This question comes up pretty often at CrossFit South Brooklyn. As you are probably aware, we program for a 5 day workout week (M, W, Th, Sa, Su). Some of you, for various reasons, can not make it to 5 classes per week. So what’s an earnest athlete to do? Here are some ideas:
1. If you have another well equipped training space (home gym, decent globo-gym, etc…) make up the programmed work outs on your own. Unless you have a great training partner doing these with you, err on the side of caution when choosing load and intensity levels. It’s invaluable to have an intelligent pair of eyes watching your form.
* It’s never a good idea to Bench Press (which we rarely do at CFSBK) alone, and you shouldn’t Back Squat maximal loads alone either.
2. Stay active on days you don’t make it in to the gym. There are a TON of exercises you can do with your own body-weight and minimal equipment. Can you do 1/2 “Cindy” at the local playground? Why not? How about a 10 minute AMRAP of 20 Sit-Ups, 35 Double Unders, and 50 meter sprints? Also, check out Comprehensive Body Weight WOD pdf for a ton of other ideas. Fresh out of Foundations? Practice your Squats, Push Ups, Planks, Sit Ups, etc a few times per week. It’ll pay off in spades down the road.
3. If you’re coming to the gym 2-3 days per week then we recommend getting your squats in. At CFSBK we squat 2x per week for a reason. Getting stronger at the squat will get you better at everything in the gym, and a whole heck of a lot outside of it as well. Even if it’s not a “squat day” for us you can bet you’ll never be turned down by a coach when asking for a place to make up a squat exposure. Best case is to do it before you take a class, but after is OK too.
So, focus on the strength movements in the current cycle, prioritizing the squat variant. Remember – getting stronger will almost always mean getting better (just look at Chris Spealer’s performance at this year’s CrossFit Games) Use time before and/or after class to work on your particular weaknesses (not just double unders ‘cause you’re awesome at them and they look cool…). Are you chasing the sometimes elusive kipping pull up? Spend 5 minutes practicing. The kettlebell snatch? Spend time practicing. Does your conditioning suck? Run or row a few sprints after class or do a 1/4 Murph. Not sure what supplemental work you should be doing? Just ask one of us. It’s our greatest pleasure to see all of you become better athletes and achieve your goals