It is the CrossFit Open, what do I do with the rest of the my week to stay healthy?

The CrossFit Open is a special time in our training year, and we need to approach it differently than we would our usual training.

It is important that if you are taking the Open pretty seriously that you do your best to rest the day before and the day after (or at least, do them at a reduced intensity).

With that in mind, Open workouts (even when done ‘for fun’) tend to put a lot more strain on your body’s central nervous system (CNS) and tissues. This additional strain WILL outpace your ability to recover if you aren’t going into them recovered and/or taking adequate time after to recover.

Our workouts are normally pretty taxing, if you try to replace a typical day of training with one of these tests each week (without incorporating any additional recovery practices above your normal schedule), you run the risk of feeling extremely ‘run down’, getting sick, and even getting injured.

You may not notice on weeks 1 and 2, but you will definitely notice it by weeks 4 and 5 (suffering the negative effects above AND possibly affecting your performances).

This is also the first year the Open is during cold and flu season. The last thing you want to do is get sick during the Open because you were trying to do the Open on top of your normal routine.

What to do:

• If you consistently come 4-5 times per week, plan on dialing it back to 3-4. Or at the very least, turn one of your days into a ‘half intensity’ day (come to class, but cut back the volume and only do lifting and metcons at 50-70% intensity).
• Focus on eating enough protein and calories. If you are not eating enough food, your recovery will suffer.
• Get the best sleep you can (all week long). Go to bed earlier. Sleep in room as dark as possible. Avoid electronics before bed. Avoid alcohol and sweets before bed. Bad sleep is a surefire way to put yourself at risk for catching something or suffering an injury.
• Spend some extra time on mobility/pre-hab. 5-10 minutes of mobility each day can go a long way to aid in recovery so you don’t end up with a sprain or ‘tweak’ going into the later weeks of the Open.

Good luck with the Open!

May each workout have everything you love and nothing you suck at!

(not likely, but we can always dream right!?)

Thrive on.

-jj