There’s nothing more humbling than hitting yourself in the head with a barbell during a normal snatch workout, then doing something in another workout to make it so I could barely walk. All. Week. Long.

Whew. I feel like it’s my first week of CrossFit (when I didn’t know any better and went too hard, too soon).

In our last workout for the Fall Spooky Classic, I hit myself in the forehead with the barbell on rep 9 of the first 21. I’m not really sure what happened, but I think I pulled my head forward too early as I was lifting the bar overhead. And, well, I ran smack into the barbell.

I held the bar overhead for a second, wondering what had just happened. Then kept working out.

I finished the workout, not realizing just how badly I had hit myself. I had a HUGE lump on my forehead with a small cut dead center, and it immediately bruised up. I joked about it for the rest of the day, but I’m pretty sure I hit myself harder than I originally thought as it hurt to touch all week long.

So…note to self (and all you others out there), be patient pulling back under the bar. Speed isn’t always a good thing.

I ended up taking the Saturday after the Spooky Classic off, so I didn’t workout all weekend. I felt okay, but just wanted to take some time to rest and relax over the weekend.

So along comes Monday and we have overhead squats strength work, then calories on the bike, more overhead squats, and dumbbell snatches. I didn’t push super hard and I didn’t go super heavy, but for whatever reason, my quads weren’t having it. I could barely walk the rest of the week. And forget sitting down or standing up without assistance.

I wish I could pinpoint exactly what happened or why my body responded the way it did, but I can only speculate at this point. I haven’t been sleeping the greatest over the last several weeks, we had the Fall Spooky Classic and all that entailed through October, it was that time of the month (sorry guys), and I just haven’t felt “myself” lately.

Honestly, I think I was burning the candle at both ends. Very little sleep, up early in the mornings, work, work, and more work, the normal every-day things at home, kids, and on top of that, studying for a test that I feel completely unprepared for. It’s been a lot, and I know that stress and anxiety hasn’t helped either.

So, knowing this, I now know I have to take it easier when it comes to workouts and how I go about things every day. Without sleep, I can’t do my normal workouts. I have to be okay modifying and slowing down, because injuring myself just puts me out longer than just slowing down.

And this is something I try very hard to teach our members. It’s okay to modify workouts. It’s okay to change things up when needed. A modified, slower workout is better than sitting on the couch doing nothing.

It was a very humbling week, and a much needed reminder and lesson for me.

So here’s a reminder for you too. Slow down when you need it. Take a rest day every now and then. Stretch more. Modify when needed. It’s okay to do all those things. In fact, it’s often necessary!

Have a great week, and take care of your body! It’s the only place you have to live.

Whitney