Sunday Rest
The first 3 and 1/2 minutes of this video is full of good info.
Intensity is a very big part of what we do, but when your new to Crossfit, it’s best that intensity be kept low for a couple of reasons. Safety – learn how to correctly perform the movements. Pushing around too much weight too soon or red lining your heart rate when your not used to that kind of thing can be hazardous to your health. The Suck Factor- if the workout sucked so bad the first time you did it you didn’t want to go back; it was too intense. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve done this. I was new to Crossfit and I just couldn’t wait to show others what a great program it is. Here’s what I’ve learned, the “relative” part of relative intensity is very important.
You’ll notice a new link on the sidebar. It’s called the Mobility WOD. It’s a website run by Kelly Starrett who is a crossfitter and a PHD in physical therapy. He’s got some great info on range of motion and streching. He’s also very funny. He’s been posting a video everyday for about a week, it’s good stuff, check it out.
August 29th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Great Video and reading Doug! And for everybody else, it is true that Kelly Starrett has good learning videos. He is one trainer I make sure and watch if a video is posted on the main site, free knowledge from a great trainer is priceless!
August 30th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
I can’t agree more with your commentary on intensity,Doug. It is very easy to get caught up in wanting to do more, faster and let our ego get ahead of our common sense. So often for competitive types it is hard to know when to scale back a little. Crossfit by and large is as intense as the individual wants to make it but you can’t just jump in with out testing the water first.
The comparison that comes to mind is that of runners. The wod’s are like a race in that the folks who are in the middle to back of the pack are usually working as hard or harder than those finishing up front. They are finishing the same distance as the first place finishers. In a wod, whether you are able to do it as prescribed or are scaling it back everyone is working as much or hard as he or she is able at finishing.
Everyone can work on improving intensity, but not if your hurt!!