Sunday Story…Alcohol and CrossFit

Don’t mix.

Ho hum. We all know that being fit and putting poison in our bodies is a bad idea. We all know that having a glass of wine or two is probably not going to kill us unless it’s a 16 oz glass or two every day. And I am pretty sure we could all agree that having beer and burpee contest would be a recipe for bad things happening.

That isn’t what I am talking about here. Yes you can a have an occasional glass of wine or a beer or a cocktail. If you are healthy it probably isn’t going to kill you.

No, this problem is much more insidious than just a simple little drink. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed before anymore athletes end up with a very big-stop training-for a few weeks sort of problem.

Here is the back story…You started CrossFit. Maybe you weren’t in great shape, maybe you wanted to get some of that collegiate fitness back, maybe you just wanted to lose a couple pounds and have some fun. Then you got serious. The inches came off, the pounds got lost, you got strong, really strong, and CrossFit became something bigger than just another exercise thing you did.

You shared your experiences, you instagramed photos of you and your box-buddies moving weight and sweating and smiling. You were all in. You could do things you forgot you could do. Your coach told you about all of this fitness stuff being functional and being able to do things outside the gym walls. You bought it all.

So…you took your big bad fit self out with some friends and had a few drinks. Maybe a few more than you are used to or than you should have. But you can handle it…you CrossFit. And someone says…”let’s race to that telephone pole” and they say it with that look…you know the look I am talking about…the one that says you can’t do it, the one that doesn’t believe you are really an athlete. Without another thought to your footwear (inappropriate), your warm up (non-existent), or your field conditions (it’s dark), you pick up the gauntlet. Someone says 3-2-1 Go! And just like Pavlov’s dog you are ON IT! Maybe about ½ you realize your hamstring is a little tweaky but you go anyway, or you slip on a rough patch and twist your knee (blowing out your acl), or you fall and skin your knee. You finish…first of course…but you know something ain’t right.

When you get up the next morning and realize what you have done…because you fall out of bed on that missing acl, or your hamstring is blown, or you have rocks and glass embedded under your skin…you are faced with an awful truth:
CrossFit and Alcohol don’t mix.

Be safe out there this holiday season. Don’t let this sad tale be yours. We love you and want you to keep wodding forever.

Namaste

John Mariotti
www.crossfitodyssey.com
www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com
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