Every minute on the minute for 24:00
Minute 1 = 15(12) calories on the rower
Minute 2 = 3 Push press 205#(135#)
Minute 3 = 50 Double unders
Minute 4 = 3 Push Jerks 205#(135#)
Post results to comments and BTWB
This a a #tbt post. But I’m throwing it back because it’s as important today as it was when I first wrote it. I think more than a few of us can agree there have been some pretty robust workouts over the last few weeks. And some of us (yes, I am very included in this) are feeling a little beat up. But some of us may not be sure quite what to do with our beat up bodies. Do we stay home and do nothing? For how long? Do we push through it? Please take a moment to read through this blog post again and remember that CrossFit is about longevity. It’s about living happy lives. If you are too beat up to enjoy life, then what’s the fun in CrossFit?
What’s your (insert movement here) quota?
By Courtney “notalotta squata” Shepherd
What’s your quota? What’s the max number of (insert movement here) you have in you in a day? A week? A month? What happens when you go over that quota? Do you get a bonus? Or is there a bust? What in the world am I even talking about?
Several years ago I started following a training program with some fellow Verve competitors. About 6 weeks into the program I started having back pain. I pushed through it. By 14 weeks I could not get on and off the toilet without using the assistance of walls because of the pain in my back. I couldn’t pick up my right leg to put my pants on. At the 11 week mark I had sat down to crunch some numbers. Prior to following the program I was squatting (or getting below parallel) in some fashion or another (air squat, back squat, pistol, wall ball, thruster, etc.) approx 200 times per week. While following the competitor program I was getting below parallel approx 400 times per week. At the 12 week mark I stopped squatting but it was a little too late, the damage had been done. Resting for the next two weeks did not give me any improvement, in fact, the pain got even worse. This high volume of squatting left me with a strained hip flexor that took 8 months to recover from. And by “recover from” I mean the removal of all squatting and dynamic hip movement for about 4 months and the slow and methodical re-introdction of these things back in to my fitness routine while constantly monitoring volume.
My point in telling you this, is that this experience taught me I do not have the capacity for a high volume of squatting. My body, specifically my hips (because my back pain was coming from my hip, not my back) only have so much below parallel work in them, anything above and beyond that and back pain starts creeping it’s way back into my life. I have a squat quota. I’ve broken this down into a weekly quota. And that quota is about 150-200 reps below parallel per week. If I come in to Verve on Monday and the workout is “Karen”, 150 wall balls for time. . . well then my quota is full up for the week. Does that mean if Tuesday’s workout is Thrusters and rowing that I don’t come to the gym and workout? Nope. It just means I may need to make some modifications to the workout. Maybe I need to ask the coach if I can power clean & jerk instead of a thruster. Because here’s the deal, as I get older I have to ask myself a very important question some days, just because I can, does it mean I should? If Verve were to program 4 days in a row with squatting I can do that, but should I? If I do that, if I squat for the next 4 days, it may mean that I have to take the next 4 days off to let my hips recover. Was that decision worth it? That is for me to decide, and I’ll tell you now, I’d rather modify and keep coming to the gym. I prefer to choose my rest day not let my rest day choose me.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I’ve had a few conversations with people regarding some similar scenarios. It turns out, these folks have a shoulder quota. They can only do so much pushing and/ or pulling gymnastics work in a week, and then their shoulders are destroyed. Pain, true pain, not just soreness or aches, but genuine ruin your sleep, make you stop a movement dead in your tracks, cause you to wince and grab a body part pain is your body telling you something. That kind of pain should never be ignored. I ignored it. I ignored it and pushed through it and it cost me 8 months. When my body started talking to me at the 6 week mark, if I had taken a moment to stop and listen, I might have prevented that injury and the need to rehab and recover. We need to be better at listening to our bodies. We don’t need to wait for that pain. When we feel extremely sore or achy, we can start listening right then and there. We can recognize we too, might have a quota, and we might be reaching it. It doesn’t mean we need to stop working out, but it may mean we need to give that body part a rest for a day.
Verve members you need to know that we can modify and scale any workout to meet any needs. You don’t need to fear it, be embarrassed by it, or feel like it’s a burden you don’t want to place on us. It’s our job. It’s actually what you as a member pay for. It’s okay to get your money’s worth from us.
It’s a push press day but your shoulders are smoked and you can’t push press overhead comfortably? Not a problem. Can you bench press? It’s a different plane of movement your shoulders may be okay with. Nope, can’t do that either. No arms at all please. Okay, how about some box jump and dynamic hip work sound?
Just let us know where you are at, how you are feeling, and if some part of you feels ridiculously beat up. Pass that info along and we will point you in the right direction. Ignoring the signs and not listening to our body can, in the future, cost us more lost time than we’d really like. Not everyone has a quota, but if you recognize you may be one of those people, start paying attention. Take a look back at your week and ask yourself “do I have it in me today?” And if the answer is “no”, that’s okay. It may be the best decision you make regarding what you can come back and do tomorrow.
