So, you've got your first CrossFit Comp this weekend. What next?

It's like high school was for me. Spend most of the year joking around, flirting with girls and putting off homework and then wait until the last week of school to cram everything in. That's probably how you feel at this moment. Asking yourself, "how can I get double unders" or saying "I don't even know if I can get 55 pounds over my head!" 

To worry is normal but you've already done all the hard stuff to this point. You won't turn into a double under pro in 24 hours and you won't magically develop the strength and capacity to cycle 55 pounds consecutively overnight. No amount of cramming will make it happen. All you can do now is put your weeks, months and years of training to good use when it comes down to game time tomorrow. 


Some of you will struggle. Some of you might fail but the thing to remember is your cumulative efforts help your team no matter what. Taking part in a competition is months of training that lead up to an event that will inevitably seem like it was over before it started. All you can do now is prepare and execute. How does that occur? I'm tried to consolidate my knowledge on the subject keeping in mind that you only have 24 hours to go. Again, from a physical stand point: you won't get stronger and you won't acquire new skills while you sleep but, if you make mistakes, you'll be weaker and skills might disappear overnight. Follow these steps to victory. 


1. Nutrition: 
If it ain't broke don't fix it. Now is not the time to try some crazy carb load that you've never done before. Nor is it the time to try a new pre workout supplement guaranteed to get you pumped. Stick to basics. Eat a hearty meal before bed with some carbs, protein and fat. On the morning of, drink lots of water, minimal coffee and eat a balanced breakfast with a good balance of all three macronutrients. Drink water throughout the competition and maybe bring a banana or some other fruit to eat quickly between events that will digest well. Keep in mind, it's only an hour, it will probably few just like going through a normal class but a little on the harder end. (Think: a normal Wednesday) 




2. Sleep: This is probably the easiest thing to screw up and it would possible have the biggest impact on performance. Get your ass in bed. Please. Less than 6 hours of optimal sleep has been proven to degrade performance by a significant amount. Sleep in a dark room with the AirCon on and distraction turned off. 


3. Equipment: luckily tomorrow isn't too intensive as far as gear is concerned. You might need some tape for the hands, your lifters, a belt and some amino acids or something. Whatever you plan on taking into the gym, pack it tonight! Don't spend the morning thinking about what you might have forgotten.

4. Headspace: I hate negativity. "I can't" is a phrase that stings a little every time I hear it. Spend the evening before a competition in some quiet place in your home. Think about the positives. Visualize a successful performance. Put those positive thoughts out there. Tell yourself that you're an asset to your team. You can do anything you set your mind to. Make it happen and leave the doubt at the doorstep.


5. Plan-Take the final workout for example. 40-30-20-10. Cals on assault bike, cals on rower, burpees. With a 15 minute cap, that's 900 seconds of work. Divide that by 300 (the total number of reps in the workout) you get 3. That's 3 seconds per rep. If you know it takes you 5 seconds per burpee but you can row 30 cals in a minute, maybe on the rower is where you belong. Break each workout down in your head and communicate your thoughts with your team members to see if it jives with what they had in mind.

Most importantly and above all, have fun. We put these in house competitions on in order to accomplish a few things. We want you all to experience the thrill and excitement of competing that you might not have experienced in decades. We want you do push yourself more than you thought possible. We want to do these things in a safe, fun and supportive environment. So don't be surprised if you start taking it too seriously, a coach comes over and tells you to "chill, just have fun!"


Good luck to all competitors tomorrow!