ADVICE: Injuries, niggles & scaling, we’re here for you!

Ring muscle up

Remnants of your past sporting or desk-bound endeavours can be brought to light in the CrossFit® gym.

This is nothing but a positive thing. Backed by our world class medical staff, the Shapesmiths team have lots of opportunities to improve and fix the injuries and niggles you have been meaning to get looked at for a while. T.L.C on tap, if you will (feel free to hashtag that). 

Here’s a couple of ways you can optimize your training, and just as important, your cooldown, if carrying a niggle/injury.

  1. Talk to your coach about your niggles/injuries.

Quite commonly every coach will see issues that focus around the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and wrist. The Shapesmiths coaches genuinely love to help you guys and girls find appropriate modifications/scalings. So please know that if you are carrying a niggle/injury that we are here to help, we are here for you.

If you are already aware of an injury/niggle the best time to highlight it and seek a suitable scaling is before a class or at the TV screen briefing.

You can also drop us a whatsapp message and flag any medical issues really early. We can pick up the thread and advise what the best course of action is quite easily.

  1. Talk to your Livewell Clinic team about your niggles/injuries.

If you have something going on, please do touch base with The Livewell Clinic!

They offer you an amazing 15min free consultation that could give you insight into whether or not you should keep training, train with modifications/scalings or, if it’s serious (think broken bones etc), to stop all together. 

Livewell practitioners can help you by using soft-tissue techniques, articulation of joints and manipulation in differing degrees to break down scar tissue and improve range and quality of motion in the body. Perfect for CrossFit®.

Contact info here: http://thelivewellclinic.co.uk/contact-us/

Keep healthy, keep happy, keep CrossFitting

 

Get Started

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

REPEATING OPEN WORKOUTS.

This is an article I (Lee) wrote in 2019, drawing on personal experience and from what I’ve read along the way since starting CrossFit® in 2011! A lot if it still holds true today. I will clean the article up at some stage, but here goes:

First off, full disclosure: it doesn’t ‘ruin’ progress if someone does a workout twice in a few days.

Our programming at Shapesmiths should be robust enough (AND not so overwhelming) that folks can get away with a ‘random’ week where they do the same workout two times! 

However, using ‘the repeat’ as a strategy to get maximal scores in the Open (and doing it multiple weeks) is not entirely the correct philosophy. 

I will be the first to admit that I have on occasions been silly enough to repeat open workouts 3 & 4 times circa 2012/3, but I am hoping that I have made the mistakes so you guys and girls don’t have to. 

There are more than a few potential pitfalls  if people make repeating a habit, or core strategy, of doing the workouts more than once per week in the Open. Below I will go through the following points in hope of educating a little and setting the scene. 

  1. You will not push yourself as hard the first time.
  2. Things to think about when it comes to strategy.
  3. There are no ‘second chances’ in other competitions.
  4. You are more likely to pick up niggles. 
  5. It puts your actual training and development progress on hold
  6. It is bad for your ‘mental game’.
  7. There ARE times when repeats make sense (see below)

You will not push yourself as hard the first time

If you are planning on doing it more than once, you are almost guaranteed to ease back and not give it full, all in, effort.

Avoid the possibility of that little voice in your head saying, “its okay, I’ll try harder next time” or ‘i’m just feeling this one out to get a hang of how it feels.’ 

Think about your strategy for the workout to get the most out of it and then lock in and give it your best effort. There are 40 days left before the first CrossFit Open WOD 19.1. There are multiple competition days left in the Shapesmiths programming. This is the time to practice competing. 

Top Tip: You must be mentally prepared to ‘burn the bridges’ so you make your attempt the best. 

‘Don’t save anything for the swim back’: https://youtu.be/hZKZSiCmXLQ

Things to think about when it comes to strategy. 

Think about breaking the workout into blocks. For example if we take a workout such as 10 rounds of 10 C2B Pull Ups, 10 Thrusters @42.5 + 20 Cal Row. We can break this into 10 blocks. 

Ideally you want the last block (10) to be the fastest part of the WOD, the 1st block to be the second fastest and from 2-9 to be the third fastest part.  As an estimate the hardest part of most workouts is 3/4 of the way through. Breaking down the workout into parts can help you predict this and mentally prepare for them.

Identify what matters generally about the workout. Is going an extra 100 cals per hour on the rower going to impact another movement negatively for example.

Then identify what matters specifically for you (specific movements you are good at, ones you will have to manage, a particular rep scheme effect on the workout etc). 

Identify what can be decided beforehand. This could be the way you warm up and prepare. It could be that you are certain of your ability to crank out 50 WBs at the start of the WOD without it hurting the rest of your workout.

Identify what will need to be decided or adjusted as you go. For example, your rep schemes as the metabolic insult of the workout reduces your ability to ‘do work’

Stick to your game plan. 

There are no ‘second chances’ in other competitions

As far as ‘The Sport of Fitness’ and similar competitions go, you aren’t allowed to ‘try again’ if you mess up the first time. You should become adept at planning your workout (pacing, resting, technique, etc.) so that you get your best score right out of the gate. 

Giving yourself the option to repeat will prevent you from learning how to ‘knock it out of the park’ on your first try. 

Most top level athletes that sit near the top of the open rankings know themselves and the movements so well they can execute a plan 9 times out of 10. Every so often they may repeat a workout if they took a gamble on the first, or there are ‘weird’ rules about a lift immediately after or achieving a certain number of reps before a certain time to move on.

You are more likely to pick up niggles. 

There is a reason why good programs usually don’t have folks doing hundreds of reps of the same movement a few days apart, unless it has a clear rationale. 

It puts your actual training progress on hold

When people are hyper focused on the Open their progress stalls for 5-6 weeks. 

When you are planning on doing the workouts 2 or 3 times, you are NOT making overall gains. You are resting the day before their first attempt, then resting between attempts, then resting the day after, all while hammering movement that won’t be coming up in later weeks.

That only leaves a couple days to try and get some training in before the next announcement! 

It can be mentally draining. 

It can sometimes be intense to place a lot of emotional energy doing these workouts. 

By planning on doing the workout one time, you are giving yourself the permission to move on. Once your workout is complete, it’s happy days. You can move on.

You can focus on getting back to your training. You can focus on the movements that are likely to come out in the next workouts and/or getting ready for the next competition (whether that is Regionals, a local competition, or the next Open).

Some notes about when a ‘repeat’ might be a good idea

There are times when a repeat might be a good idea below. However, they should all be discussed with your coach. 

  • If you really ‘botched’ the first attempt (because of a super bad strategy, pacing, a rule misunderstanding, etc.).
  • If there are unconventional formats or rules. Things like having to do a max effort lift immediately after a metcon, having to do a certain number of reps to ‘break through’ to another round, etc.
  • If you failed at a movement that you were really close to getting. Almost getting that muscle up, or snatching that next barbell load come to mind.
  • If you are ‘on the cusp’ of qualifying for the next level. Age Group Qualifiers are the only one here unless you have a chance of going to the games by coming 1st in the country or top 20 in the world.

One last thing…

The CrossFit Open is a TON of extra work for the team. We have quite a few tasks that include:

  • Ensuring everyone who is signed up gets a chance to perform the WOD.
  • Organizing Heats.
  • Setting up the gym layout.
  • Judging
  • Approving scores
  • Coaching during the heats
  • Consoling people who aren’t happy
  • And more!

Even if you have determined that a repeat is something that you absolutely need to do, reach out to a coach or [email protected]

The best way it to ask politely if there is a possibility of doing it again, and what would be the best day and time for you to do it. Any time you are repeating a workout, the coaches (who have to be there to open the gym), and the judge, are doing you a HUGE FAVOR. You are going to have to be the one with a flexible schedule (do not ask them to come in around your schedule). Offer to pay an extra drop in fee if, and definitely give them a ‘thank you’ gift (a note, gift card, coffee, etc.).

Keep in mind that if you are asking to do a repeat, so probably are others. And if they let ‘some’ people do it, then everyone gets the chance. This adds significantly to the workload, and you have to remember that all of this extra work is on top of the regular day to day operations of the gym! Some gyms have a ‘1 repeat’ or ‘2 repeats’ max to help limit the amount of extra work, and to limit the ‘repeat mania’ that some folks get into. You should consider holding yourself to something similar. Your coaches will love you for it!

I hope this helps you understand some of the strategies behind doing repeat workouts, and how it all fits into the bigger picture.

Remember that it isn’t about where you finish this year. It is about how this year made you better!

Home truths about working from home…

working from home

Shapesmiths coach, Karima Adi takes us through some home truths, when it comes to working from home! She lays out how to look after your posture whilst at your desk during lockdown…

Lockdown 3.0 sees many of us working from home and therefore from the (dis)comfort of our kitchen tables, counters, desks, sofas and everything in between.

Not having the gym to access for our fitness for the time being also means that our work at home area has also become our workout area, meaning that our current level of activity & movement is further reduced. This means that we are spending a lot more time sitting, and most of that for extended periods of time. 

So if we are going to spend more time sitting/working, then it’s imperative that we look at adopting postures that ensure that we’re not upsetting the delicate balance of our bodies even further.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO to look after your posture whilst at your desk during lockdown and ensure that your work station is set up as well as it can possibly be to aid us in working as discomfort free as possible?

STEP 1 – DO NOT SIT for more than 15 minutes at a time

What happens when we sit for too long?

  • The psoas along with various other muscle tissues begins to shorten in an effort to keep our torso stable, due to your glutes essentially being switched off when you’re in a seated position. When this occurs over long periods of time, you may notice that it feels more difficult or uncomfortable to stand up fully/extend.

As Crossfitters & Weightlifters we are extension driven – compromising that by sitting for too long can therefore compromise the integrity of our athletic performance.

  • Can you take a meeting/work call on a walk? We know right now it’s often grey, dark and rainy, but the movement will be well worth it! Just have a warm shower, a hot cup of coffee and your comfies ready for when you get back!

STEP 2 – Let’s take a look at your workstation: 

  • Are you sitting or standing to work?
  • If you’re sitting, what is your set up?
  • What is the angle of your forearms/elbows to the floor?

Ideal working set up: standing vs sitting

Sitting:- what is the BEST set up if you’re going to be sitting down whilst working from home?

  • Feet flat on the floor
  • Roll your shoulders back 
  • Move every 15 mins – SET AN ALARM
  • If moving every 15mins is not possible, figure an interval that works for you and set THAT up as an alarm!

Standing:- though this is a lot better for you, standing for long periods of time is not the most comfortable thing to do.

How do we make this more comfortable and more efficient?

  • Have something (stack of books etc) to put one foot on to take the extension load out of the spine and support it accordingly by adding a little bit of neutral flexion.
  • Adding a bar stool/high chair to the mix means that even though you are sitting down, not doing so fully and you are STILL weight bearing meaning you haven’t switched the entire musculature system off completely, hanging on your connective tissue.

STEP 3 – Breathing

  • Can you take a deep breath in your work set up position? If you’re in a “bad” position, the answer is most likely NO.
  • Add some breathing exercises: 
  1. Box breathing (In for 5/ hold for 5/ out for 5/ hold for 5 [seconds]) 
  2. In for 6, hold for 6, out for 10 [seconds]

KEY THINGS TO DO FREQUENTLY OVER THE COURSE OF YOUR WORKDAY:

Roll your shoulders encouraging an externally rotated (as opposed to internally rotated) position. Opens up the ches, allows for better breathing.

Get up every 15-20 mins – perform a few air squats perhaps.

Spend some of your working day standing – BUT do so with the correct set up – it needn’t be expensive to set up, stacks of books are the perfect tools!

Roll/rotate your wrists so they don’t stiffen up only ever perched in a typing-ready position – imagine a front rack position with super tight wrists – NOT FUN

So there you have it. Some sage advice, but now it’s time to put it into practice and make it a habit. To accompany this article, I’ll be delivering a short webinar via the Shapesmiths Members Page. Stay tuned for the date announcement!

Mobility – What it is and isn’t? 

If we were to ask 100 Shapesmates ”What is Mobility?” we would get a huge range of answers. It may conjure images of people sitting in passive stretches for prolonged periods, performing banded stretches, being really bendy or essentially performing things stretches that are used as a means to an end to be able to do the fun stuff. 

True mobility training should be a workout in itself, it involves training the muscles, joints and brain to allow you into better positions with more confidence.

The aim of the daily mobility classes is to teach you how to effectively train to no longer need the 40 minutes of foam rolling or banded movements so, simply, you are able to get into an overhead position.

Are the results instantaneous, in some ways yes, in some ways no. You will see the effect of what can be achieved in the session, absolutely no doubt, but as with everything consistency is key to making sure that you see the results you want. There will come a time where you will go to the gym one day, or try and get into that normally irritating position, and something just clicks. But you do have to work on that. 

Without adequate Mobility for lifting, gymnastics or whatever you would like to do in the gym or outside of the gym you are operating at a less than optimal level and in some cases with the brakes on. We all know how quickly things would burn out if you tried to go fast with the brakes on. This means without adequate mobility it’s not a case of if you get injured, it’s simply when. Be smart. Look after your body and book into Mobility class. 

Article by Mike Lee.

Mobility classes are bookable with Shapesmiths Coach Mike Lee, Monday to Wednesday at 1815 hrs and Saturday at 1215 hrs! We also send out recordings of class afterwards for those who can’t make the times.