3 educational CrossFit videos: Injuries, Sleep & Pregnancy
1. Injury control in CrossFit
Injury is often seen as a complex psycho/bio, motor/mechanical chance phenomenon over which neither athletes nor coaches have control. In this video from the 2022 CrossFit Health Virtual Conference Dr. Kelly Starrett reviews the alternative view: that the core tenets that drive effective performance — including sleep, hydration, nutrition, and graded exposure — can be used to deliberately and proactively assess injury risk, prevent injury, and mitigate the impact of injury if it occurs. He provides a precise definition of injury and specific tools that can be used to detect injury in its early stages, while it can still be corrected. Dr. Starrett will provide coaches, physicians, and athletes with tools to take greater agency over and responsibility for injury prevention, and so maximize the benefits of intense exercise while minimizing risk.
2. The Science of Sleep and Recovery
Dr. Allison Brager discusses the importance of sleep and how it affects health and performance. Dr. Brager focuses on sleep as a “performance-enhancing drug” for athletic performance, cognition, and mental health, while providing strategies to improve sleep during less-than-ideal situations — such as travel or competition. In this webinar, be prepared to learn all about the performance and health benefits of sleep, the cognitive and physiological impacts of sleep deprivation, and a whole host of other sleep topics discussed during the 30-minute question-and-answer session.
3. Pregnancy and Athletic Performance in CrossFit
“Pregnancy is hard,” Dr. Strnad says. “Labor is hard. I want my pregnant patients exercising because labor is like a very long workout with lots of 1-rep maxes at the end, and so it is very important that they’re strong and have good cardiorespiratory athleticism to be able to have good, successful labor.”
“I’m pregnant — is CrossFit safe for me? Which movements? How hard can I work out?” The short answer? Yes, it’s safe to train CrossFit while pregnant.
