized to find the time to be here AND we’d bet you’ve certainly learned some new things.  But not everyone has something on this list.  If you want help in closing out THIS year strong, please let us know and talk to your coaches!  We’re here to help you set PRs in life, not just at the gym…

TOP 10 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Stay fit and healthy	37%
Lose weight	32%
Enjoy life to the fullest	28%
Spend less, save more	25%
Spend more time with family and friends	19%
Get organized	18%
Will not make any resolutions	16%
Learn something new/new hobby	14%
Travel more	14%
Read more	12%

 

SKILL WOD

WOD

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