3 Daily Habits That Kill Your Performance In The Gym

Performance is key in any training program in which you are working towards a particular goal. Your goal could be to lose weight or to be a WOD master! whatever it is there is one thing that is certain, if your performance in the gym isn’t up to par when you step through the doors your goals are going to suffer.

What most of us don’t realize is that we have created unhealthy habits that we constantly do throughout our day or even week that directly affect the outcome of our training! Some of these habits we might be aware of and others we might not have a clue, either way these 5 daily habits can and will kill your daily performance in the gym.

1. No warm-up or cool down

As simple as this one seems many people have created the daily habit of either barley getting their heart rate or not warming up at all before they try and take on a high intensity workout. Not only will you find yourself struggling to hit your PR with no warm up, you have also drastically increased your chances of injury!

The same can be said on the back end of a workout when you finish your last rep and then dash out the door to go sit in a chair and then wonder why your legs are so sore the next day.

So whats the answer? Its simple! Give yourself at least 5-10 before and after every workout to warm up and to cool down! This will give your body the ability to prepare and recover from the beat down that is high intensity training.

2. Sleep deprivation

Wonder why after a night of little rest that your body feels like its getting crushed under the weight of just the bar? Lack of sleep will directly cost you performance in the gym by causing elevated blood-glucose levels with 6 hours or less of rest.

The answer? Get to bed at a reasonable time! Start shutting down the cell phones, TV’s and other devices at least 30 minutes before bed so that your mind and body can get ready for rest. A good book and some sleepy time tea is a great way to wind down so that you can get the rest you need to crush the next days WOD!

3. Dehydration

Most of us don’t realize it but if you live in the United States it is estimated that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated! I am not good with odds but I am pretty sure that chances are you are dehydrated right now as you read this!

Being dehydrated is one of the biggest killers in performance but yet is one of the easiest ones to defend against! Being dehydrated by even 2 percent can cause a decrease in VO2 output of 5 to 10 percent, making those burpees and wall balls suck even more!

So how much water should you be getting? For most of us it should be half to one ounce of water per total body weight. What does that look like? Most Americans would be able to stay properly hydrated by drinking 3 to 6 Nalgene bottles a day. This is a simple solution to find more energy in your workouts and your day to day life!

So there you have it, 3 simple yet effective ways to go from the walking dead to the walking WOD killer! Now get to sleep and have your water ready to go and your warm up planned so that you can make the gains that you deserve!

GROUP CLASS WORKOUT

Warm Up:

20/15 cal machine

2 Rounds 15 KBS Russian, 12 plank to pushup, 15 PVC PT

finish with 15 PVC PT, 20 PVC GM

Strength:

8 Sets
3 Power Cleans @80%+2 Front Squats (Every 90 seconds)

Lean: Moderate Weight

Metcon:

Welded

5 Rounds for Time:
15/12 Cal Bike
12 S2OH 95/65
9 Toes To bar
6 Box Jumps 30/24

Adv: 115/85

Welded Lean

5 Rounds for Time:
18 Ab Mat Situps

15/14 Cal Row
12 KB Swings 53/35

30 DU

Mobility of the day: T-spine Smash with Extension (pg.237)

Improves: Overhead Positioning, Rotation, Throwing Mech.

OPEN GYM

8 to 9am

SKILLS CLASS

Am accessories (biceps and triceps)

COMPETITORS CLASS

6:30 to 8pm with Coach Jacob