3 Things to Do When Late to CrossFit Class
Running late to CrossFit class happens to the best of us, but it doesn?t have to impact your workout. With a little planning and quick thinking, you can still make the most of your time and get the intended benefits of the class. There are no punishments for being late to class at K?r Fitness & Performance because we want you in class. Period. Use these 3 tactics to bounce back from a delay in getting to class and crush your workout?even if you start a few minutes behind.
Late to CrossFit class, not late to join
Being late to CrossFit class can be made worse by getting sidetracked saying hello to your friends, filling up your water bottle, checking your phone messages while you?re changing, and a slew of other things. We don?t want you sprinting through the building to join class, but working to hop in as quickly as reasonably possible can make a big difference for what you gain from class.
Change, if needed, and make your way to the gym floor. If you have to swap your shoes, do so while reading the workout or whiteboard to make the most of your time left in class.
Don?t skip the warm-up
The reason for being late to CrossFit class might have caused your heart rate to climb, but you still deserve to get a good warm-up before working out. Properly warming up also prevents injury and improves workout performance. At K?r Fitness & Performance , our classes are structured with an explanation of the workout before a guided group warm-up. If you get to the gym within 5 minutes of class starting, you can likely hop into the warm-up as soon as it starts.
But if the warm-up has already started or is done, what should you do to get your body ready for the workout? Join any warm-up in progress. If the class coach wants you to do some extra repetitions or time, they will let you know. We have 20 bikes and ski ergs ready for use, so using one of those for 2 minutes is a baseline warm-up that you can use any time you?re late to CrossFit class. Push the pace in the final 30 seconds to elevate your core body temperature.
We also write our warm-ups on the whiteboard at the front of the room. You could look at that board for what to do to prepare for the workout. If it lists 3 rounds, maybe you do 1-2 rounds instead. Or cut the number of reps down to join class as quickly as possible while still activating the muscles you?re going to use in the workout.
Find a buddy
It is rare for anyone to not have questions about a workout, especially if they are reading it from an app without having it explained. That?s exactly why we start our classes with the whiteboard brief where your coach will go over the workout, the stimulus or intention, ways to modify to meet your needs, and important details that will make the workout better.
Missing the workout breakdown doesn?t mean you need to figure out those details on your own. Instead of flagging the class coach down, find a friend in class that can either fill you in on what was said or let you know if your questions were answered and what those answers are. Any questions that aren?t answered should be directed to the coach. The other nice thing about having a buddy is that you can follow their lead. So if the class coach had told everyone to get out a kettlebell and dumbbell of similar weight but you didn?t hear that, you can see that your buddy is heading towards the weight racks and follow suit.
Things happen and sometimes we are late to CrossFit class or an appointment. Your coaches would rather have you in class for 50 of the 60 minutes than not see you at all. If being late is something that happens regularly, ask yourself what about your routine isn?t helping you. That might be setting out your water bottle and pre-workout fuel the night before , adding an alarm to your phone to make sure you leave the house when you meant to, or keeping a workout outfit in your car so that you?re ready to go.
