If I could go back and start CrossFit all over again, I would have snuck in time for mobility, every single day.
Driving a Chevy Corsica across the country for five years and never changing the oil is not smart.
Hell, I thought the car was fine when it would sputter to the side of the road with white clouds emanating from the engine. It thought it just wanted a smoke break.
Driving your body without performing regular maintenance is also not smart.
A lot of us are reluctant to clean up nagging aches and poor positions because we don’t have much education in doing those things. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a doctor to take care of yourself, just like you don’t have to be a mechanic to air up your tires.
Our body is always talking. It’s regularly sending you status reports on what you’re doing.
“This makes me happy.”
– The hour after you finish a hard workout.
– Eating real foods for three days in a row.
– Learning that there’s a movie sequel to Breaking Bad on Netflix.
“This makes me sad.”
– Waking up after having one, or two, or six too many drinks the night before.
– Stopping short on front squats because of your wrist pain.
– Learning that the Breaking Bad sequel could have dropped the first word of the title and been an accurate review of itself.
“This makes me hurt.”
-When you ignore pain.
– When you mistake discomfort for actual pain and push through that pain. (don’t do that)
– When you now that pizza be hot, but you take a bite anyway.
You don’t have to treat yourself after your body gives you feedback. The most straightforward action for you is to tell the coach. They can modify the training or even recommend some basic self-care that can clear those knobby knees right up. They can also tell you, “I would go see someone who can treat that” when it’s beyond their scope.
Everyone is born asymmetrical, so our imbalances start there. What we do with the body’s feedback from then on determines where we land when we are 30, 40, 50, or Moses.
If you’ve been active, you’ve been injured, me too. That’s the cost of admission for living a capable life. It’s going to happen at some point.
-Taking a bad step.
-Lifting a little too much
-Tripping the goalie
You know, stuff happens.
And you can recover from the things that “happen.” What you may not recover from is a cycle of neglect or ignorance.
There were times when I was so stoved up and stiff that foam rolling was the only thing I could probably PR that day. I knew I should take the day off and do light biking and stretch, but I would work out anyway, expecting my body to reclaim good movement and positions later on its own.
What a fantasy.
Thankfully I only did that for like, five years.
Pain-free movement doesn’t just happen. Its a recipe with a whole lot of habits, posture, practice, lifestyle, DNA, garlic, coaching, awareness, and maintenance, thrown into the mix.
If I would have:
-Read “Becoming a Supple Leopard” by Kelly Starrett
-Dedicated 15 minutes per day to stay mobile
-Asked for a little help from another coach
I would be writing this as more of an informative piece than a cautionary tale.
I wouldn’t have taken a collective 1.5 years off from working out due to preventable pain.
I would sure be enjoying snatches a lot more.
And I would be able to convince the people at goat yoga that I’m actually there for more than the goats.
