Taking a break from crossfit

Chris Sinagoga · 09-04-2006, 04:50 PM

i'm not sure if this is the right topic 2 post this but......

i'm 16 and i play quarterback on my high school football team and we have practice like 5 days a week and a game on either friday or saturday. i have been feeling more tired than usual so i know i need a rest for a day or 2. i was just wondering if you had any tips on how to still incorporate the crossfit wod's with my football schedule or when i should take days off...and later in the winter with my basketball schedule. school lasts till 2:50 and practice usually starts at 3:30 or 4:00 and lasts 2 hours. any input would be appreciated.

Mike ODonnell · 09-04-2006, 05:11 PM

Chris,

I am sure there are alot of martial arts guys on here that can comment on how to train 4-6 hours a day (not me). But I would suggest for anything that you may need to up the calories, more activity = more calorie intake for recovery. I'd check some martial art's message section (Crosspit I think it is). They may approach this type of training.

Elliot Royce · 09-05-2006, 11:40 AM

Chris:

I'm more familiar with the recovery of a middle aged man (me) than with 16 year old athletes. However, I think you need to make sure you don't overtrain. Is there something that you feel that 2-3 hours of football practice (or basketball practice) is not developing for you? I would think you'd get lots of anaerobic conditioning (up/downs, etc.) as well as aerobic (running laps). What might be missing is training for explosive strength in which case you might want to integrate the O lifts. I'm not sure that purely tacking on WODs every day is the best approach since you're already getting a number of elements worked in those.

But I'm sure some experts in training young athletes will jump in with good ideas.

Just be alert to signs of overtraining like continuous fatigue, colds, etc.

Craig Van De Walker · 09-05-2006, 09:00 PM

May not be a popular suggestion but I think you should bag crossfit just for the remainder of football season.

MAYBE do some ME or skill work.

For the most part if you have 5 days of practice & game on weekend you are training 6 days a week already. Crossfit will wait the few weeks until your football season is over. Take another week or two off then start back on CF.

The few weeks this takes is a small portion of your life, this is not the time to overtrain or injur yourself.

John Hoffner · 09-06-2006, 10:02 AM

I would wholeheartedly agree with that. I myself am 31, and cannot compare my energy levels to that of a 16 year old. I am in the Marines and have mandatory training I must attend, some of which is trying, some not so much. I try to do CF WODs Mon/Tues and Thurs/Fri. I also train Krav Maga or BJJ 2-3 times a week at night.

I can hardly keep this schedule, its hard to admit even to myself.

I want to delete that line, that's how strong the denial is. But being older and wiser now I am trying to train smarter not harder. I drop WODs from time to time. I try to roll at least 2 times a week, preferring BJJ over Krav Maga, but sometimes I only do fight training once a week.
Bottom line is you have to let your body rest.
Train smart and remember quality over quantity.

Mike ODonnell · 09-06-2006, 12:08 PM

"Train smart and remember quality over quantity" Very good point John.

Or even "Exercise is only as good as your Recovery" would work too.

Robert Wolf · 09-10-2006, 07:23 AM

Chris-
Good advice from people already. If you are time crunched and having problems recovering try somethign like this:

Day-1
20-30 back squats empty bar. Over the next 10-12 minutes do a set of 3 back squats with a little more weight on the bar each set until your 10th set is challenging but not quite a max effort.

A day or two later to the same thing with powercleans.

A day or two later do something similar with presses and pull-ups. No extra weight on the pull-ups if BW is fairly challenging. That will be 30min of trainign per week and you whould actually see some good benefit on the field.

Abby Phenix · 09-10-2006, 06:17 PM

remember that you're still in school too! between sports practice & CrossFit, you may find yourself overcommitted on the athletic side and undercommitted on the passing your classes side. all those workouts won't mean much if you get benched for poor grades...

Michael McMahon · 09-11-2006, 09:35 PM

Chris you might want to take a look at Dan John's One Lift a Day program, pretty similar to what Robert is suggesting. You can find it at his site or T-nation. Or just realize that you can't do everything you might want to. With school, then practice and schoolwork as well as any responsibilities at home you might be best off putting the crossfit on hold til the season ends.

Chris Sinagoga · 09-15-2006, 04:13 PM

thanks a lot 2 all that have posted. i did yesterday's wod b4 practice and i just did some ring exercises 2day because i got a game at ford field 2morrow. it's really hard 4 me 2 skip a wod bcuz i've seen such great results in only about 4 months. my armstrength, speed, quickness, and strength have alll improved a ton since i started crossfit back in may. i can't wait to see my improvements on the basketball court..........and abby, i'm aiming for a 3.5 this year so i really gotta buckle down.

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09-04-2006, 04:50 PM	#1
Chris Sinagoga Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madison Heights MI Posts: 362	i'm not sure if this is the right topic 2 post this but...... i'm 16 and i play quarterback on my high school football team and we have practice like 5 days a week and a game on either friday or saturday. i have been feeling more tired than usual so i know i need a rest for a day or 2. i was just wondering if you had any tips on how to still incorporate the crossfit wod's with my football schedule or when i should take days off...and later in the winter with my basketball schedule. school lasts till 2:50 and practice usually starts at 3:30 or 4:00 and lasts 2 hours. any input would be appreciated.

09-04-2006, 05:11 PM	#2
Mike ODonnell Member Profile: Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,566	Chris, I am sure there are alot of martial arts guys on here that can comment on how to train 4-6 hours a day (not me). But I would suggest for anything that you may need to up the calories, more activity = more calorie intake for recovery. I'd check some martial art's message section (Crosspit I think it is). They may approach this type of training.

09-05-2006, 11:40 AM	#3
Elliot Royce Member Profile: Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Inowa KS Posts: 922	Chris: I'm more familiar with the recovery of a middle aged man (me) than with 16 year old athletes. However, I think you need to make sure you don't overtrain. Is there something that you feel that 2-3 hours of football practice (or basketball practice) is not developing for you? I would think you'd get lots of anaerobic conditioning (up/downs, etc.) as well as aerobic (running laps). What might be missing is training for explosive strength in which case you might want to integrate the O lifts. I'm not sure that purely tacking on WODs every day is the best approach since you're already getting a number of elements worked in those. But I'm sure some experts in training young athletes will jump in with good ideas. Just be alert to signs of overtraining like continuous fatigue, colds, etc.

09-05-2006, 09:00 PM	#4
Craig Van De Walker Member Profile: Join Date: May 2005 Location: Beaverton OR Posts: 872	May not be a popular suggestion but I think you should bag crossfit just for the remainder of football season. MAYBE do some ME or skill work. For the most part if you have 5 days of practice & game on weekend you are training 6 days a week already. Crossfit will wait the few weeks until your football season is over. Take another week or two off then start back on CF. The few weeks this takes is a small portion of your life, this is not the time to overtrain or injur yourself.

09-06-2006, 10:02 AM	#5
John Hoffner Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 178	I would wholeheartedly agree with that. I myself am 31, and cannot compare my energy levels to that of a 16 year old. I am in the Marines and have mandatory training I must attend, some of which is trying, some not so much. I try to do CF WODs Mon/Tues and Thurs/Fri. I also train Krav Maga or BJJ 2-3 times a week at night. I can hardly keep this schedule, its hard to admit even to myself. I want to delete that line, that's how strong the denial is. But being older and wiser now I am trying to train smarter not harder. I drop WODs from time to time. I try to roll at least 2 times a week, preferring BJJ over Krav Maga, but sometimes I only do fight training once a week. Bottom line is you have to let your body rest. Train smart and remember quality over quantity.

09-06-2006, 12:08 PM	#6
Mike ODonnell Member Profile: Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,566	"Train smart and remember quality over quantity" Very good point John. Or even "Exercise is only as good as your Recovery" would work too.

09-10-2006, 07:23 AM	#7
Robert Wolf Member Profile: Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chico CA Posts: 2,669	Chris- Good advice from people already. If you are time crunched and having problems recovering try somethign like this: Day-1 20-30 back squats empty bar. Over the next 10-12 minutes do a set of 3 back squats with a little more weight on the bar each set until your 10th set is challenging but not quite a max effort. A day or two later to the same thing with powercleans. A day or two later do something similar with presses and pull-ups. No extra weight on the pull-ups if BW is fairly challenging. That will be 30min of trainign per week and you whould actually see some good benefit on the field.

09-10-2006, 06:17 PM	#8
Abby Phenix Member Profile: Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Austin TX Posts: 23	remember that you're still in school too! between sports practice & CrossFit, you may find yourself overcommitted on the athletic side and undercommitted on the passing your classes side. all those workouts won't mean much if you get benched for poor grades...

09-11-2006, 09:35 PM	#9
Michael McMahon Member Profile: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Chicago Suburb IL Posts: 105	Chris you might want to take a look at Dan John's One Lift a Day program, pretty similar to what Robert is suggesting. You can find it at his site or T-nation. Or just realize that you can't do everything you might want to. With school, then practice and schoolwork as well as any responsibilities at home you might be best off putting the crossfit on hold til the season ends.

09-15-2006, 04:13 PM	#10
Chris Sinagoga Affiliate Profile: Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madison Heights MI Posts: 362	thanks a lot 2 all that have posted. i did yesterday's wod b4 practice and i just did some ring exercises 2day because i got a game at ford field 2morrow. it's really hard 4 me 2 skip a wod bcuz i've seen such great results in only about 4 months. my armstrength, speed, quickness, and strength have alll improved a ton since i started crossfit back in may. i can't wait to see my improvements on the basketball court..........and abby, i'm aiming for a 3.5 this year so i really gotta buckle down.