Last week I wrote about my struggles with protein powder supplementation.  A struggle that led me to stop supplementing for several weeks.  Problem is that I first started supplementing after a series of training injuries led me to believe I was not consuming sufficient protein to adequately recover from my training.

So, after three weeks without protein supplementation, last week at Judo practice I strained my calf.  Not fighting mind you.  I just took a step, all on my lonesome, and felt the muscle tear.  A minor tear mind you, but I was hobbled all the same.  Barely able to put any weight on it for the first 12 hours.

Immediately afterwards I returned to protein supplementation and my usual rehab protocol, moving as much as possible without worsening the damage.  It meant a lot of workout modifications.  But no workout was modified as much as Monday’s 18 minute AMRAP as I found myself unable to perform any of the 4 movements.

In past episodes, members have drawn encouragement from my adventures in adapting workouts so, for your entertainment and inspiration I submit my approach to completing a workout 100% not Rx’d.

1. Running was obviously out of the question.  My calf was, however, able to tolerate the airbike.  If it wasn’t, I would have opted instead for the ski erg. 

2. The calf was not going to be able to manage the strain of supporting my body weight in the GHD sit up so I subbed in medball V-Ups instead. 

3.  Neither box jumps nor box step ups were an option for the calf so, this posed a bit of a quandary.  Ultimately, I decided the primary intent of the box jump is an explosive plyometric movement that elevates heart rate.  In that spirit, I selected the 20 lb D-Ball slam as a substitute.   An upper body, explosive plyometric movement that elevates heart rate in place of a lower body equivalent.

4.  I love me a power clean at 205 lbs but I could neither jump nor land so I decided instead to muscle clean.  I tested the muscle clean up to 195 lbs but found it irritated the calf at that load so, for the WOD, I reduced it to 165 lbs.  At that weight, it was still challenging but did not aggravate the injured limb.  For the record, it wasn’t a pure muscle clean.  It was more a hybrid between a power clean and a muscle clean. 

Despite all the substitutions, it was a great workout.  As written in Friday’s blog, one key to CrossFit success is being adaptable.  Not every day is going to be your best day.  It is easy to get discouraged when you look at the WOD board and realize there is nothing up there that you can do.  It happens to us all from time to time. 

The key is to turn your internal conversation around from “I can’t do this” to “How am I going to do this?”  And don’t worry if you don’t know the answer.  That’s what your coach is there for.  We will find a way to adapt the workout to meet you where you’re at.  Now go get after it!

Monday WOD
So, what movements will you need to modify today?
Run or Bike or Ski Erg
GHD Sit Ups, Partial GHDs or V-Ups
Box Jump at appropriate height
Power Cleans @approx 80% 1 rep max
If these substitutions do not work for you, please as your coach for recommendations

Warm Up
1 min per station:
4 Rounds
100ft Skipping
20 sec GHD Hold
6 Box Jumps
5 Power Cleans
1 min to add load to bar

Tech
Power Clean
GHD Sit Up

WOD
18 min AMRAP
400m Run
30 GHD Sit Ups
20 Box Jumps
10 Power Cleans