Strength
Back Squat
5 – 5 – 5 – 5 – 5
WOD
Isabelle
30 snatches, 135#/95#
Full house!
One thing that we tend to be proud of as CrossFitters is how we can take a beating. The harder the workout, the more we seem to enjoy it. The tougher the challenge, the better. Another thing that tends to happen is we enjoy being around one another and like being at the box. Our day doesn't seem quite right when we don't hit a WOD – it messes up our routine. It's tough when you know you won't be able to make it in, and then you check out the WOD on the website and you think "damn, I really want to do this one." This type of attitude is typical of CrossFitters, and we see it in our athletes. That desire is what makes you CrossFit in the first place. For the most part it's a good thing. However, it can lead to overreaching (short term) and overtraining (long term) pretty easily.
Overreaching/overtraining can happen when you don't give yourself ample time to recover. Mix in a sub-par diet (not you paleo challenge participants of course!) and a lack of sleep and you can have some issues. I was at an o-lift cert where a quote from Coach Bergener was given: "you can't overtrain but you can under recover." You have to listen to your body and be aware of what it's telling you. Some common symptoms of overtraining include:
- Decreased performance during WODs
- Disturbances in mood
- Poor sleep patterns
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of weight
- Non-typical muscle soreness
- Decreased motivation
- An increased resting heart rate
Any of these sound familiar? We've all probably experienced a couple of these and after a few days of rest or even light workouts they go away. These symptoms are variable in an athlete and one will likely not exhibit all of them. What we want you to take away from this is to listen to your body. If you've been hitting it hard with minimal time off, listen to your body. If it needs a day or two off, take it. You've earned it!
