Is this how you cool down?
~Photo credit – Wendy Callendar
Since the early winter, we have incorporated mobility and stretching into the cash out and, as a result, our Zone athletes are understanding how important it is to stick around and do the prescribed MWOD. Congrats! I saw this post on K-Star’s site recently and I thought that it was important to reinforce this topic with our Zone crew! Check it out:
Hey Mwodies,
Today’s mission is to examine your post-training practices. Too many times I witness really good athletes perform an excellent warm up, perform heroic feats of strength and wattage, then well, do nothing. People, after strenuous training, you’ve got to take care of yourself. If you are competing in a brutally short event, you’ve got to do some cool down. If you are an endurance athlete, you’ve got to do some cool down (obviously not 2x your workout length) . If you are a strength athlete, you’ve got to perform some kind anti-stiffness protocol. A ton of the problems we see start out as non-cool down adaptation errors. How do you think you got so stiff? Why didn’t you “recover” from your last workout? We need to control the things we can control. For crying out loud, go to any olympic track and see how many of those athletes “cool down” on the other track. Watch the swimming events and witness how many laps the athletes swim after they compete. Even racing horses are cooled down for crying out loud (they are typically better cared for than you btw). Obviously you don’t have to cool down for 40 min after a 20 min sprint piece. But, are you performing any cool down? Are you drinking and eating anything in the first 20-30 min window? Or, do you simply go back to work or the couch? I know, I know! Time is crunched. It’s hard to fit it all in when you train at elite levels of intensity. In this video, I’m referencing the fact that my athletes were about to compete in a 10 minute effort. A simple guideline is for them to spend 15-20 minutes cooling down. This could include walking, rowing, mobilizing etc. Do it for a week. Budget some time to actually cool down and see how you feel.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XsOb86izvA&feature=player_embedded’]
I know that in the allotted class time there is sometimes not enough time to spend cooling down and immobilizing after the workout. Please take into consideration the importance of cool down and stretching and make sure to give it as much attention and effort as you do your workouts. You are always more than welcome to stick around and stretch, roll or cool down on the erg, etc. after class (space and equipment dependent)!
Q.O.D: What do you do to recover after your workout?
Today’s Workout
Buy In – 3 rounds of 10 PVC Dislocates, 10 Box Jumps, 10 KB swings
5 rounds of 1 Deadlift, 1 Pull, 1 snatch or clean & jerk
* Increase weight each round, working up and above workout weight
WOD – “Isabel or Grace”
For time:
30 Clean and Jerks OR 30 Snatches at 95/135lbs
Zone 4 – 85/125lbs
Zone 3 – 75/115lbs
Zone 2 – 65/95lbs
Zone 1 – scale as needed
Cash Out – MWOD
* 5 Way shoulder stretch
* Roll out shoulders with a lacrosse ball or foam roller
* Couch stretch – hips and quads