Day Off 3

Instead of programming WOD's with little or no thought behind them, or cut and paste workouts from other sources just for filler I am going to leave the workouts blank and if a good one comes along I will post it. You see, I am checking out mentally as well as physically for a week trying to find the "reset button".

A good article from againfaster.com

I'm having a little trouble with maturity. Not jokes-about-poop-in-business-settings maturity, but a different kind.

For the last few weeks, my shoulders have been bothering me. I cranked out a 21-15-9 of 135 pound deadlifts and 135 pound jerks a while back, and I've been smoked ever since. Instead of scaling back, I've been pushing right along as if nothing happened.

Lo and behold, my shoulders still hurt. I've been bathing them in Biofreeze and taping bags of mixed vegetables to them every night, all the while avoiding ibuprofen like the plague.

(Last week, I read a study that showed that ibuprofen consumption limits muscle development. F*cking study.)

My pain-reliever-free regimen, combined with a stubborn unwillingness to de-load, is exacerbating my problem. I should step back, assess, and lighten up for a week.

That would be the mature thing to do.

On Saturday, we're hosting the Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser. I think I'll half-ass during that. It's only an Open House, who'll be watching?

The following weekend, we have the Certification Seminar right here in Boston. Greg and Lauren will be there, along with Tony, Nicole, Kelly, Lynne, and a bevy of fantastic athletes. I'll be surrounded by Crossfit Gods, but that's no reason to push hard. I�ll definitely scale back then.

If I was my own trainer, I'd demand rest days. "Jon", I'd say, "you're not doing yourself any favors. Recovery is just as important as training, and you know it." Like a million other trainees, I'd tell my (trainer) self, "You got it, Coach," and then I'd go home and do whatever I was going to do anyway.

I'm a stubborn bastard. I know that recovery is the single most important factor in athletic development aside from training. I don't care. I train heavy and hard every day, damn it! My ego demands satisfaction!

This morning, I had a conversation with an athlete who's going on vacation next week. He's trying to cram in five workouts before he leaves. I told him how dumb that is, how he needs to rest, how he can workout on vacation, how eating 10,000 calories today and nothing tomorrow is the nutritional equivalent of his workout plan and a retarded way to do things.

God, I'm such a hypocrite.

I learned my lesson. I'm going to give up the alpha male schtick and get some rest. It's time to let my shoulders heal.

Back squats don't work the shoulders, do they?