MONDAY
I came across this article from CrossFit Verve regarding training and rest days. Check it out …
A common question that is brought up is how much rest should I take or how often should I take rest days? One of the best to ever do it, Chris Spealler wrote a great article for the Progenex Blog about this very topic. He presents options for different types of work to rest cycles. Read the below and post any comments or questions you may have. The title is linked to allow for us to click and visit the Progenex Blog for amazing insight from top athletes in the CrossFit Community.
Finding the Right Amount of Work/Rest by Chris Spealler.
In CrossFit we often forget that a large part of what gives us results is taking the time to recover from all the hard work we put in. Being the best at recovery isn’t going to make you the most fit, but you have to recover in order to reap the benefits of the program. CrossFit.com doesn’t program a rest day every 4th day just by chance. The thought process is that after 3 days of hard work your body needs a day of rest to recover. That way, you can hit up the gym hard on your next workout day. Personally my rest days have varied in frequency and type but below are some suggestions for you.
3 on 1 off: This is a rotating schedule that will have your work and rest days varying from week to week. If you have the flexibility to do this and are feeling recovered it’s a great option to start with.
3 on 1 off, 2 on 1 off: This is the schedule that I currently follow for the most part. It is also the same thing I have followed since roughly 2010 or 2011. It gives me the time necessary to recover and allows for scheduled rest days. I put my rest days on Monday and Friday since they are generally travel days. We also encourage this cycle for our gym clientele at CrossFit Park City. The recommended rest days would be Thursday and Sunday due to our schedule.
2 on 1 off, 2 on 1 off: This is also a rotating schedule but it is one I have used in the past when my volume has increased. Depending on your needs, what you are doing outside of the gym, and your goals this schedule allows for some great intensity. Knowing that you only have 2 days of hard work to put in often motivates people to get going and work particularly hard in the gym. If you do some competing this could be a good schedule if you are doing more than 3 sessions in 1 day for a short period of time throughout the year.
1 on 1 off, 1 on 1 off, 1 on 2 off: This would most likely be working out on a schedule like Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I would encourage no less than this. Due to the variance in CrossFit, if we don’t have some frequency in the gym the results just won’t be the same. This schedule works well for people that are pursuing other fitness related things outside of the gym. It’s a good way to maintain things you have built up in the past and still allow time for proper recovery.
Regardless of what schedule we choose the key is to make sure you are feeling motivated and hungry each time you walk in the gym. For the overwhelming majority of people out there this means that you should not workout more than 3 days in a row. Utilize active rest days, post workout nutrition and supplementation, as well as a good dose of sleep to see continual gains. Personally I mix my Progenex with some coconut water after each workout and take fish oil (Omega+) daily. These with good, consistent sleep have helped allow me to work harder in the gym providing progress over the years.
STRENGTH:
power snatch + overhead squat + full snatch
7 x 1
New set every two minutes. Progression. Increase weight with each set.
CrossFit WOD:
amrap 7 min:
3 thrusters
3 pull ups
6 thrusters
6 pull ups
9 thrusters
9 pull ups
Continue the ladder increasing by 3’s for 7 min. Score is total number of reps.
RX 95#/65#
RX+ 115#/85# C2B pull ups
L1 55#/35#
EXTRA CREDIT: (as a group)
EMOTM 10 min:
Sprint row 200 meters