How often should CrossFit athletes compete? Only the Open and Quarterfinals? Do a local throwdown every weekend? Hit every online qualifier workout that comes up? As coaches, we see people make mistakes by both competing too often and be competing too infrequently. Some people place all of their focus on the CrossFit Games season while not getting enough experience in live competitions. Others will compete too much, getting caught up in a cycle of constant peaking and sport specific training which doesn’t give them enough time to develop in lacking areas. In episode 89 of the Legion Strength and Conditioning podcast, we look at how we help athletes decide when they should focus on competing more, and when they need to spend more of their year training rather than competing. Jon and Todd discuss the dichotomy between specific training for the sport versus developmental training, as well as why many athletes find it difficult to make a clear distinction. Confusion here can cause an athlete to either place too much emphasis on their work in the gym, or to constantly replicate competition in their training. Listen to find out more and learn about some of the nuanced skills involved in competing, how the feedback from competition can help refine your training, and when to focus on that local throwdown and when to pass it up in favor of training. If you're not already subscribed to our newsletter, head over to www.legionsc.com to get a weekly selection of training tips and our favorite articles. We run online workshops for coaches as well. Find out when our next workshop is here: https://legionsc.com/program-design-workshops These podcast are posted in video format on YouTube as well. Show Notes: [1:20] How to use feedback and exposure in competition to help your training [2:10] Being too focused on the CrossFit Games season [3:10] The differences between live competition and training [6:15] Learning the skill of improvisation [8:05] Using local competitions to know where you sit relative to the field [9:20] Choosing to compete for the hobbyist and for the serious competitor [11:00] Specific skills athletes pick up at competitions [12:35] Too much competition and not enough development [14:00] Talented athletes that are able to improve but still compete too much [17:00] The cycle of under-recovering from competitions and qualifiers [19:00] Training to compete or training to develop and improve long term [22:00] Taking time off after competition [24:30] Load management and the risk of injury [27:00] Another Whoop rant… [29:20] Developing intuition based upon how you feel [30:20] Political allegories and sofas [34:15] Recommendations for the competition shy [35:45] Recommendations for the competition fiend