How to improve in CrossFit? This is a question that those of us who practice this great sport ask ourselves. Along with the basic pillars for performance improvement, there are other tricks that can help you get that extra boost you need to smash your workouts every day.
If you have been practicing CrossFit for a while, it is likely that you may feel that your improvement is slower or even that you are not improving at all. But don’t worry, because you still have a great athlete potential and we are going to give you some tips to bring it out.
If your sport is not CrossFit, you can also apply those tricks, because in all sports globally, there are patterns that should be repeated for the same purpose: to evolve towards the best version of ourselves.
1. Discover your third lung, through nutrition.
Nutrition is a known factor that can help us improve our athletic performance.If necessary, there are certain types of supplements that will help you improve, but only as an extra.
Speaking about supplements, there is one specifically powerful one that few know about.
It’s recommended by Mat Fraser himself – beta alanine. If you’ve ever consumed any kind of pre-workout you’ll probably be familiar with this name as it’s one of the main ingredients in many boosters, but few know how beneficial beta alanine can be when consumed before training.
Beta alanine supplementation increases muscle carnosine levels by up to 60% in 4 weeks and about 80% in 8 weeks, which translates into increased resistance to fatigue and improved performance, especially in high-intensity exercise.
2. Good sleep habits
Twinkle twinkle little star, sleep well and raise a heavy bar.
The basic pillar of an athlete’s progression is getting enough rest. Our body needs rest for optimal performance.
During the hours of sleep, the organism enters a state in which the biorhythms go down and it is the moment in which our organs rest. Sleep repairs all our organs, since during the time we are resting, our organism releases countless hormones that improve the general state of the organism and strengthen our immune system. It is precisely during the hours of sleep that the so-called growth hormone, which we need to increase muscle volume, is released.
A good habit – highly recommended – to get the necessary rest, is to set a time limit for going to bed even if you are not sleepy. Instead of sitting in the living room watching TV, it is better to lie in bed and relax little by little until you feel sleepy. In this way the body gets used to bedtime every day.
On the other hand, if you are going to train at maximum intensity, allow at least one day of rest every 3 days of training. You should not train every day. This way, you will help recovery, avoid injury, muscle wasting and/or overtraining.
3. Psychological factors
Factors such as motivation and mental strength are indispensable for our progress as athletes.
The first will be necessary for you to go motivated every day to the Box and give the best of you in the training session. This is directly linked to your goals. In many cases, not being able to achieve our goals leads to frustration.
The second will make you resist against all kinds of obstacles without them harming your performance, in some cases even improving it.
Have a positive attitude, be aware of the ups and downs that may occur, but continue with the activity. You will not always train in the best conditions (in all aspects). Train your psychological side too.
4. Back to basics
Sometimes when we have a certain level in CrossFit we think we already know it all, it’s nice once in a while go back to the basics and feel like a rookie again. Did you see the single unders event at the Games?
Even the best failed with a movement that in the box is usually performed by those who need to scale the movement. Technique is a fundamental part of your training to keep improving as an athlete, but it is often overlooked. Leave your ego at the door of the box. Being the fastest in the class is fine, but not more important than your health.
With a good technique you will not only avoid injury, but it will help you to more quickly lock in the weights or movements of your daily workouts. As a result, in the long run you will have a greater improvement in CrossFit.
5. Leave your comfort zone
You have to start to get rid of the fear of lifting heavy weights or to perform movements that we find complicated (double under, snatch, pistol …). You have tot learn to train with the feeling of being at the limit of your possibilities and know how to play with that feeling. It is advisable not to stop when you start to feel tired. At least, you should do two or three more reps before stopping to catch some air.
Finally, it’s good to get in a competitive mood with your teammates because it will help you get out of your comfort zone, but don’t fall into the trap of trying to shorten the movement to gain time or count the extra reps to finish early. You laso should create the habit of training your mobility. If you do some stretching it will help us to have better mobility to perform complex movements and avoid many injuries due to muscle shortening.
These are some of the tricks that sometimes escape us when it comes to improving our performance. Do you have any tips you would like to share?
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Image Sources
- Chandler Smith ski erg: Photo courtesy of CrossFit Inc.
- ring muscle ups workouts: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.
