Many CrossFit athletes live in a state of “perpetual peaking.” Meaning that they’re always doing training that leaves them on their backs at the end of sessions, always doing a bunch of butterfly chest-to-bar pull-ups every week, and always hitting heavy squat cleans while they’re super out of breath.

People often understand that they “should” have some sort of offseason – and that mixing in periods of less volume and less intensity throughout a training year can make them better over time.

However, with a confusing season of qualifiers, Sanctional events, and probably a few local throwdowns, it can be tough to figure out how often an athlete should “peak” in a year.

In other strength and endurance sports, it’s easier for an runner to sign up for a local 5k as a training run, or for a weightlifter to do a meet and shoot for about 85% of their max during their attempts.

In CrossFit, however, it’s much more challenging to just “jump in” on a competition – both because it can be unsafe to compete without accumulating enough volume of the movements that will be tested, and because CrossFit athletes seem to be particularly prone to comparing themselves to others and making value judgments on their self-worth based upon day-to-day variation in results.

Check out the full conversation with Jon, Todd and Luke to learn:

  • What do we actually mean when we talk about “peaking?” How should an athlete structure a peaking phase in their training?
  • What are the unique challenges of structuring an off-season for a CrossFit athlete? How can we have an off-season without losing the sport specific adaptations we need to compete?
  • How can athletes avoid comparing themselves to others when they let their peak fitness get a little bit soft during an off-season phase?

Listen Here

Show Notes:

  • [00:15] What does it mean to “peak”?
  • [07:55] How should we plan a season based upon a confusing schedule of qualifiers and Sanctionals? How often can we peak in a season? How should we structure an off-season – and what are the unique challenges of structuring a season in CrossFit compared to other strength and endurance sports?
  • [16:44] How to detach your identity from your performance so that you can stick to a larger plan for your season – rather than getting caught up in the hype and comparison of every qualifier that you do.
  • [25:18] How often should we touch on “sport specific training” throughout the season – even during a non-peaking phase? And, what is the role of “mental toughness” training in our sport?