Who here actually has a consistent work/rest schedule in the gym? Do you workout 3 days in a row and rest 1 day. 2-to-1? 5-to-1? Or do you just go by how your body feels? And when you do take a rest day, what do you do? Sleep for 14 hours or just do something other than CrossFit?
If you expect to improve your fitness, you can not undermine the importance of proper rest. The work we do in the gym is stressful to our bodies. It’s supposed to be. So when our bodies heal, it comes back better than before. If you don’t allow your body that time to heal, you’re doing more harm than good.
For the less experienced, planning your rest day will take some experimentation. Try working out for two days then take one off. If you can’t seem to get that motor running your next day back, take a little more time to heal the next go around. If you come in after your rest day feeling unchallenged, throw in an extra workout.
And your rest day doesn’t necessarily mean hibernation (though some may need it). Come into the gym to do the warm up then work on mobility for the rest of class. Or show up for one of the Run Squad workouts instead. Take a yoga class, walk the dog a few blocks further than usual, see a chiropractor . . . you get the point. Just do something to stay active without over-stressing your body. Trust me, it will pay dividends.
TODAY:
PUSH JERK 5-5-3-3-3-1-1-1-1
then
COACH-LED CORE STRENGTH TRAINING
Mad love for the shout out
Prestige worldwide …
Good post! Until lately, I’ve been following the CrossFit prescribed 3 to 1 (complete rest) schedule with a 30 minute run on the treadmill on Saturdays & Sundays. Now, that I’m doing the Conjugate Strength Series I haven’t figured out what schedule I’m gonna follow. I’m open for suggestions, cause a sista is not trying to get burned out. I like some of the suggestions for activities on rest days. Especially the one about coming into the gym, doing the warm up, and doing mobility work for the rest of the time. Think I’ll try that at some point.
M/W/S: Go hard on the WOD + strength + skill work + mobility
T/Su: Skill work + mobility + 45-60-min jog @ medium pace (or elliptical if my knees are acting up or its uncomfortably cold outside)
Th: Same as T/Su except the jog becomes a 90-min walk to get the lower back loosened up and happy.
F: Off
This schedule came about because of injury and frustration. I did six or seven hard days a week for a long time, going all out every day. Working out was my personal Prozac and I was addicted to the whiteboard, always comparing, inwardly gloating or disappointed depending on my comparison to others. I also had gaps in my skill set that I figured would somehow just magically go away if I went hard enough in the WOD and always ended in a heap on the floor. And eventually it crept up on me that I wasn’t able to go all out on the WODs anymore because of shoulder pain, or a hamstring tweak, or a screaming lower back, and then that all became crossing my fingers and hoping I could just get through a WOD unhurt. (IMPORTANT NOTE: this is not because of Crossfit, this is because of my ego!!!) I was fighting every day for the tiny little imaginary podium of getting the fastest time or the most reps or the highest weight. So this schedule is my attempt to fix way too many days/weeks/months of stupid training decisions. I know my body can handle three hard days a week. I know if I go more than that performance suffers and I feel like a failure. It works for me now, and hopefully when I’ve fixed my injuries and trouble spots I don’t just jump back into my old ways.