Have you ever been injured? Probably, right? It happens. But that does not mean that you have to stop training CrossFit until you are better. There are all sorts of ways to scale every single movement that we do. If something is bothering you, tell your coach and (s)he will help you figure out how to scale your workout. Scaling doesn’t just mean using less weight or doing ring rows instead of pull-ups. It could also mean changing to another movement that may work on the same muscle group. All you have to do is talk to a coach.
In my first 2-3 months of doing CrossFit, I had a pretty pissed off back. Anything that involved squats, deadlifts, or kettle bells hurt so bad that I would have to stop mid-WOD. I figured that CrossFit just wasn’t for me. I e-mailed Jay to tell him that I had to cancel my membership because I just couldn’t deal with the pain. But, thankfully Jay just doesn’t let people quit. He and the rest of the coaches knew that they could help me. I started seeing Dr B (best chiropractor ever!) for regular adjustments, and scaling WODs. I e-mailed a coach every day, asking how I could scale that day’s WOD, so I had a plan before I even got into the gym. Sometimes the workouts were completely different for me because of it, but I was still in the gym, hitting WODs and getting stronger. Eventually, with the adjustments from Dr B, and with the gained strength from doing the workouts, I was able to squat, and then do KB swings! Deadlifts still give me a hard time because of my back condition, but I’ve learned the best way to work them for me with the help of the coaches, and some experimenting.
You can also use an injury to work on your sucks. Maybe you hurt your foot- this is a great time to work on strict upper body movements. Volume train pull-ups, HSPU, push-ups. Heck, you can even pick up some dumbbells and do some bicep curls! Just have a coach help you figure out a plan. No matter what your body is going through, you can always train to get better! It just may not be the same way as everyone else at the time.
Moral of this story is – if you have an injury, talk to a coach. Any coach. We are all here to help you in your CrossFit journey.