This past week (as Ben noted Friday), we’ve had some great surf here in Newport.  There’s nothing I like more than getting out in some big waves, it’s one of the reasons I train.  Unfortunately, sometimes when we push ourselves in sport we suffer injuries.  Well, this weekend I managed run into a rock and injure myself (shocking to anyone who knows me).  So, this brings up the subject of what to do when you can’t train?  Every athlete will deal with injury sooner or later and knowing what to do will get you back in the game faster.

First off, figure out what you need to do to recover faster.  This usually involves lots of rest, ice and compression.  Injuries vary so consult with a trainer, doctor or physical therapist.  Being active in the recovery process can drastically reduce the time it takes to get back in the gym.

Second, diet.  Diet is critical when you’re training and is just as important when you’re not.  It’s easy to develop poor eating habits when you’re laid up but if you instead look at your injury as an opportunity to really dial in your diet you can maintain the gains you’ve worked so hard for.

Finally, stay active!  Train around your injury, if you have a hurt ankle work on push ups, pull ups, core strength.  Find out which lifts you can do pain free.  Obviously some injuries are more difficult to train around than others.

Follow these tips and you’ll reduce the time it takes to recover as while maintaing your previous strength and conditioning levels.

Now onto the beginning of what some may call a “Benchmark” January. For many of us, it is hard to track our progress, since it is rare that we repeat exact same workouts. So this year, a resolution if you will, we will be choosing various CrossFit branded WODS as our bench marks of which will be repeated every 3-4 months along with our standard lifts.

Lift: Back Squat 5 5rm, -10% max reps

Benchmark WOD: “Fran”