Wine Country CrossFit

I don’t want to see you in the gym!  There, I said it.  I want you to get out of here!  I want you to go home, stretch, maybe walk or jog, but I don’t want you in the gym!

I have a quick poll for everyone.  How long has it been since you have taken a break?  At Wine Country CrossFit, we work you guys hard, really hard, and our bodies need adequate rest to rebuild themselves.  This rest needs to come in a few different forms.  First, as we often preach to you, it needs to come daily.  You need to be getting a solid 8-10 hours of sleep per night, and you need to be sure that your training routine isn’t putting so much stress on your system that it starts to falter (this is why we don’t do CrossFit every day).  Beyond that, rest needs to come in longer stints too.  Personally, I try to take a week of for every 4 or so weeks of training.  Let me tell you, it works!

Recently, two of or rockstar female athletes (I’ll let them identify themselves if they wish)gave it a try, if they wanted to or not.  One came to me and said that she wanted better quicker results in the Paleo challenge.  She was crossfitting 4 days a week, and running solid distances on the side almost daily.  I asked her how she felt, and she said that she felt “fine, a little tired now and then, but fine”  We cut the running way down and gave a little more rest.  You know what?  She came back and started KILLING IT!  Her WOD times dropped, she started lifting heavier, and Rx’ing things that she couldn’t have before.  All from a little rest.  She has blogged about it here Raquel’s gettin’ her Paleo On.  (Whoops, I guess I just spilled the beans on who that person was)

The second athlete came with a much different set of circumstances.  This young lady was killing it as it was.  Setting PRs, Rx’ing her WODs, making the men in the gym jealous of her deadlift etc.  Much like the Leo that was showing itself in Raquel, this athlete was driving hard hard hard all of the time.  Unfortunately, her rest came in the form of an injury.  Not in the gym, but due to an automobile accident.  Well, after a complete week off, and some chiro visits, this athlete came back stronger than ever, and you know what?  She approached me to tell me how much better and more energized she felt.

It works for me, it worked for them, and I promise it will work for you too!  If you feel like your energy could be better, or you’re extra sore, or you can’t get your mind off the next work out, chances are that you are overtrained.  Get out of the gym.  Go on a little CrossFit holiday, work on your mobility, maybe some skill work, and take a walk, otherwise just relax.  I know you’ll come back and hit the WODs harder and stronger than ever!

Here is a bit more info on training load.  This guy is an ultramarathoner who trains 10 hours per week and is among the top in the world!

http://www.gotrimax.com/TriMaxBmac.htm

-Ryan

P.S. Don’t forget, we have our Paleo Potluck at 6pm on Friday (tonight) to celebrate the end of our Paleo Challenge.  This event is open to all WCCF members and their friends and family, you do not need to have participated in the challenge to attend.  Bring a dish to share, a chair to sit on, plate and utensils.  Fun will be provided!

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Friday’s WOD

Complete 4 rounds:

Each round consists of 6 cycles of the following:

DB Hang Power Clean
DB Front Squat
DB Push Press
DB Lunge RT
DB Lunge LT

*Do not set the weight down during the 6 times through the cycle.
*Rest as needed between rounds.
*Go up in weight each round to perform the heaviest round possible.