New to crossfit - and it's kicking my ass!

[smarch]

Hey all, I (33M, 5'10, 170lbs) have taken up crossfit in the last few weeks, and the wods are absolutely killing me. I thought I was moderately fit, having played a lot of football (soccer) in my teens and early twenties, followed by general gym & kettlebell workouts into my thirties. Crossfit has humbled me so much, the gulf between me and the rest of the folk in the class is a lot bigger than I expected.

I'm sometimes struggling to complete the wods even when scaled. I think I need to work on my cardio fitness, but I'm also looking for advice if there's something better I could be doing. My current plan is to do 3 x 5km zone 2 runs a week to build up my cardio base. I currently attend crossfit classes 2x a week, but can't attend more often atm due to my schedule.

Is there anything else I should be doing to help prep me for the wods? I'm also keeping a kettlebell conditioning workout 1x a week alongside the 5k runs.

One caveat is that I have arthritis, so a) it takes me longer to recover in general b) I have reduced lung capacity compared to an average person my age and c) I'm also doing to be spending time doing mobility work, because my wrists/shoulder mobility is absolute trash and a front rack/squat is physically impossible for me at the moment.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

(P.S. I've definitely already caught the crossfit bug and I'm in this for the long haul!)

 

[dawn16]

@smarch It’ll never get easier, you’ll just get better.

 

[mynameisjeff]

@smarch Mobility and pacing. Pacing took me about three years to learn. Purely my own stupid ego. Don’t fly out the gates. Always be moving. You will get better the longer you do it.

 

[godly_wife]

@mynameisjeff Yes going hard at the start is a death sentence

 

[beachgirl76]

@mynameisjeff Knowing how to pace appropriately feels like the real skill of CrossFit.

 

[mynameisjeff]

@beachgirl76 I would feel like such a coward by quitting workouts midway and couldn’t understand how others could keep going. I have a reasonable engine (nothing like some of the people here). Realised it was just me starting a long workout, getting HR to 180 and then trying to hold on for 45 minutes just wasn’t sustainable. Mykos triangle is a great workout to use to learn pacing. 3 minutes work 1 minute rest. I’d use my heart rate tracker to try and get my heart rate down to a certain level during that minute and I could tell whether I would then be able to hit the target I’d set.

 

[smarch]

@mynameisjeff Thanks! Yeah definitely trying to keep that in mind.

 

[dmissick]

@mynameisjeff Yup, still hard though, but this is it, however, when you learn it, it feels so good to beat the "hot out of the gate" people

 

[cherrystrawberrydrop]

@smarch Take your time unless your coach says it’s a sprint then sprint.

Your greatest competition is yourself, and that one other guy, but ignore that for now.

 

[allowisjes]

@cherrystrawberrydrop That bastard shaving reps

 

[dmissick]

@allowisjes This is one of the blessings of working out alone! But those shavers' worst time of the year is coming, the open!

 

[thomasmoore]

@smarch About a yr into my crossfit journey (2019) I heard Ben Bergeron say “if you aren’t finishing the WOD at a faster pace than you started it, then you paced it wrong” — that has been so helpful to me, never start so hot you crawl across the finish, better to pick up speed bc you saved some in the tank. Also I think that crossfit helps crossfit, just keep going. I’ve been doing 3x week for 6 years now.

 

[cleanliness_and_godliness]

@thomasmoore I like this quote - will keep it in mind at the WOD later (22.2l) which I am dreading!

 

[denisetrujillo1]

@smarch Just keep at it and give it time. Make sure you’re getting enough healthy carbs and protein. You may need more carbs than you’re used to eating as high intensity workouts are glycolytic. I see a lot of folks in my gym that don’t make meaningful progress after years of training 4+ times a week. Nutrition is a huge component that can transform your work into results.

 

[mysolo]

@denisetrujillo1 Yes! I think one of the biggest difference makers once you're a year+ into CrossFit is whether or not you're eating enough. 30-40g protein at each meal is a great place to start.

 

[blessedandhurt]

@smarch 11th year,….kickin’ my ass EVERY day!!

 

[thisguy00]

@smarch You just need to keep showing up. Ideally try to slowly increase the number of classes as your schedule allows in the future

 

[sf111]

@smarch Many have already covered good points. Consistently show up, work on mobility, listen to strategies for the WOD.

But also—sleep and nutrition are super important. As is scaling appropriately. You’ll get far more out of a workout and progress more efficiently if you scale correctly as opposed to RXing and sort of floundering.

 

[schroderj]

@sf111 Sleep and eat! After years of CrossFit I found I need 8 hrs to function well. Eating is much more difficult. I have a physically demanding job and I have to eat so much quality food to see muscle gains that it’s almost another WOD

 

[sf111]

@schroderj That is my problem, too. My job can be quite demanding and also takes up so much of the day. I’m learning how to be much more intentional to ensure I’m actually fueling with enough food to replenish what I use up. It’s not easy.