“Your training alone won’t push you to the next level or a healthy state of being without a proper recovery program in place. Recovery is an art, and like any art, it should involve dedication, presence, and mastery.”

Are you getting enough recovery to support your training and training goals?
This is something I will add to this blog on regular basis because it is something that is very often overlooked with most training programs. The current Bring It On CrossFit programming cycle has a number of high volume workouts, especially our benchmark Friday’s and HERO workouts, and training multiple days can leave you feeling pretty tired and sore. The high intensity and friendly competition aspects of CrossFit mean that every WOD up on the whiteboard is likely to challenge you and push you beyond your perceived limits. It is therefore critical, if you wish to benefit from training 4, 5 or even 6 days a week that you have a recovery plan in place to work alongside your training program and goals.
We incorporate warm up and mobility exercises into the 60 minute classes each day, but this is only a start. For me personally, I have been working on my recovery plan for a while now. Playing with the time spent training versus the time mobilizing, number of rest days and active recovery days per week, hours and quality of sleep and of course my nutrition and supplementation. As everyone will progress differently through workouts, they will do the same with recovery.
Please have a read of these 2 articles on recovery. The BoxRox article looks more closely at recovery immediately post workout and the second article is an interesting insight into an elite athlete’s recovery and recovery protocols.
http://www.boxrox.com/recovery-after-crossfit-training/
http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/the-critical-art-of-recovery-for-crossfitters
Another really amazing recovery tool is ROMWOD! You have complete access to all ROWWOD videos and exercises at the BIOCF Box and for all those looking to add some relaxing mobility and yoga work into their program I will be programming this in at regular time slots throughout each week. At the moment we have Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1pm following the 12pm class for anyone interested. Each ROMWOD session goes for 15-25 minutes and is a fantastic way to stretch and relax following a tough, intense workout.
If you need any coaching in regards to recovery and are after a personal recovery program than speak to one of the Bring It On CrossFIt coaches who can arrange a time to sit down with you and make a plan. We can work with you to make sure you are getting the absolute most out of your training at the BIOCF Box!
 
Anything Is Possible,
Coach Jared.

“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” - A League of their own.

I believe your workout needs to be hard. It needs to challenge you. There are different ways to physically and mentally challenge someone and it’s not about having people crawl out of the box completely exhausted and beaten, in fact it’s the complete opposite. The goal is to grow through completing workouts each day, whether that’s learning new skills, improving your technique efficiency, becoming faster, stronger and fitter than ever before through measureable results, getting that extra rep or simply overcoming a mental barrier by doing something you have never done before. Whatever it is you do in fitness and life, you can only grow if you push the boundaries a little and do things that scare you...take yourself out of your comfort zone.

As part of the current programming we have brought back ‘Benchmark Friday’s’. I love programming for this day because I get a chance to put up some real physical and mental tests such as the Hero WODs. These WOD’s really showcase what CrossFit is about...the ability to complete any task , overcome any obstacle and take on any challenge that is laid before us (as they are written in honour of those that have done just that). Some workouts are not about who finishes the fastest or your finishing time at all, some of them are just about finishing! If you have done the workout “Murph”, with or without a weight vest, it’s a complete grind and one of the toughest workouts out there! Once you have completed the workout you develop a sense of belief of what more you could do which can translate into your daily life, this mental and physical fortitude that anything is possible!

Because it is hard, there will be times you fail and you will fail a lot. Not getting the workout completed under the time cap or not getting the PR Back Squat you were chasing. This is the essence of a challenge…if you succeeded all the time, are you actually challenging yourself? When you get beat, don’t get down on yourself but learn and become stronger. It should never be easy. Embrace the grind and continue to work, train smarter and grow as an athlete and human being.

“You may not enjoy pain, soreness, occasional injuries or being defeated, but with the right attitude you will reframe these and value their inherent positive lessons. You can look back on the snags and realize they were important stepping stones necessary to achieving your goals. Consider them part of your training and appreciate them, and you’ll soon be growing emotional resiliency.” – Mark Divine (SEALFit)

Master the basics first. Our job as coaches is to ensure you do this safely, follow the correct and most effective progressions and not go too hard too early. Ask questions and do some research. Learn as much as you can from the people around you. There are so many ways you can challenge yourself. Working on weaknesses is a great place to start. Learn new skills, play more sports or take up a hobby that will require you to work. If you want to make a real difference than you need to get out of that comfort zone and challenge yourself. Appreciate the hard.

Anything Is Possible.
Cheers,
Coach Jared.

http://sealfit.com/the-sealfit-blog-the-5-winning-attitudes/

Congratulations Meg Courtney who is the Bring It On CrossFit Member of the Month for October 2015 and the first CrossFit Kids/Teens to get added to our Member of the Month wall of fame! Meg is a regular at our CrossFit Teens classes on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at 4:15pm, and has made great progress since starting back when we first introduced the CrossFit Kids Program.
All of our CrossFit Kids & Teens are awesome to coach as they are an extremely determined, full of energy and enthusiastic group willing to take on whatever challenge I put in front of them! Our Teens, especially Meg are becoming very competent CrossFitters in their own right, just need them to slow down a little! Through October we focused on the Back Squat movement which they all have improved greatly and Meg adding a total of 10kg to her Squat over the 4 weeks! Congratulations Meg and keep up the awesome work! Anything Is Possible.

Hey team, I watched a great video from Barbell Shrugged coach Kurt Mullican during the week talking about false beliefs and the excuses that we make for ourselves and thought I’d share it with you all and my own false beliefs.
A wrote down three of my own while watching this video and I recommend you do the same:

1. I suck at gymnastics especially Chest to Bar Pull Ups & Muscle Ups.
2. I wish my recovery was better in particular getting enough sleep and active recovery activities.
3. I suck at running.

Not really noticing I have been using these excuses as reasons to not have to work on my CTB Pull ups, watching TV late at night instead of going to bed early and avoiding running as much as possible. So, it is time to change these beliefs...

1. I will program Chest to Bar Pull Ups & variations twice a week for myself so I master this movement and love them!
2. I will work on and improve my sleep time ritual e.g. turning off electronics 30 mins before bed, making sure I get a minimum of 8 hours sleep each night, and reading more before bed. I will also plan and organise more active recovery sessions, e.g. beach days, walking etc. And make sure I get the recovery my body needs.
3. I will run. I will do the 12km Run Geelong on November 22nd and train each week to build up to that distance.

Make friends with your false beliefs....and kill them!
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.” – Henry Ford.
Cheers,
Coach Jared.