By Dirk Gessler
The other day I posted an introduction to 6 things I think are integral to getting the most out of your workouts. Today I wanted to drill in a bit deeper on two of those points. First I am going to talk about being on time for classes and then I want to discuss actually being ready for the class when it starts.
Punctuality is stressed all the time in life. From very young we are urged to be on time to school, work, dates, and everything else. Showing up on time is important in life, but I would like to talk about my own little corner of the world. CrossFit classes are jam packed. There isn’t any extra time to spare at all. We need to take 6-12 different people from varied walks of life, get them safely warmed up so they can perform without injury. We need to get through a skill or strength session, then go over the WOD movements, perform the WOD, and then get everyone stretched out and cooled down. Oh, and we try very hard to get you out of the box on time, we understand you have a life outside of CrossFit. That is a lot of things to pack into an hour. Even starting a minute or two late can force the coach to make some tough decisions on what has to get cut or shortened to make up the time. If you show up after the warmup has started, now the coach has to worry about getting you sufficiently warmed up to be able to move safely. The rest of the class loses the coach’s focus while they catch you up. It is really much better for everyone if you make sure you are on time. Granted things happen from time, unavoidable circumstances and all that, but don’t make it a common occurrence to stroll in 2 minutes after the class has started.
The second thing you can do to get the most out of your workout is actually just a continuation of the first. Be ready to work out when class starts. This probably means showing up for class 5 or 10 minutes early. Being on time doesn’t really help anyone if you still have to change your shoes, fill up your water bottle, and adjust your new speed rope. All of this should be taken care of prior to the warm up starting. On the same not, if you have special warmup needs for old injuries or stiff joints you should make it a habit to arrive early enough to class to get that taken care of before class starts. We work very hard to design warmups that cover all the joints well, but if you have issues with certain joints or need to roll out some sore muscles, make sure you budget time before class to get that done.
Focusing on being in the box on time and ready to workout goes a long way to making sure you and your fellow CrossFitters get the most out of your time with us. Stay tuned next time when I go over nutrition and sleep tips that will help you recover from your workouts faster and perform better!