CrossFit Oakland: CrossFit Survival Handbook: Recovery

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May 11, 2008

CrossFit Survival Handbook: Recovery

We are in the process of compiling a CF Survival Guide for people new to the potent stimulus that is CrossFit. Many new clients have wondered what those of you who have been at it for some time do to recover and avoid over training. What are your methods? What has worked best? How do you know you need rest? What have the results been on overall performance and progress?

Post your survival wisdom to comments.

Posted by Nicole Okumu at May 11, 2008 7:04 PM

Comments

Go until you drop or until a workout comes up that you absolutely hate such as Barbara or burpees.

Dave if you are out there, I have the jump ropes for you and Hannah. I should be at CFO Wed morning unless I pass them on to someone earlier.

Posted by: Tamara at May 11, 2008 9:36 PM

1) Go harder than you think you can each and every workout--even if some days that still means a sub-par time.

2) Listen to nagging injuries. If it hurts for more than a week, rest that body part and go see someone who can help you fix it.

3) Sleep. As much as you can.

4) "Plan your rest days, or nature will plan them for you." Coach Glassman

Posted by: Tim at May 11, 2008 10:09 PM

Try to train as much as the Audge.

Posted by: Lau at May 11, 2008 10:14 PM

1. lots of sleep
2. eat right
3. lots of fish oil
4. sit in a hot tub every day

Posted by: Sam L at May 11, 2008 10:34 PM

I find that watching The Muppet Show and reading Nabil's posts have a restorative effect on me. The Muppet Show also carries through to provide training motivation. When I am doing power cleans I often begin each pull by telling myself, "Jump like Kermit. Jump like Kermit..."

Posted by: TomC at May 11, 2008 10:39 PM

In the beginning I would say be careful if there are 3 high volume metcon days in a row. The first week in March destroyed me and I would have considered myself to have had a decent "base" level of fitness. If you feel your body is too beat down I would suggest instead of lowering the intensity on all the workouts perhaps training less often than 3 on 1 off but keeping the intensity of the workouts you do as high as possible.

Everyone is different but the strength days don't take the same toll on my body. If your picking your workouts make sure you get a combination of both metcon and strength, and don't shy away from the movements your aren't good at. This is simply my opinion on the matter.

Also, cycling isn't bad, just make sure you have the correct tire pressure.

Posted by: Nabil at May 11, 2008 11:14 PM

Wow, that video was ridiculous.

I think when you first start out, going full intensity 3 on 1 off might be difficult. The first time I had to do squats 2 days in a row made my legs feel like they were on fire and it took a few days to recover from that. Get enough sleep, lots of water, eat well, listen to your body. That Glassman quote was good.

Posted by: Jonathan at May 12, 2008 7:52 AM

This is great - thanks for the tips and keep em coming. I'll be looking forward to the survival guide.

At first it was severe muscle soreness for a few days after a workout that held me back... now my joints seem to be the weakest link. Sore shoulders/elbows/wrists especially. It's definitely getting better, although I hate missing workouts because of it.

The 40's may be the new 30's, but the 30's sure ain't the old 20's when it comes to working out... at least not when you've spent the last several years wasting away behind a computer all day.

Posted by: james p at May 12, 2008 7:57 AM

Focus on learning the movements and lifts and doing them correctly. Don't worry too much about time or weight or intensity. You'll have plenty of good examples of people pushing themselves and the benefits that accrue, so stretching your limits by going a little faster or a little heavier will happen. Start reading about diet and nutrition. The sooner you address that side of the equation, the faster you'll progress in the gym.

Posted by: Joe P at May 12, 2008 9:05 AM

Thanks T! See you on Wed.

Posted by: dave f at May 12, 2008 9:08 AM

My advice to new crossfitters about overtraining. Don't believe all the hype about "overtraining". If you are new to a gym...you're NOT overtraining. Train hard as often as you can, and after a few months you will be able to tell the difference between being sore and being burned out. You'll know that you are overtraining when you are not performing as well as you previously did. Overtraining was a term that became popularized by fat people that use it as an excuse to not work out more than twice a week on their Thigh-master.
Nabil,
Speaking of your body feeling "beat down"...do you have as big of a bruise on your chest as I do?

Posted by: daniel at May 12, 2008 9:20 AM

Daniel-
No, thankfully I don't have any bruise on my chest. However, Lau informed me that punching someone in the chest can cause a heart arrhythmia with the possibility of death. A useful tidbit of information I didn't learn in my EKG class. Thanks Lau!

Posted by: Nabil at May 12, 2008 11:05 AM

Don't believe all the hype about "overtraining". If you are new to a gym...you're NOT overtraining.

Daniel is mostly correct. Beginners generally cannot generate enough intensity to get into the realm of overtraining. That is, suffering a performance slump, or exhibiting the hormonal signatures of overtraining. If a beginner somehow does manage to get overtrained, recovery is usually very swift. Beginners definitely can injure themselves by going too hard, too fast, however.

Posted by: TomC at May 12, 2008 11:29 AM

Tho it be against the bylaws of aged wisdom and Zone wizardry, Me thinks the chocolate milk post recovery drink be worth its weight in dragon gold.

Posted by: chad at May 12, 2008 11:39 AM

Also, be sure to wear thy +2 wooden heeled boots of heavy lifting.

Posted by: chad at May 12, 2008 11:40 AM

Chocolate milk, absolutely.

Listen to those joints. Shoulders, elbows and wrists can get jacked up by CF movements if you're not used to doing them.

Joe has sage advice on form.

Posted by: Tim at May 12, 2008 1:27 PM

no beer

lots of water

in the beginning, don't even think or attempt 3/1

massages

and leave the ego behind (like yesterday, it didn't bother me at all that a woman I outweigh by 70# could overhead squat more than me....)

Posted by: brad gilliatt at May 12, 2008 2:16 PM

I am probably the last the person that should be giving advice on this issue since I don't believe that there is such a thing as "overtraining." Nabil and I argue about this issue regularly. I think more volume is always better. Nabil seems to think that rest has a positive impact on the body and a person’s performance. In fact, if you clicked on Nabil’s link, you can see that we were actually engaged in an argument on this very issue.

Posted by: Brandon at May 12, 2008 3:01 PM

"There is no such thing as over training, just under recovery".

Posted by: Lau at May 12, 2008 3:32 PM

My sage advice, based on four whole months at Crossfit, and my old codger perspective:

Like body weight control, fitness is a chronic not an acute issue. So cultivate sustainable habits, and be patient.

In general make sure you have practiced a movement enough to have reliable good form before pushing intensity and load. Ramp up slowly and avoid injury!

Pride yourself on completing each workout and coming back for more the next day.

The rewards are amazing!

Posted by: Michael A. at May 12, 2008 4:27 PM

I don't believe that there is such a thing as "overtraining."

Brandon, that's cause you are not human. :) At least that's what I tell myself when I see the scores you post.

Posted by: TomC at May 12, 2008 4:57 PM

Nabil & Brandon, clearly there were no girls at the "pump me up" party...good times.

Posted by: Tamara at May 12, 2008 5:12 PM

Overtraining - what's that? I'm still trying not to sandbag ;)

Vee's words of wisdom - "live to fight another day" - helped me feel better about laying off a sore shoulder this morning, so that is what I would like to pass on.

Other than that, it is just a matter of natural consequences: If you attempt movements for which your body is not prepared, you will suffer the effect. For instance if you attempt jumping L-pullups when your core is a bucket of goo, you could suffer a Grade II tear of the abdominus rectus (theoretically). Start slow, be consistent and build on the last success...

Recovery: Chocolate Milk - no question...

Posted by: Robyn at May 12, 2008 6:32 PM

I keep having problems with over-training creeping up on me over course of 10-15 weeks. I'll keep adding volume or intensity until I'm mentally and physiologically exhausted. After several weeks of wondering where my concentration went and why I keep getting colds, I finally remember that I could be over-training and/or under-eating.

So, if you aren't a machine like Brandon, then the problem is detecting when you are over-trained enough to warrant a lay-off. Some experts think that over-training can be detected with a simple questionnaire, rather than expensive laboratory tests (sorry, the article is in French):
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VN5-4HD8B8B-1&_user=4420&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000059607&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=4420&md5=7fbd39f26dce516c2ca88ab4849e8785
There are similar questionnaires in English, but they are little less focused:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mscp/ijssc/2006/00000001/00000004/art00013

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any watching American Gladiator?

"Helga and Phoenix double teaming Vanessa....."

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