CrossFit Masters; Training Tips for the Masters Athlete in the Pursuit of Health and Longevity

First up, what are the CrossFit Masters age groups; when does an athlete officially become a Master?

Officially - at age 35 you're a CrossFit Masters Athlete. The age groups are as follows;

• 35-39
• 40-44
• 45-49
• 50-54
• 55-60
• 60+

However, the in the CrossFit Open, nothing changes as far as workouts/weights go until the age groups of 55+.

When writing programming for CrossFit Masters workouts, how does it differ from the rest of the population?

Personally I think it comes down to Longevity vs Performance. Not that performance isn’t important, but longevity will allow you to perform at your highest level for the longest period of time without pain and injury. With this notion, it is not about hitting a ton of volume, it’s about being effective with your dosing and hitting every training session with purpose.

Would you program differently depending on the specific CrossFit Masters Division?

Yes; depending on the athlete, I would program for Masters aged 35-45 similarly to how I would for non Masters athletes but it would change from 45 onwards.

How would someone programming for themselves measure Minimum Effective Dose?

This is tough. I would say that if you’re used to 2-3 hour sessions, try reducing that to 1-1.5 hour sessions and see if you can create the same results. Other strength sports like powerlifting demonstrate the ability to get stronger with less volume just by being more specific. Look at how you’re recovering; do you feel beat down the following day? If so you can try alternating volume and intensity over the week.

If you look at our WODprep Masters program, we go from a high to medium to low intensity/volume pattern. Monday’s are usually high intensity with high volume, Tuesday is less intensity (as far as heavy load) and Wednesdays are usually slow, steady state workouts with less overall contraction volume and lower intensity (Contraction volume= actual muscle contractions). Perhaps swap out a tough day with a day with carries and light bike then see how you feel. You shouldn’t always feel trashed at the end of every workout - this is super important. 

You have to stress a certain amount to actually create change, but that stress window has a ceiling and working at the ceiling everyday usually does not allow you to recover. We get bigger, faster and stronger during sleep and recovery, NOT while actually training, so if we are never recovering because we are always training then we are never actually improving.

The problem with a lot of programs is that they don’t take into consideration the limitations of the average athlete’s ability to recover ie. Work, kids, life, etc. When training is NOT your number 1 priority and you can not manipulate your whole life around your training then you need to consider lowering your overall volume.  You can do this by making sure you include high, moderate and low intensity days throughout your week. Here’s a few examples of how you could structure your week;

high/low/high/rest/mod/high/rest

high/mod/low/rest/mod/high/rest

high/mod/low/rest/high/mod/rest

What are the signs a Masters Athlete is not recovering adequately?

Here are a few things that would indicate a lack of recovery to me;

• Sleeping restlessly  / not enough
• Always training sore, no one should be sore every day. 
• Struggling to hit percentages programmed
• Feel like training seems too daunting every day

To encourage better recovery, what would you suggest?

Take out 30% of that program and hit 60-70% of it with all the intensity and focus  that you have and you’ll create the same, or more, change with less volume than if you hit 100% of it with less intensity and focus. A good analogy is like trying to improve your ability to sprint at max effort when you are already tired. Charlie Francis (old olympic track coach) taught us that trying to create 100% power and output when you are tired will teach you to create a lower perceived 100% effort. Basically, training tired will make you slower. So do less, rest often and make sure that what you are doing ALWAYS has purpose and intent.

What about rest days, what do you recommend for your Senior CrossFit athletes?

I’m a big promoter of true rest - it’s ok to do nothing on a rest day. If you really struggle mentally with taking rest days there are things you can do;

1. Slow, easy assault bike
2. Isometrics (Holds, Carries, Bracing positions)
3. Slow, light positional work

Some activities I would definitely not include as active recovery;

1. Running - to many contractions and volume on joints
2. Rowing - a ton of hip hinging
3. Fast, dynamic movements 

Limited mobility is often a huge stumbling block for Masters Athletes. How do you recommend going about improving this?

Defining your reason why is important. If you just want to be all-round more flexible then static mobility work is perfect. But that’s not usually the athlete’s goal. Usually it’s to snatch better, deadlift, perform kipping movements etc.

Here’s my prescription; want to snatch better? Sit in an overhead squat with an empty barbell every day. Get into the position you want to improve and load it - doesn’t have to be heavy. Find active, light-loaded positions and work them on a regular basis. Instead of trying to attack it with long periods of passive stretching, be specific and attack the movement position directly.