Part of our rules of the box is to “Scale if you need to”, more like when you have to for most cases. We also have another one “Technique over the WOD”. These two very important rules must be adhered to in order for you to continue to achieve your gains and improvements in CrossFit.
With a workout program that is vastly varied with a large number of movements and combinations of exercises that constantly test our skills and abilities, it is our job to make sure that you will move to the best of your ability and that you do so efficiently. The bonus will be that you will come out of this injury free. As an athlete, it is your responsibility to ensure that you perfect your technique and not always rely on your strengths to “get the job done”.
When you come to train at the box, it is not about lifting the biggest weights or having to go RXd. It is great if you can or are capable of but absolutely not at the expense of technique and form. There will be strong guys and girls in the box. Look to them for inspiration and tips, but also practice patience in your approach to the workout. Strength takes years to build and do not expect to be lifting the biggest Snatch or getting your Ring Muscle Up within 6 months or a year. Some athletes have taken a year to figure out the Double under!
Work on your foundation strength. Foundation strength is your leg, arm, core strength that includes, squatting, deadlifting, vertical push, vertical pull, horizontal push, horizontal pull, trunk flexing and trunk flexion. Weaknesses in any of these areas will mean an imbalance in your overall physique. This will lead very quickly to compensation and an overall imbalance of your progress. Work on drills and skills to improve your movements. Do the accessories that are set. These are extra movements that will help you. It may be simple, boring and unsexy, but necessary to your overall development. It is impossible to cover everything in 2 x 1 hour crossfit sessions in a week. So do your homework and use the Open Gym times.
Listen to your coach and all coaching cues. No one is too big to accept coaching cues. Everyone is constantly learning and improving. The great thing about CrossFit is that it is so much of a beast that no one apart from the elites in the game can say that they have “nailed it” or every movement in the book.
Do not expect to be getting a bone crunching workout every single time. Some WODs are long and grinding and some are short, fast and heavy. They are programmed to give you variety and to expose you to the varied nature of CrossFit. Loading up to work on the RXd weight may not be the best way to build your strength. It will possibly make you compensate for what you lack in and reinforce unfavorable movement patterns that will be hard to unravel later on. Not only that, it will also accelerate your risk of injury.
Check your Ego, leave it at the door.
