I know when my body needs a break from working out. I always listen to it.
This past Saturday I did an incredibly difficult challenge at CrossFit, called Murphy. It consisted of:
- 1 mile run
- 100 pullups
- 200 push ups
- 300 squats
- 1 mile run
You can see my re-cap just a few posts back. I’m taking a break from CrossFit this week because my upper body is sore.
A lot of times, CrossFit creates a ton of controversy. Whether it’s safe. Whether it’s good for you. You can call yourself “hardcore” and push through the pain, but in reality— you may be doing more damage than good. Please have a read at this article. Here are a few quotes.
The real danger is to new athletes, like those who flock to the thousands of CrossFit facilities looking for a great workout. Word of mouth is powerful in the CrossFit community, and maybe the most dangerous element. While the workouts can be performed by beginners, their immature muscles can’t tell the difference between training to failure and simply getting a good workout. In fact, most beginners don’t know when “too much is too much†and don’t understand the unique demand of an exercise session, says Eric Cressey, C.S.C.S., a shoulder and injury prevention expert and owner of Cressey Performance in Hudson, Mass.
This much is certain: When done correctly, CrossFit is not inherently bad or ineffective. Like other training methodologies before it, CrossFit is a form of high intensity exercise, an efficient model of exercise that has helped many people lose weight while improving strength and endurance.
I will repeat myself, and say listen to your body. Let it take a break.
4 Comments
“Like other training methodologies before it” – exactly.. Runners (some of the most chronically injured folks) , Triathletes..etc. if your THAT person then you’ll be hurt no matter what.. Listen to your body, take ownership of knowing what is too much for you.
Chris Donnelly recently posted..LifeAsRx Texas Barbell Massacre Event
Words of wisdom! Taking a break when your body needs it is important! I don’t always listen to my body and I’ve paid the price. That sounds like a killer workout. No way I can do 100 pullups. I can only do 2. ;)
Alison @ racingtales recently posted..ElliptiGO, Dry Needling, and the Ape Index
Here here, it’s so true and one thing that scares me about when I get back into the box after the short break I’m taking. You have to watch out for yourself because even though there are coaches there, they can’t watch your every move! –Ericka @ The Sweet Life (sweetlifeericka.com)
Ericka recently posted..Raleigh, NC: Meeting in the Middle
I’m just recently coming back from (dare I say) a back injury. I’m still relatively new to CrossFit (only been doing it less than a year) and I still have trouble distinguishing soreness from previous WODs vs REAL pain. But I’m learning. And it’s the only real injury I’ve had since I started – besides a few ripped calluses and rope burns from my sad attempts at rope climbs. I hate that CrossFit gets the bad rep of encouraging rhabdo – that’s not the truth. And if I told my Coach I was in pain – he’d tell me to stop – no questions asked. It’s about knowing your limits, trusting yourself and your coach and knowing when to push and when to stop.
Nancy says: well said Ashley.