Week Six:
Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy.
Have you ever followed along on a workout video before? A few years ago, before I knew what CrossFit was, I had several DVDs from the Biggest Loser that I did several times a week. There is certainly a good-better-best scenario going on here, but doing the same video every day makes you better at doing that video. It isn’t really functional.
Once your body adapts, you lose any gains you could be making. Which is why routine is the enemy, and CrossFit workouts are constantly varied. We want your body (and mind) to be able to conquer anything it gets challenged with.
Prepare for the unknown and unknowable – because that is life. You don’t get to know that at 1:13pm on Sunday your little one is going to run out into the busy road and you will have to sprint after him. You don’t get to have time to warm up and stretch and be prepared for that. You don’t get to know when and where you are going to need to use your body in certain ways. But you do need to know how to do these things when the time arises.
Your muscles (and your brain) think routines are mundane and boring. Routines keep them from growing and getting stronger. Remember, you have a whole body to work out. Picture your muscles as interconnected roadways. Your tendons are the interchanges. Keep those roadways open for business.
You will also put yourself at risk of an overuse injury if you simply do the same exercises all the time without variances thrown in. Routines will cause your performance to eventually peak too.