REST DAY
Great day for writing new goals, check out a new CrossFit or perhaps read/watch something that you find intersting on the CrossFit Main Site.
Lucky for you, CrossFit doesn't promote this type of warm-up as it has not been proven to increase work capacity. However, I am sure some of our coaches would be willing to test this theory out!
What are the Benefits of Warming Up?
A warm-up helps you prepare both mentally and physically for exercise, and reduces the chance of injury. During a warm-up, any injury or illness you have can often be recognized, and further injury prevented. Other benefits of a proper warm up include:
- Increased movement of blood through your tissues, making the muscles more pliable.
- Increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This prevents you from getting out of breath early or too easily.
- Prepares your muscles for stretching
- Prepares your heart for an increase in activity, preventing a rapid increase in blood pressure
- Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise
- Primes your nerve-to-muscle pathways to be ready for exercise
- Improves coordination and reaction times
I consider our warm-up here one of the most important parts of our workout. Too often our warm-ups are sped through simply to get to the WOD. This leads to sloppy preparation and potential injury. You want improvement? FOCUS ON YOUR WARM-UP! I guarantee a solid proper warm-up program will lead to PR's!
Example: 30 push-jerks are in the wod
You go through PVC pass-through, lat band stretch, a series of strict press, push press and push-jerks with a 45# bar… Did you run through your mental check list with each and every rep? This is where you guys will make the most gains in your performance. It won't be when the coach shouts 3-2-1 GO!
Next time you come in, ask yourself… "What is my mental checklist for this WOD"? If you don't know, ask a coach. That's what we are here for. You pay good money, don't be shy!
adam k
I have a sneaking suspicion that blog topic ideas are being stolen from Greg Everett…jk. Here’s another great recent article on what a warm-up should look like: http://performancemenu.com/articles/article.php?articleID=127
If you don’t have a subscription to the Performance Menu, I HIGHLY recommend it! In my humble opinion:
CF Journal : Performance Menu : : Coloring Book : Encyclopedia
Olga B
Finally, a post for the nerdy people here. Thank you.
So I have a question on oxygen/carbon dioxide balance. Hyperventilation is when there is too much O2 in your blood and you feel dizzy. If that’s the case during work out would a mask help (instead of paper bag)? Working out with paper bag on your face would definitely have someone want to slap you.
Chris Lene
There are other reasons why I would use a paper bag but I refuse to put that in writing… I am sure Mike will take it from here.
As for O2 saturation, feeling dizzy… You need to increase your aerobic threshold. The reason we don’t get in to the details of HR x Stoke Volume, Vo2 Max, Lactate threshold is… If your “fran” time sucks, more than likely all of the above need training. If a basic WOD like Helen isn’t under 12 Min, then you more than likely need all of the above. It is that simple. CrossFit is great because you don’t need a lab to see if you are fit or not. So I would suggest that you follow a few CrossFit Endurance WOD’s in conjunction with your normal workouts. Go run 2×400 4×200 and 8x100m and record these for time. Hit this 2x per week and alternate between running and rowing so you can keep the variety. Hit your diet so you drop 15-20lbs and watch your recovery go through the roof! I am writing this to anyone who finds themselves gasping for air and can’t seem to breathe during a WOD. Finally, you must know your limits during a WOD… Go in to the “Red” and it is almost impossible to recover without sacrificing a significant amount of time during the workout.
Scott
Chris: thanks. So I guess I should commit to a 6 day a week schedule. Or reduce my “normal” WODs.
Build up Muscle
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