Snatch Deadlift + Below the knee High Pull + Below the Knee Power Snatch

Post loads to comments.
Snatch e4/6
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2:00 Max reps:
Wall Ball Shots 20lb-10’/14lb-9′
Rest 2:00

2:00 Max Reps
Calories Rowed

Post 3 scores to comments.

Saturday Afternoon at CFSBK: Rope Climbing Clinic, 2K Row with digital display, Gymnastics Class

Functionality and Wall Ball by Greg Glassman

New Equipment

2 New low Wall Ball Targets for the R3 stations
A Pair of 90lb Dumbbells
A Pair of 100lb Dumbbells
3 New Erg Monitors

CFSBK Training Videos

Check out some of these training videos from CFSBK!

Jeremy Goes For A Heavy Single On The Bench Press  David Osorio
Christian Reiss Goes for a 1RM Deadlift David Osorio
Kettlebell, Pull-Up WOD Demo with Josh and McDowell David Osorio
CFSBK Collected Training: V1 David Osorio
Matt Ufford: Fight Gone Bad 2010 Ari Bassin-Hill
David Slow Motion Snatch Malcolm Spittler
David 2 Methods Kipping Muscle Ups Malcolm Spittler
Brian D Clean and Jerks 280lbs
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The importance of Olympic Weightlifting for the “Sport of Fitness” Part 1 Part 2 The Outlaw Way
Low Bar vs. High Bar Back Squat for the purposes of CrossFit Outlaw North
The Power To Change Lives CrossFit

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 2-5lbs from last week’s exposure.

Performance: 87.5%x1, 92.5%x1, 97.5%x1
If you’re not feeling 100% today then work a few lighter singles.
Get two spotters if you’re not totally confident in your attempt. One coach and your rack partner.

Post loads to comments.
BSQ e4/6
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4 Rounds, Each for time of:
40 Double Unders
Row 400m

– Rest about 1:1. There is a 20 Minute cap on the entire workout.
– The Doubles or chosen sub should take no more than 1 minute and the row should take no more than 2 minutes, scale accordingly.

Post rounds to comments.

mmmm… Partner Stretch

• Good Luck to Michael R who will be running the Marathon in Florida this Sunday!
• Tonight is Mel’s Rest Day Dinner, have fun all attending! 

Partner Stretch & Thai Massage

Let’s face it: after a workout it’s so much better when someone helps you stretch.  In a Partner Stretch workshop, you and your partner will learn Thai Massage techniques to increase range of motion, mobility & flexibility, decrease soreness, and to just plain ‘ol feel good.  

In these unique Partner Stretch & Thai Massage sessions, you and your partner will experience both giving and receiving bodywork.  You’ll feel relaxed and more connected to each other, get a full body stretch, and have tons of fun.  Plus, now you’ll always have a partner who knows how to give you a fabulous massage!

Date: Saturday, March 23rd
Time: 2:30-4:00pm
Price: $75 per Couple
Space: Limited to 12 couples
Register Here

About Elyse & Sparkes Wellness

Elyse developed Sparkes Wellness to help ignite health in as many people as possible.  She does at home personal training, yoga, and Thai massage in Brooklyn, NY.  Elyse has taught Partner Stretch & Thai Massage workshops at lululemon athletica, international dance events, and New York yoga studios.  She has an ACE certification in personal training, an OM Yoga 200hr RYT, and many certifications in Thai massage.  Elyse is currently continuing her anatomy studies at The Breathing Project with Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews.

Thai Massage certifications include:

• Studied with Thai massage master Pichest Boonthumme, Chiang Mai, Thailand. 2012
  

• Osteo-Thai workshop (fusing Osteopathy with Thai massage) with David Lutt. Chiang Mai, Thailand. 2012

• Chi Nei Tsang (Chinese abdominal massage) with Doris Kolling at the Sunshine School. Chiang Mai, Thailand. 2012

• Advanced Certification in Thai Massage from the Thai Massage Sacred Bodywork Center in NYC, with Ananda Apfelbaum (author of Thai Massage Sacred Bodywork). 2009

Meet Molly Metz

1,434 Unbroken Double Unders in 10 minutes
153 Double Unders in one minute
100 Unbroken Triple Unders
Molly talks jump rope technique and progressions
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Amazing 13-Year-Old Boxing & MMA Prodigy
How Long Does It Take You To Warm-Up? 0-600lb Squat in :30

The Magnificent Mobina!

Metabolism and Me

The ability to lose fat and/or gain muscle is highly variable from person to person. Genetics, eating history, activity level, sleep quality, stress levels all play into an individual’s ability to affect change in themselves. Some people can cut out crap and instantly shed fat. Others can add a little milk to their diet and see phenomenal strength gains. It is a deeply human reaction to always look at the other person and think: “I am eating just like him/her, why the hell can’t I look just like him/her?” In some situations, comparison might be relevant, but with diet it almost never is. And this is where it becomes necessary to be an expert in yourself. Understanding your genes, lifestyle, and eating history is paramount to determining a starting strategy for your goals. From there, you must be willing to experiment. And you must be a good experimenter, ie determine a framework and stick to the framework for a period of time. Assess how you’re doing at the end, and then make (small) adjustments as needed. This will give you actual information about your body’s capacity rather than let your emotions be determinants. If you are feeling stuck in getting towards your goals, make notes on all of the factors mentioned above. Do you have a family history of being overweight? Do you sleep 4 hours a night? Are you chugging coffee and working out 7 times a week? Sounds like genetics and a serious case of inflammation are preventing you from reaching your goals. In this example, simply reducing inflammatory behavior might jumpstart you towards your goals before you even have to make major dietary changes. Take the time, be objective and use all the resources given above to dig around for advice based on your personal situation.

CFSBK Movie Club

On Feb 2nd the CFSBK Movie club will be going to UA Court Street 12 (106 Court Street) around 8 PM to see “Gangster Squad” To join up and get more details as the date approaches, please contact Andrew at andrew.migdail(AT)gmail.com

Matt Katz Wants You To GoRuck Yourself

It’s called the Goruck Challenge – it’s basically an overnight team event where you run around the city with a backpack full of bricks, being led around by a Special Forces trainer and completing challenges as a group. It looks all kinds of awesome and right up our alley. There’s also beer at the end. More info is here: GoRuck Challenge

Andy Puddicombe: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes TED Talks

Fitness: 3×5 Work Sets Across
Add 5lbs to last weeks Push Presses.

Performance: Work up to a heavy 2 rep set on the Push Press
Try and beat last week’s heavy 3.

Post loads to comments.
PP e4/6
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“Quarter Gone Bad”
5 Rounds for reps

135/95 pound Thrusters, 15 seconds
Rest 45 Seconds
50/25 pound Weighted pull-ups, 15 seconds
Rest 45 Seconds
Burpees, 15 seconds
Rest 45 Seconds

Post total reps to comments.
WOD Demo

Janelle’s (now) Famous Paleo Jello Shots

Schedule Change Feedback

So we’re about a month into the reformatted evening class schedule (and the extra 1pm class on Saturday) and we’d like to see what folks think. Please let us know your thoughts on how class times have been working for you and if you’ve got any suggestions. Thanks!

CFSBK Phone Number!

In addition to our awesome new Front Desk, we’ve actully got a phone number you can call us on now. While most of the phone calls will be from people interested in the program, feel free to call if you’ve got a question about class times, a schedule change, something that you left or anything else. If you call during off hours you can leave a VM and our awesome FD Staff will call you back during the next shift. No pranking!

Front Desk
347-83-CFSBK

Desk Hours:
M-Thr 4:30-9:30pm
Sat-Sun 9:00-2:00pm

Suggested Reading

Please read: “What Happened to Downtime? The Extinction of Deep Thinking & Sacred Space” and post thoughts to comments. Do you actively employ any of the 5 mindsets listed as a way to take back that fertile garden of your mind?
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How to Get Big While Doing CrossFit LBEB

Fitness: 3×5 Work Sets Across
Add 5lbs from last week’s exposure.

Performance: Work up to a heavy 2 rep set on the Front Squat
Go a little heavier than last week’s heavy 3

Post loads to comments.
FSQ e3/6
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Partner Workout

Fitness:
5 Rounds each for time of:
10 Slam Ball
10 GS Box Jumps
10 Sit Ups

Performance:
5 Rounds each for time of:
12 Kipping Toes to Bar
10 GS Box Jumps 24″

Post times, Rx and partner to comments.

Ball Slams: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Interval WODs

A positive feature of interval workouts like today’s are that they allow you to push a little harder on each round versus having to do each round in unbroken succession.  If you get a 2:00 recovery, you’ve got a better chance at hitting more reps unbroken in the final rounds than had you been working straight for 5 minutes before getting there. Anytime there is a built in rest for the workout, strategise how you’ll approach each round. Will you do everything unbroken? Will you break the hardest exercise into two sets with a :05 rest? Work on your stamina and try to keep your splits as consistent as possible. Just like lifting heavier weights, higher intensity metabolic work can elicit more profound cellular adaptations.

How It Could Be Different

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People are Awesome 2013
“The Two Worst Foods In The World” HuffPo

Izzie Squats!

Congratulations to Jacinto B who placed 4th at this weekends Norcal Masters CrossFit competition in California. Jacinto is 73 and competed in the 60+ division.

Welcome Izzie and Gais

CFSBK would like to welcome 2 of our newest members to the scene, Izzie F and Gais T. While we don’t usually have a blog post acknowledging a new member, Izzie and Gais are a somewhat unique case. Izzie is our first visually impaired athlete to graduate the Foundations course (he describes his level of sight as looking through a coffee straw in the dark) and Gais is his friend and CrossFit partner in crime. Izzie is using CrossFit to improve his game in a sport called Goal Ball and so far has been an impressive mover and learner. If you notice them in the gym take a moment to introduce yourself and show them some SBK love.

Kids Learn While You Lift

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10x Clapping Freestanding Handstand Push-Ups
Hacks Pack Take On Big Bob CrossFit Games
The Importance of Sleep 70s Big

Fitness: 3×3
Switch to heavy triples this week. Add 5-10 lbs to last week.

Performance: 9×2 Dynamic Effort 45% (plus bands) x 2 reps every 30 seconds for 4 minutes
Take 2-3 quick warm up sets to get to work weight (45%) then add bands. Focus on moving the bar fast, and being aggressive at the hips and quads with a tight finish position, no soft knees or hips. Dead start, no touch and go.

1RM Chart
250-325 Red Band
325-400 Blue Band
400+ Green Band

Post loads to comments.
DL e3/6
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For Time:
40 Double Unders
20 Wall Ball 20lbs,10′, 14lbs,9′
30 Double Unders
15 Wall Ball
20 Double Unders
10 Wall Ball

Post time and Rx to comments.

Potluck Pictures are up on the Flickr Page!

Happy MLK Day! CFSBK is on our normal schedule, come on down for a group class.

Kelly Starrett Coming to CFSBK

KStar is coming back to CFSBK for his CrossFit Movement & Mobility Training Course. MANY of you guys have already prepurchased Kelly’s upcoming book “Becoming a Supple Leopard” which will be released late February. If you’re serious about movement and mobility, apply the methods in the book and then meet Kelly in person to deepen your understanding of the material.
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The Crossfit Movement and Mobility trainer course is a hands on, movement theory based workshop where coaches and athletes will be exposed to the principles of Kelly Starrett’s Movement and Mobility Method of resolving pain, preventing injury, and optimizing athletic performance.

Performance is what drives the human animal, but the human animal can be brought to an abrupt halt by dysfunctional movement patters and underlying restrictions in mobility. Oftentimes, the factors that impede performance are invisible to not only the untrained eye, but also the majority of athletes and coaches. This course exposes attendees to a Starrett’s systematic approach to make the invisible visible. This course illuminates common movement errors that can cause injury and rob you of speed, power, endurance, and strength. Whether you are a professional athlete, a weekend warrior, or simply someone wanting to live healthy and free from restrictions, this course will teach you how to maintain your body and harness your genetic potential.

Learn How To:

• Prevent and rehabilitate common athletic injuries
• Overhaul your movement habits and efficiently your body’s most effective physiology
• Quickly identify, diagnose, and fix inefficient movement patterns
• Problem solve for pain and dysfunction
• Fix poor mechanics that rob power, bleed force, and dump torque
• Unlock reservoirs of athletic capacity you didn’t know you had
• Identify and fix poor movement patterns in children
• Develop strategies that restore function to your joints and tissues
• Develop effective individual and group mobility programming

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Push Up and Knee Push-Up Elbow Mechanics MWOD
Partner Foot Triceps Smash MWOD
Open and Closed Torque Systems And the MWod Leopard Test

1 Halting Snatch Deadlift + 1 Hang Power Snatch
Focus on a strong arch and sending your knees back on the HSDL. Focus on explosive speed and mature catch position on the HPS.

Post loads to comments.
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3 Rounds for max reps of:
AMRAP 2 Minutes
25 Kettlebell Swings 53/35
15 Shoulder to Overhead 135/95
Rest 4 Minutes

Post rounds completed and Rx to comments.

Thanks to everyone who came out to last nights Paleo Potluck!

Happy belated Birthday, Ben W!

CFSBK Front Desk

Starting this Monday Melissa L, Whitney H and Lisa F will be staffing the CFSBK front desk. Initially, the desk will only be active M-Th evenings and on the weekends until we gradually include afternoons and mornings.  These ladies will be checking people in, selling merch, talking to leads and doing a variety of other tasks for the gym.  We’re really excited to start this new component of the gym and are very excited to have such an awesome teal leading the charge on it. We’d also like to thank our carpenter Robert Phelps who did an amazing job building our desk!

General Informed Freestyling

A common theme from Mobility WOD is the idea of “informed freestyling”.  Basically, when you’re mobilizing, instead of remaining static and settling into a singular position, you’re actively moving around trying to loosen up the tissue and hunting for other restricted areas.  I’m a huge fan of total body informed freestyling in response to or as preventative maintenance for general stiffness.  One way to approach this is extensive DROMs, but my bias is towards ground based movement. Ideally this is accompanied by a foam roller, straps and a lacrosse ball.  More often than not, a mobility rx is reactive and targeted towards tissue you know is tight and preventing you from getting into positions you want to achieve.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and probably the way you should spend most of your time stretching out. The problem however, is that sometimes it’s at the expense of a more generalized approach to soft tissue health. 
Lets start with the mindset that general stiffness is not normal and that you can do something about it.  To make an analogy, if you walked around hungry all day, a light would go off in your head to do something about it.  We don’t often listen to our bodies in the same way when our joints feel creaky and muscles feel stiff.  This should be a huge red flag that you need to spend a little more time doing generalized restorative movement.  Here are some quick benefits of a short total body movement session:

• Increased blood flow = Increased nutrient transport and hydration to all your tissues
• Excess metabolites are pushed into the lymph (think of it like “cleaning” an area of excess junk)
• Synovial fluid is pumped into your joint capsules, lubricating them
• With dedicated a breathing strategy and a modest pace, you can increase parasympathetic nervous system activity and decrease anxiety

Okay so how do we do it? Well there’s no one right way to do this and how you’re feeling that day should dictate your session but here are some general guidelines.

1. Set aside some time and space to move.  10-15 minutes should be enough to feel a lot better, I often put on a record and go at least until one side finishes. My preference is before bed since you can attack a whole day’s worth of stiffness and it’s a great way to unwind mentally. In terms of space, I love love LOVE my square36 mat.  Yoga mats provide insufficient area to move around on and I constantly have to reposition myself or the mat. (use the discount code cfbrooklyn36 to get $10 off a S36 mat!).

2. Start low and work high (or vise versa).  Start by doing some D-Dog calve marches, manually rolling your feet around, stretching out your toes, maybe using a LAX ball on your feet. Gradually work upstream spending more time in areas that feel tight.  Use stretches you remember from Group or Active Recovery class, make stuff up, work basic splits, twists, bends and be creative. You’ll undoubtedly find positions that feel great and areas that are tight.  Keep your breathing consistent and deep.

Here are some videos from our buddies at Body Tribe that might give you some more ideas:
Quick Mobility Play
Tav’s Brutal Recess
Staying Loose

3. Pepper in some Foam Rolling, LAX work or band stretches.  You might even start here and then get into the informed freestyling.  If you’re not sure what to do, take an Active Recovery class!

4. End with some deep breathing laying flat on your back, drink some water then go to bed!

Related Videos:
Gil Hedley: Fascia and stretching: The Fuzz Speech
Always Be Mobilizing
Informed Freestyling Always

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Leaving a Legacy CrossFit
Kristen Clever, DB Squat Snatch, GHD Sit-Up, Toe To Bar Triplet CrossFit

Fitness: 3×5 Across
Add 2-5lbs from last week’s exposure.

Performance: 85%x3 90%x2 95%x1x3

Post loads to comments.
BSQ e3/6
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For Time:
700m Row
35 Game Standard Box Jumps 30/24/20
1 Lap Around the Block

Post time and box height to comments.

The Squat Sisters, Stella Z and KH

Good luck to Jacinto B who is competing in the Norcal Masters event this weekend. Jacinto is 73 and competing in the 60+ age division. Unleash the Warrior!!!

Paleo Potluck Tonight!

CFSBK is proud to be hosting our 2013 CFSBK Community Potluck. This event is open to everyone and all are encouraged to come. To see what other folks are bringing, check out the RSVPs in the event page, otherwise, bring your favorite Paleo dish. We’re excited to get everyone in house to break bacon and socialize together outside of normal classes. The event starts at 6:30pm, see you there!

Potluck Notes:

• If your food needs to be kept warm or hot, you’ll need to provide your own crock pot or method for keeping it at serving temperature. We’ve got surge protectors and extension chords
• We’ll provide note cards for you to label your dish with.
• When you leave please take everything you brought with you. Do not leave any pots/pans/tupperware utensils etc. They will be discarded.
• Parents, we’ve got a minature bouncy castle inside your kids can play in.
• If you’d like to help out (and haven’t already been contacted) we’ll need some hands on deck putting everything away afterwards. If you stay until the end we’d appreciate it!
• Feel free to bring any alchohol you’d like too. If you’re not doing the LFPB Challenge and want to bring some non-paleo booze, that’s okay too.

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Boosting Your Flu Shot Response With Exercise NTY
A Purpose In Being CrossFit

How To Listen To Pain

By Dr. Jason Fidler

Unfortunately, most of us have been there. The sharp pain that shoots across your shoulders during your last set of sumo deadlift high pulls; the radiating pain down your thigh after heavy squats; the low back ache that lasts longer than normal after deadlifts. No matter how properly you train, pain is inevitable.

During my 5 years at CrossFit gyms, members have often approached me once they learn I am a chiropractor. They frequently ask me for a quick assessment or an easy answer to a nagging injury and, like many of us, they may not have the time for a proper assessment, which would include a detailed history, orthopedic testing and a treatment plan to figure out the true cause of their issue(s). What I have learned from such interactions is the importance of listening to pain, specifically, the questions that it poses.

What is pain? When should one power through a workout versus stopping? How should one respond to what the body is saying and what needs to be involved in this thought process? How do we define exacerbating and alleviating factors and when is it time to consult a professional? Understanding these questions will not only help you to develop a better body awareness but will also help you to avoid injury and better communicate when speaking with a doctor/therapist/trainer.

What is pain?

Remember the phrase “no pain, no gain”? It is antiquated and dangerous when applied to the type of WODs (workouts of the day) crossfitters endure. Pain is there for a reason. It is the body’s way of telling you that something is being compromised biomechanically or that you are actually aggravating an existing injury.

There are many different types of pain and all athletes endure some form of it. We will be focusing on a certain kind of pain, however. We’re not talking about the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that you get over the days following an intense workout. That is actually a good pain. That signals those tissues were fatigued and are now rebuilding to become bigger and stronger. It’s a sign that your body is adapting. More on DOMS later. We’re talking about the type of pain that comes from a soft tissue injury (sprain/strain/contusion), hard tissue injury (bone), and dislocation or overuse injury. It is important to consider whether these sensations have been caused by an acute, repetitive or cumulative trauma so we can figure out the best way to fix them. In other words, recognizing if these injuries were caused by a macrotrauma or have accumulated from microtraumas, which would include poor flexibility, posture, muscular imbalances and your body’s compensations to your old injuries as well as activities of daily living (ADLs). This is called “pathological” pain.

Chapman and Stillman (1996) defined pathological pain as “severe persisting pain or moderate pain of long duration that disrupts sleep and normal living, ceases to serve a protective function, and instead degrades health and functional capability.”

(Chapman CR)

Thought Process and Journaling

Whether I’m treating patients in the office or training hard in the gym, I’ve learned that the body gives us a variety of messages. To ignore them is to set yourself up for failure. The intense burn that we feel as we power through a MetCon (metabolic conditioning session) is a very different feeling from the sharp pain in the knee, shoulder or low back that causes us to compensate with altered mechanics. This needs to be interpreted as the alarm bell.

Of course, you don’t need a medical degree to manage your health. The trick is knowing when to seek professional advice and when to make a change on your own.

The purpose of tuning in to your body is to rule out the following:

Soft tissue injury (sprain/strain/contusion)
Hard tissue injury (bone)
Dislocation/fracture
Overuse injury
CrossFit Burnout (overtraining)

So what is the thought process in deciphering the different types of pain experienced?

Let’s say that you’re working out and all of a sudden you experience pain, discomfort or a “wonky” feeling.

It is helpful to record details in your workout journal. Doing so on a spreadsheet allows you to save it to the Cloud, and keyword search more easily for data, such as benchmarks or pain events.

Step 1 – Alert a coach

Step 2 – Define chief complaint (low back pain, shoulder pain) and how it happened, if possible

Step 3 – Describe provocative and alleviating factors (pain at low back with bending forward, lifting arm overhead alleviates pain in shoulder, etc.)

Quantify your level of discomfort by subjectively rating the severity on a 1-10 pain scale, 10 being the worst, or giving a percentage of how strong that region of your body feels.

Step 4 – has this happened before and is it getting worse?

Here are a few common injury situations with suggested action responses. They correspond to the flowchart attached to this article. Some may seem like obvious reactions, but, in the name of progress we often ignore our pain and sometimes make it worse by continuing past it.

SITUATION 1 Knowing when to quit and recognizing CrossFit Burnout

Maybe you’re feeling unenthusiastic about working out and/or noticing more than the usual soreness? This is what’s called “CrossFit burnout”. This status highly elevates risk for injury. Over-training means that you are exercising in excess of your body’s capacity to repair itself and adapt to the stresses you are presenting it with.  Be mindful of CrossFit burnout. If you are overtraining, your body’s repair mechanisms are overloaded and you’re in prime position for injury.

In this situation, scaling back on intensity and weight or taking a few days to a week off would be the most appropriate response. Most likely you’ll feel reenergized after a few days off. If the complaint does not improve, however, then it’s time talk to a coach to reconsider your training program or to a health professional who is familiar with high intensity training.

Common but subtle signs of overtraining are:

• Losing strength
• Feeling tired at the gym
• Loss of motivation to work out
• Generally feeling burned out
• Contracting illnesses such as colds and the flu

SITUATION 2 A visible change in a joint or region of the body

Is the location of your pain showing discoloration, abrasion, scars, edema (swelling) or deformity* (DASED)? If so, stop training, alert a coach and proceed to rest, ice, compress and elevate (RICE).  Try to clarify the qualities of the pain. These may include the following: aching, sore, cramping, pounding, sharp, throbbing, dull, nagging, penetrating, shooting, number, tingling, spasm, burning, radiating, stabbing, tender, knife-like, etc.

Is it getting better after a few days to a week of rest? If yes, then you may resume training at less than full intensity. If not, consult a professional. 

If you are feeling even slightly symptomatic, then performance and intensity SHOULD NOT be your primary goal. But rather consistent movement patterns conducted with proper biomechanics.

When you are feeling asymptomatic (presenting with no symptoms), preventative maintenance is key. It is unfortunate that most people wait for a cavity to see the dentist or excruciating back pain to see the chiropractor. But we don’t wait for our car to break down to get an oil change.  Think of your body as a high performance machine that requires routine maintenance to keep it running optimally. Proper alignment of your spine and the release of muscle adhesions you may or may not have been aware of will certainly make you less injury prone. In fact, it will most likely lead to performance enhancement. More on preventative maintenance and performance enhancement in a future article.

SITUATION 3 Nerve-y stuff

Are you experiencing pain or numbness that shoots into your arm(s) or leg(s)? If this is the case, then you are experiencing pathology to the nerve roots in the spine. You should definitely stop training and see a healthcare professional.

SITUATION 4 Dislocation or fracture

Are you unable to move a certain body part, such as a shoulder or ankle, and do you suspect dislocation or even a possible fracture? In this case, you will need to immediately immobilize that region with a splint or sling, RICE it and visit the ER where they can provide more advanced real-time diagnostics.

Sample Journal Entries

Sample 1: click to enlarge

Sample 2: click to enlarge

In both examples above, I’ve described location, provocative factors and sensation of my ailments, quantified the level of my discomfort and progress. While neither situation required discontinuing my workout, I recognized a pathological pain, gave it a concise description and made the appropriate modifications, which lead to an elimination of trauma to my toe.

Should you train with sore muscles?

It depends. Mild to moderate DOMS is normal and not likely to increase your risk of injury. On the other hand, if a particular region of the body experiences severe soreness it is advised that you allow it to rest and recover. For instance, if your low back is extremely sore after Grace (30 Clean and Jerks of 135lbs for time) then you may want to avoid working heavy deadlifts, a very similar movement, the next day. Pull-ups or running instead may be a less risky progression, as they are less taxing on already fatigued muscles.

Let’s say you have done a heavy 5-5-5 overhead press WOD. You can expect to feel some soreness/fatigue in the shoulder muscles later on in the week. If you notice excessive pain and soreness in or around the shoulder joint then this is a sign of pathological tissue damage and you need to refine your technique with less of a load. Again, this information needs to be recorded in your journal. Make a note of where you feel sore and share this information with a trainer to help you improve your technique. 

Consulting a professional

Who is a professional? Your CrossFit coach can do a lot to help improve your performance, remove inefficiencies and make other helpful recommendations. However, it is outside of their scope to make a medical diagnosis. This falls within the scope of your sports chiropractor (DC), physical therapist, general practitioner (MD) or an orthopedist.

If you continue to feel tingling and numbness, pain that does not resemble DOMS or if discoloration and deformity has not subsided significantly within a week, then it is time to consult a professional.

Conclusion

You don’t always have to do what’s on the whiteboard, also know as the prescribed workout of the day. While healing from an injury, modifications can always be made. Do not hesitate to ask a coach to help you come up with alternative movements. My toe injury for instance, which became exacerbated by bending my toe upwards in reverse lunges, was modified by simply being prescribed forward lunges. I still made all of the same gains without any of the pathologic pain. 

A word on over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. Pain is there for the purpose of preventing further injury and by artificially reducing it you run the risk of silencing this alarm. Also, there is no evidence that these medications help you to heal any faster.

Aches and pains should be accepted for what they are – useful feedback from your body telling you to give certain areas some rest. Everybody has different healing rates and you must learn to grasp yours.

Just like good listeners strengthen a relationship, hearing your body’s pain, and devising an appropriate response to it, will better equip you with enduring strength.

Chapman CR, Stillman M: Pathological Pain, Handbook of Perception: Pain and Touch. Edited by Krueger L. New York, Academic Press, 1996, pp 315 – 340

What Your Pain Is Telling You Flow Chart
click to enlarge

*Deformity means that the joint or region appears abnormally swollen, bent the wrong way or moving in obviously abnormal range of motion. This requires immediate attention.

Jason Fidler is a chiropractor serving the athletes and members of the CrossFit community in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. He regularly trains and has office hours at CrossFit South Brooklyn and CrossFit 718. He is also a regular physician at many of the NYC endurance races and CrossFit competitions. As a CrossFitter and chiropractor since 2008, he is schooled in the functional movements that crossfitters routinely perform, their commonly associated training injuries and the most effective forms of treatment. Dr. Fidler holds full spine Active Release and Kinesio taping certifications, two very effective sought-after treatment protocols. To learn more, visit FidlerDC.com