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I’d like to set the record straight.

I’m not a hipster. I’m not a lumbersexual. I’m not a grooming enthusiast. Hell, I’m barely a hygiene enthusiast…

I get a lot of questions about my beard; fair enough, since it is a perceivable physical manifestation of biological processes existing in three-dimensional space, and is as liable to discussion as any other real or unreal thing.

But that’s pretty much the extent of it. This is just the way I look today.

When people ask me for facial-hair advice, I don’t know what to say. Growing a beard is one of the easiest things in the world. You just stop touching your face for a few months. Your body’s basic functions will take care of the rest. In this regard, growing a beard may be even easier than pooping. Think about it.

So many people have trouble pooping, that we have a word for it: constipation. To my knowledge, there is no such word related to beard growing, because growing a beard is easy (although, if such a word were to be required, I humbly submit “con-sti-FACE-ion” as my contribution to the lexicon).

So, to all you self-proclaimed lumbersexuals, vagabonds (*cringe*), and manly-men: you can cut the crap.

I used to read men’s magazines. For a while, I counted myself among the hordes that scavenged the pages for any hint at how to act, how to look. How to be myself. Which subtle combo of wristwatch, tie, and socks I should use to “make a statement” (has anyone ever figured out what that statement was, exactly?).

I no longer subscribe to the notion that “the clothes make the man.” Or that the job title makes the man. Or that a beard makes a man. Or, for that matter, that a “man” is anything more than an XY chromosome profile.

That guy with the impeccably manscaped chest, the epic, waxed and styled facial hair, and that ridiculous undercut man-bun? You don’t really know anything about him, other than that he’s spent a lot of money on body waxing, beard oil and barbershop appointments. Big whoop.

This is not to disparage that man. I live and let live. Do whatever brings you joy, bro. I just don’t think we’d have much to talk about at a party. I don’t use pounds of product on my facial hair. I don’t perfume it with designer oils that were concocted by a chemist with soft hands. In reality, most of the time my beard probably smells like sweat, gym chalk, or ocean spray. This is a result of the way I choose to live my life.

The point of this article is not to tell you how to live your life or groom your beard. The point is to provide insight into why I happen to look the way I do, and to share my personal truth:

A beard is not itself an ambition. A beard is what happens when you’re busy with more important things.

I get a lot of questions about my program and about what a yearly training cycle looks like. So this post will provide some insight into what I’m doing right now: enjoying the off-season.

The 2015 CrossFit Games reached its explosive conclusion at the end of July. It was a jam-packed season from the start of the Open, through Regionals, and into the finals. Every year, the bar gets raised. Every year, the level of competition reaches a more feverish pitch.

And every year, I am shocked at what I see on social media after the Games: “2016 starts NOW!”
“Well, had a great couple days of rest, now time to start training!”
“back to the grind!”
This gets posted by rookies and veterans alike, to the enjoyment and approval of the online masses. Well, let me show you the less exciting side of things.

I usually take a month off after the Games.

Let’s clarify exactly what that means. I’m not doing “fun training.” I’m not doing a strength program. I’m not jumping into regular classes at the gym. I am taking the month off.

Here’s the ideal structure of that time, immediately post-games:
Week 1 – do literally (figuratively) nothing. Eat, sleep, bathe occasionally.
Week 2 – assess and treat. Take stock of health and structural issues; see doctors, get massages, etc.
week 3 – reintroduce light movement. Swimming, rowing, rehab and isolation drills… This is what most “normal” people do for exercise.
week 4 – transition towards training. Start to try more typical movement patterns like weightlifting and gymnastics. No volume or intensity.

The exact structure of this time is less important than the mindset. The goal for this month is to be totally switched off. I want to soften my focus and let go of all the dials, pulleys, and levers that I’ve been watching like a hawk all year.

I realize that this is drastically different from what some athletes advertise. Surely, there are a range of personalities at the elite level that require different kinds of stimulation, and different protocols, to feel like they are doing the right thing to get to next year. My decision to take a month off is driven by a few factors: physical, mental, and administrative.

Physically, I am wrecked after the Games. Many athletes are, but maybe don’t realize it. I’ve had fairly significant injuries in nearly all of my 5 years training for the Games, and the off-season is so short, the competitive season is such a whirlwind, that the only time I really have to truly stop and deload my body is right after the finals. From this perspective, a month is not very long at all. Most serious strains and pains can take 2-3 months to fully rehab. I need to give myself at least a chance to start these healing processes so that they can continue during training in the off-season. From a health and nutrition standpoint, I also like to give my body a break from the massive calorie and supplement consumption that is necessary in-season. Letting the organs and digestive tract rest is important, and really, a month is not very long for this.

The mental category is a catch-all for social, emotional, interpersonal, and recreational factors. I like to use some time after the Games to act my age… how many 26 year-olds do you know who exercise all day, go to bed early, and avoid sugar and alcohol all year, for little-to-no money or recognition? Some of my best friends from high-school and university still live in my hometown, but I barely ever see them. The family and friends that I do see are spending most of the year watching me withdraw into the focus of my training. I don’t do any fun activities like surfing or skiing because I could end my season in a split-second accident. These are not complaints, but rather conscious sacrifices I have made in pursuit of my goals. However, the spirit can’t thrive on goals alone. So, I like to take some time to stay up late, drink beer, eat junk, and hang out. I feel this release and contrast is necessary, and can help define and feed my focus for the upcoming year.

Administrative factors are basically all the grownup activities that get neglected during the training year. After the Games, I do my best to rebuild habits of answering emails on time, doing chores, making to-do lists, and generally trying to get my life in order (this is still a work in progress, as my girlfriend Lindsay will surely confirm). I use this down-time to reflect on my training and to brainstorm for the year ahead. What details do I need to polish this season? What changes can I make to improve? This is an organic process that lasts all year, but now is the time to take advantage of creativity, with the mind and body being free and relaxed. I also start to lay the groundwork for off-season projects: travel for events and workshops is how I support myself outside of competition. So, stay tuned to my website and social media for all the fun stuff I’m planning – maybe there will be something near you!

At the end of the day, every athlete has different tolerance and needs. I feel that my habit of taking a month off after the Games may be slightly unorthodox, but may be instrumental to my longevity as a CrossFit competitor. As a 5-time Games athlete, having 5 months off in 5 years is actually pretty reasonable. To put things in perspective, Olympic athletes compete every 4 years; theoretically, they could take an entire year off to rest and recover, and then still have 3 whole years to train. The CrossFit season hammers harder and heavier every year, so I try to find breaks where I can, in order to stay afloat and find my time to flourish.

Towards the end of 2014, I helped publish SquatStrong with Cam Birtwell. It is an eBook that includes a strength program, along with a comprehensive explanation and discussion of the movements, protocols, and theories involved. We describe it on the website as, “A Revolutionary Squat Program for Strength and Power.” What exactly is so revolutionary about it?

Simply put, it is a squat program designed for concurrent training. In other words, it is geared towards athletes competing in sports OTHER THAN powerlifting. This may not sound like much, but it is actually quite contrarian and fills a noticeable gap in the current range of popular online options. Now, there are certainly programs available that will produce results, but they may not be optimal for fitness competitors, team sports athletes, or anyone else that needs to practice a range of other skills.

The reason these other programs may be less than ideal is that they were designed BY lifters FOR lifters. For example, I’ve seen excellent improvements in my squat using the infamous Smolov cycle, but it requires you to squat 3-4 days per week for close to 3 months. This is NOT conducive to being able to train hard in other areas like running (or walking, or getting out of bed).

The popular Conjugate method made famous by Westside Barbell is certainly effective. However, the typical exercise selection is only appropriate for a very small demographic: the regular use of bands and chains is entirely specific to the act of lifting while wearing a powerlifting “squat suit,” or “bench shirt,” which is a piece of equipment only used by some lifters in some federations. It provides massive support in the bottom position, leading much of the training to focus on the lockout at the top position. This focus is highly sport specific and largely irrelevant for most other trainees.

The 5/3/1 program from Wendler has also proven effective for me, and involves a much more reasonable progression… almost TOO reasonable. The single max-effort set once per week produces gains and allows other training to take place, but it takes many cycles to finally see substantial improvements, and is the type of program that you want to follow for 1-2 years without interruption. As an athlete with a dynamic, jam-packed season, I need to be able to shift my focus more rapidly and fluidly throughout the year. I need to bump up my numbers and move on to something else.

Enter the SquatStrong program. It is 6 weeks of work, allowing you to capture some strength gains and then change your training focus if needed. It prescribes 2 sessions per week: one heavy, and one dynamic. This allows room for recovery and concurrent training for your real sport. The program includes 4 different types of squat workouts; the exercise selection is unique and varied, attacking your 1RM from a number of angles. Muscular development, neural recruitment and power, technique, and positional strength: all of these are important.

Everything in the program, from the weekly percentage progressions, to the dynamic exercise selections and accessory work, is designed to produce the most bang for your buck. We want maximal results with minimal damage, so that we can keep kicking butt outside the squat rack. To my knowledge, this is the only program available online that accomplishes this; it is a squat program created with athletes in mind.

In my video series, “Kayak Konfessions,” I spend some time on the water in peaceful reflection and share my thoughts on a variety of topics. This episode includes my impressions from the 2015 CrossFit Games.

For me, I thought things were a bit much this year. That is, factors other than the “10 General Physical Skills” (listed in the video) were playing a significant role in the rankings. For example, if an athlete cannot continue due to heatstroke, were they really shown to be deficient in a particular area of fitness?

However, Ben Smith and Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir produced excellent results. So does my opinion matter, if the first place man and woman were unaffected? The champions didn’t seem to have any problems. At the end of the day, perhaps this is all that matters in the eyes of “the test.”

Whether it’s logical or not, most athletes will up their training over the next year to match the impact of this year’s Games, so look forward to some pretty beastly competitors next season (if they can survive the training)!