When to “Send” a Workout and When to “Just Workout”

I’m no scientist, but “3, 2, 1 Go!” elicits a reaction in the body that shuts down the brain for a good minute or two (Kate H. can confirm or debunk this)… then your body quickly realizes that you’ve gone out of the gate way too hard, your heart rate is jacked and you still have 10 more minutes of WOD triage ahead!

So when do you simply show up and get in a good workout and when do you scream “full send!” after the coach says “go!” Here are a couple tips/thoughts on this from a recovering “sender.”

First – Consistency is Key

You want to be able to show up tomorrow and tomorrow you’ll want to show up tomorrow… One of the keys to CrossFit’s success is doing movements at high intensity BUT not before your form is dialed in on a lift or movement. If you don’t show up today and tomorrow and the day after, you’re going to miss out on opportunities to improve on your form/strength and thus be unable to hit the intensity required to reap the benefits of CrossFit. Sometimes athletes will get impatient and get good enough to be dangerous at a movement by adding intensity too quickly… often because they haven’t been consistently coming to class, giving their body time to catch up to their expectations.

LESSON: Show up multiple days a week (week after week) in order to continue improving mechanics and strength so you can ramp up intensity and find workouts to “send.”

Secondly – How You Doin’?

We all go through funks, stretches of poor sleep, benders of late night nachos and cheesecake (my personal favorites) and surprise! They don’t help with recovery! If this happens, refer back to the previous lesson (Consistency) to get back on the path. Also, this is not the time to full send a workout for two reasons… 

1. Something that I used to do and will still do occasionally without thinking – making up for a food binge/unhealthy eating by punishing ourselves through working out harder so we “burn it off.” Working out should never be treated as a punishment. It’s an opportunity to get ourselves back on track both with sleep and mood and to be surrounded by a community of people who don’t care that you ate a pint of ice cream last night. Just show up, go through the motions and get back on track. Don’t beat yourself up mentally AND physically.
2. Recovery is greatly diminished when we’re run down or not fueling our body well. It’s really true that you can’t outwork a poor diet. Everyone’s body is different and you may be saying to yourself that “I am the exception and can workout hard while tired and on a Micky D’s diet.” Perhaps… but you’re not optimizing your health. And as you age, that approach will catch up to you. Again, work to get back on track, but more importantly, keep your exercise routine consistent and JUST SHOW UP!

LESSON: Ask yourself, how am I feeling today? Is a particular body part extra sore? Did my new baby or puppy keep me up last night? If you’re not on your game, THAT’S OKAY! Show up, move and you’ll have moved one step in a better direction for your health.

When To SEND IT!

Are you a Monday thru Friday full sender? Is pushing yourself to varying degrees each class your style? Right on! I offer you a couple closing thoughts on this subject.  If you have other thoughts or disagree, good! You’re listening to your body. 

1. Movements you enjoy and are proficient at are good days to ramp up the intensity. When you’re executing the movements, you know how they should feel – not that they feel easy, but that they are feeling good because you’re using proper mechanics. The beauty of high intensity workouts is you are sometimes forced to dial back the intensity because your body says so. The difference would be when your mechanics break down and the coach is telling you to keep the bar closer to your body or to stay back on your heels… while you can still technically “do the movement,” this is a sign to dial back, reduce the send and refocus on good form.
2. A couple times a week. That’s what I tell myself anyway. I used to be excited about every workout 4-5 days a week. Then, after my form got worse on some dumbbell snatches because I pushed too hard for how I was feeling that day, my shoulder made me stop for a while (also because of the Bonus reason below). Now I look at the week as a whole and think about what workouts I’m “sending” and the workouts my form needs improving and intensity will need managing. Some weeks I may just show up and move well for all the classes… Unsurprisingly, those are usually the weeks I feel the best.
3. Bonus: I’m not a doctor so grain of salt here… but if you’re taking ibuprofen or tylenol, or something that masks pain, remember that you’re taking that stuff and that’s probably why you feel pretty good. I forget this from time to time and will walk into the gym thinking “man I feel good today. No aches and pains! This should be a pretty good workout.” I usually regret the intensity that I hit those workouts at after the anti inflammatories effects wear off.

At the end of the day, each of us is a different human with different goals. And bottom line, showing up and getting a workout in at a sustainable/moderate intensity is always OK where sending a workout should be more for fun and strategic.

This isn’t an excuse to dog a workout or just coast in every class. In fact, I hope you’re able to look at ramping up your intensity in certain areas and on certain days so your overall work capacity continues to increase in all areas. Be consistent in fitness, strategic in intensity, trust the process and have fun becoming the best version of yourself!

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