Slow Your Roll

As the open draws near, I wanted to bring up a topic that I’m sure a majority of ya’ll have heard before. Pacing! There will be plenty of opportunities to practice pacing as the open draws closer, but I wanted to use Tuesday’s workout as an example. If you didn’t get the chance to do that one, or have already blocked it out in your head like myself, it was a 20 minute AMRAP that consisted of rowing, wall balls, light power snatches (or ground to overheads), and pull ups (or chest to bar pull ups). The goal of pacing properly is to have enough gas left in the tank for a big kick (or push) during the last minute or two. In doing so, you might find that you are able to maximize the workout more as opposed to going all out for the first 5 minutes and spending the rest of the time doing a lot of walking around and staring instead of racking up those reps (guilty over here). Another way to think about pacing is moving at a comfortable 75% throughout a majority of the workout and then kicking it up to 80% or more for the end. The opposite of this, which is what we like to avoid, is 90% effort right off the bat and being forced to give it 55% or less for the remaining time.

Pacing takes some practice, and what helps is knowing where and what movement you could have pushed a little more or when you could’ve just moved or picked up the bar a little sooner. Think about it after each workout, use that new information you’ve gathered for the next one, and continue to improve on your own personal strategy. Some places to start practicing “pacing” is breaking up movements you’re strong at into smaller sets, even if it means doing 15 wall balls in 3 sets instead of your usual 2 sets or unbroken. Learning your own pace is a matter of trial and error, you’re most likely not going to get it right on the first try. But learn and adapt! Try and be aware of how you are feeling during your workout as well, take a step back and ask yourself if you’re just freaking out or if you really do need to slow down.

It takes breaking out of your comfort zone to really find out what works best for you. Also, everyone is different and one pacing strategy might not work for the person right next to you. Keep that in mind! Feel free to ask your coaches what the best plan of attack would be for you! Practice practice practice! Have fun!