Twenty Three…12/10/12

Many of you are dedicated CrossFitters now.  With the hours doing pullups, barbell gymnastics, box jumps and wall-balls comes the badges of honor you wear in your calloused hands, scabbed shins and huge increases in strength and power.  You don’t have to ask what “AMRAP” or “double-under” means.  You dutifully come to the gym for the hour-long class: 45 minutes of warmup and skill development and 15 minutes inside the crucible that forges an athlete.
Your hour with CFG and a coach is done. Then what? What about the other 23 hours? They’re on you. 
As you have learned over last month’s Total Life Challenge, it takes a series of conscious decisions over the rest of the day to maximize the benefits of the hour you pay for.  You need to hydrate, eat and recover properly- and consistently- to make the progress you’re capable of.

Hydrate.  It is important to arrive hydrated, drink during your workout, and to continue to drink (water) throughout the rest of your day.  Take your weight in pounds and use half of that number of the minimum number of ounces of water you need each day.  That’s a lot of water, but I have seen some programs recommend double that. Adequate hydration is essential for recovery.  Recovery is essential for that next WOD.
Fuel. You can’t out train a bad diet.  Whether you subscribe to a Paleo-diet or follow the Zone, you need to eat cleanly with the purpose of providing your body with the macro-nutrients it needs to replenish and build what you tear down each workout.  Your nutrition plan should begin immediately upon completion of your workout and continue through to your pre-workout meal.  This is a plan: it takes conscious effort.  If you are eating without putting thought into it, you won’t see the results you want.
Mobility.  If you limit your mobility work to what you do pre and post-WOD, you limit the gains you can make from the work you put in. K-Star, the mobility guru behind MobilityWOD, suggests some type of mobility work six times a day (standing up from your desk and stretching your hip flexors counts).  The hours we spend sitting hunched over in front of the computer or behind the wheel of a car create shortened hip flexors, forward necks and internally rotated shoulders.  Spend some time on the foam roller, with a “stick”, lacrosse ball, or a trigger point kit, or just stretching to stay loose and mobile.  Make it part of your daily routine to do mobility work each day to increase range of motion and reduce muscle soreness and tight ligaments that will limit your output the next day.
 Sleep.  Good sleep is one of the most important aspects of improving athletic performance and one of the easiest things to change.  Sleep is anabolic; it is when your body releases growth hormones and makes the repairs that manifest themselves as performance gains. Turn off the TV.  Make the room dark and cool and get to bed earlier.

As a CrossFit athlete, you are an athlete.  You spend good money and expect results.  The program and the hour spent with a coach will jumpstart major transformations in your life, but the other 23 hours are up to you.  Don’t waste that workout!
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A. Skill:
Back Squat –  
EMOM f/ 5min – 2 @ 80% (of most recent 1RM)
B. MWOD:
Ankle and Hip Distraction
C. WOD:
Run 800m
5  Muscle-Ups
9 Hang Clusters (95/65)
Run 400m
7 Muscle-Ups
7 Hang Clusters
Run 200m
9 Muscle-Ups
5 Hang Clusters
For Time.