Reminder – Tomorrow is Change for Change. Bring in $5 if you’d like to switch up your workout.
This is a great article from CrossFit Rockwall.
CrossFit is addicting. We know. It’s fun, and it gets results. But sometimes you need a break. Our workouts are much different than the traditional training methods. The level of intensity we maintain makes it even more important to make sure we’re giving ourselves a break when we need it. We’ve talked about recovery planning & tracking, sleep, and foam rolling. Now let’s talk about rest.
Our workouts are intense!
Rest Days
Rest days are your weekly days to focus on recovery. At a minimum, you need to take at least one day a week completely off. Two would probably be better. And depending on the week, you may benefit more from three. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ answer. Age, the amount of quality sleep you get, your diet, and many other factors affect how often you should take a rest day. Usually, younger folks can train 5 to 6 days a week, while the older crowd might be better off training 2 or 3 times a week.
We usually recommend training no more than three days in a row before taking a day off. We have found that the fourth day sacrifices some intensity, which makes the workout less effective. It is usually better to take a rest day and come back even stronger and ready to go the day after.
Experiment with different schedules and see where you do best. You can see great improvements from a Tuesday/Thursday schedule in the beginning. Many people continue to see huge gains from training Monday/Wednesday/Friday. For some, three days a week is the ideal schedule. For others, once you have been doing high intensity training for some time, adding a fourth and even fifth day can help you reach your goals faster. But this is all completely dependent on you, your schedule, and how much effort you take towards helping your body recover. If you neglect rest and recovery, training six days a week can do more harm than good.
Some simple tests to see if you’re due for a half-intensity week
-Look at your Recovery Tracker. Are you in the negatives? You need a rest day.
-How did you feel when you woke up? If you were sluggish, more tired than usual, your heart rate was much higher than normal, or you felt mentally exhausted, take the day off.
-Are you seeing the first stages of a nagging injury? You may not be getting the rest days you need.
-The key is to take the rest days before you really need them. So be sure and schedule them in. You can still go to the gym these days, but focus on foam rolling, stretching, and mobility.
Half-Intensity Weeks
Every so often, your body needs a bigger break than just one day. Some suggest taking a half-intensity week every four weeks, but this isn’t an excuse to get lazy. Look at your calendar and track the days you work out. Most of you will find that a vacation, sick kids, or a busy schedule kept you from the gym for a few days during the month. But if you look at your calendar and you haven’t missed one of your regularly scheduled workouts in over a month, you’ll want to consider taking a half-intensity week. This means reducing the volume and intensity of your workouts for 3-5 days. Below is an example of how to implement a half-intensity week into your schedule:
Depending on your consistency, intensity, and recovery practices, this will vary from person to person.
Some simple tests to see if you’re due for a day off
-Look at your Recovery Tracker. Has it been in the negatives for over a month? You need some time to rack up the positive points.
-Have your workouts been on the decline? Do weights feel heavier than they should? Are you slowing down in the workouts? Taking a week off could be the cure.
-Has your joint/muscle pain been getting worse? This can be a sure sign of over training. Take some time to focus on resolving it.
Make it happen
Take a minute and flip through your workout log. When was the last break you took? Fill in your Recovery Tracker and see where you stand. Assess how you’re feeling today – is something hurting, are you overly fatigued? Determine if you’re due for a break. If you are, grab your ice pack and foam roller and get recovered!
Strength – 2RM Clean and Jerk
2 rounds
100 Double Unders
50 S2OH (95/65# or 50%)
25 T2B
Compare to March 18/13
Strength: Clean & Jerk x 2
95-105-115-135-145(1)
WOD
2 rounds
100 DU (scaled to 300 SU)
50 shoulders to overhead @ 65#
25 T2B (scaled hanging knees up past hips )
Time: 18:32 (last time I missed the time cap doing situps)
Nice work Kevin! Big pr!
Great progress Kevin, your S2OH looked strong.
C&J x 5
90-100-115-125 was aiming for 135 but didn’t have time!
WOD
2 rounds
100 DU’s
50 S2OH (65#)
25 T2B (Knee raises hanging off the bar)
18:13 was the time. Fun Sunday!
Good work Chantal!
7 sec. PR from last time. Had done regular sit ups.
Open 14.5 = 19:05
Kept my pace going and out of the red zone until round of 12’s. Downhill from there. Thanks for judging Val and the crew for the encouragement. Never again.
Oh and good work Jason! 😉
No problem! Always fun to have a good excuse to yell at someone 🙂
Great job Mario! Great time! That was the worst I’ve ever seen you look after a wod. LOL
Haha! I haven’t felt like this in a looooong time.
Great job, Mario.
Lol, nice job tackling it Mario!
Strength: C&J’s 2RM
85-95-105-115(1)-115(2)
I wanted to try for heavier on this but chickened out. Where is Jeff Leger when I need him?
WOD with 55#: 17:42
I’m really excited about this…I’m working on pacing, and today’s WOD felt really good! I didn’t hit the doubles hard right off the bat like I was tempted to… I broke them up into sets of 30 to start, and did my second set in 20’s & 10’s even though I could have done more. It would have gassed me too much for the rest of the wod. Just goes to show, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
On top of that, last time I did this I had 13 T2B left at the 20 minute cap. So it’s a 3+ minute PR from a year ago.
Love working out next to Keith, he keeps me moving. Thanks Keith. 🙂
Congrats on your first class Alisha, welcome to CFM!
Fun class! Loved the music during mobility and the wod, Ron!
Great PR, Amanda!
Thanks – YOU TOO!
Awesome Amanda!
Haha, I was there and I saw you do the 115 but with your shoulder not at 100% there is no need to push it.
Now when you tell me it’s 100% then I’ll make sure you go heavier 🙂
Congrats on the PR Amanda!
Great pr!
Gah. I was beside Craig, not Keith. Keith was behind me. Although soon enough I won’t be keeping up with him either!
We both had gouties today I shaved my beard off maybe that is what confused you. Hahaha it does not matter what you call me just don’t call me late for lunch 😉
Great picture of Lance!! So proud of you!! That was so much fun to watch!
Finally was able to come in for a lab!!!
Some mobility for my poor achy body.
Worked on MU progressions and then played with on the rings with Craig.
Thanks for the tips Ron and Lance! Now, I’m even closer to getting it. I know what I need to work one. It’s close. I can taste it!
You’re getting there Val!
Warmup and mobility. Oh gosh…my body is wrecked
WOD with 55lbs front squats due to triceps and shoulders.
17:07
Great class. Thanks Ron!
Lydia would like to apologize for the screams.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful toes to bar. I was so envious.
Thanks!!
Good job! You are all brave for working out today. My goodness my triceps are wrecked!?
Mine too! As long as I sit with my arms relaxed by my side, everything seems normal. But if I have to move my arms, yikes!
I decided to go swim suit shopping, and was stuck in the changing room for awhile due to being stuck. My poor poor arms. Even eating is difficult.
Well its a bit comforting to know its not just me! I dont ever recall sore arms like this from thrusters or burpees..but I guess put them together 84 times each and that’s the result!
My quads a pretty bad too but I expected them to be.
Arm, did not see that one coming!
Great work Gillyon, was fun working out with you this morning. Lydia is sweet, she was just made at her game!
Thanks for checking on her! 🙂
Your T2B are really impressive Gil!
Great article today Kevin!
Mobility, Wu x 1
Tested out shoulder to see if I could do 14.5. Not happening, still doesn’t feel great on pushing movements.
Practice du’s!
Wod 2 rounds
100 du’s
50 s2oh @95# (did front squats)
25 T2B
14:27 pr of almost a minute, plus would have been much better with just s2oh.
Great class Ron. Great work everybody, good job to everyone that tackled 14.5!
Nice job Shane I’m guessing you’ll feel those squats tomorrow…
lots of mob
wu
Lab
worked on DU and MU progression.
group mob
2rm C&J
135,155,175,195,215pr
Wod 15:27rx
Great work Craig. Nice pr!
Great time on the WOD Craig & your doubles look so smooth.
Yay Lance !!!!
I didn’t want to take the kids out today so I did it at home. The weights seem heavier at home.
Mobility
WU ( no pullups)
Clean & jerk 2RM
45-55-65-75-80
WOD
100 DU
50 S2OH (45#)
25 T2pole
DNF
I got to 80 DU’s on second round. I decided before I started that I was going to stick with doubles. Maybe not the best choice. They weren’t very good today.
it’s by sticking to them that they will get good 😉
You rock for tackling this at home.
If we had better music she would have done better! 🙂
Way to go Amy tackling this WOD at home – impressive.
LAB
WU x 1
Mobility Work
Back Squat
135# x 5
185# x 5
205# x 3
225# x 3
Clean & Jerk x 2 – Subbed KB right arm only
40# 53# 70#
WOD
2 rounds
100 doubles – subbed 300 singles
50 S2OH – subbed right arm KB S2OH 40# 25 reps
25 T2B – subbed T2 Post
Time – 13:35
Wrist injury is going to make for a lot of scaling.
Nice work Marcel, hope it heals up quickly!