Accessorize

For the love of CrossFit, don't forget your accessory work. 

Post Fran, you are lying on the floor trying to figure out what just happened, gasping for air, exhausted, and feel like you have just died and been resurrected. Before you hit the metcon, you worked up to a heavy set of 3 in the back squat. You are D-O-N-E! All you can think about is that post WOD meal, foam rolling, or hanging out with friends playing Spike Ball. 

Then..

Your coach yells, "We aren't done yet, we have a buy out of accessory work!" 

"Noooo....(eyeroll)" you think to yourself, as you finish the accessory work uninspired, or, sneak out the door like a ninja. Accessory work, sometimes called a “cash out",  may seem like a hassle at the end of a tiring WOD or something that you can treat as optional, but understand this: doing accessory work is tremendously beneficial for your overall health and fitness and will improve your CrossFit performance.



Accessory work is the little exercises that contribute to the bigger lifts and movements that we do at CFG. Accessory work is anything that compliments the bilateral and full-body movements that are done in CrossFit. Bilateral movements involve using both sides of the body together. For example, presses, deadlifts, cleans, the list goes on.  Accessory work may involve isolation exercises (targeting one muscle or muscle group) or unilateral movements (using one side of the body), with the intended goal of improving overall performance and helping you perform better, or develop your pull-ups or ring dips. 


Accessory work should be done for a number of important reasons:

• To develop a more well-rounded body.
• To build a strong foundation of fitness.
• To overcome weaknesses 
• They are less taxing on your central nervous system and joints.
• They help prevent injuries.
• They promote muscle growth

Accessory work is typically programmed at the end of the workout, and can vary. Some examples are

• Rows

• Push Downs / Kick-Backs / Skull-Crushers

• Core Work -Planks / Carries / L-Sits / Supermans / Hollow Holds
• Split Squats
• Hip Extensions
• Pushups, Pullups, Ring/Box Dips

• Hammer Curls