Umm... why are we resting??? ~cpj - 151129

I used to fear having to explain and even defend our programming (WODs)... among many visitors (and even our seasoned veterans), I would often hear (or have been asked), "why are we resting?".  I understand why we are resting, but it's difficult to determine if a visitor or seasoned vet really cares about the "why"... it's as if there is a higher value on the perception of "intensity" or "how hard" a WOD is, as opposed to the actual value of the design and the intentions of said design... (I think this is where Colin and I become geeks).  Long story short... what we do works, and I no longer fear explaining it... and more importantly, I don't worry about defending it.

CrossFit has a way of brainwashing us into thinking that everything is "for time"... "0-100mph"... "high intensity".  In fact, one of the descriptions of CrossFit is "constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity".  It is clear that this works... but, as I have stated many times in the past, it's only sustainable when programmed intelligently and approached as one piece of the fitness puzzle.  There is truth in the statement that in order to get really good at CrossFit you have to essentially stop doing CrossFit (everyday).  In order to get good at it, you have to train for it.  This is, however, mostly true for those who want to compete at a high level, do well in The Open, or win every WOD.  For those of us who just want to be fit and healthy in mind, body and spirit; CrossFit (forgive me for repeating myself) is a very effective piece of the puzzle, that should be intelligently sprinkled in to a balanced strength and conditioning program!

So... why are we resting??

It's because in order to create some balance in your fitness, we strive to train energy systems, and design workloads to maximally train these systems.  Now, in order for us to effectively achieve this, rest must be incorporated into the design, so we (you) can get your "system" back to 75-80% recovered to allow for sustainable efforts in any given WOD or training scenario.... time to geek-out here!!

These recovery stats are based on your ability to truly maximally train a system... which is based on many factors that I will cover in another essay.

Your Anaerobic Alactic System is 50% recovered in 20-30sec... 100% recovered in 4-5min

Your Anaerobic Lactic System is 50% recovered in 15-20min... 100% recovered in 1-2hrs

Your Aerobic System is 50% recovered in 3-6hrs... 100% recovered in 24-48hrs

So, as we design rest into your training, our goal is to try to get your system at or above 75-80% recovered. Many factors contribute to your ability to make this happen for yourself (all of which I cover in my ADC sessions!!).  The takeaway here is that each of us are different, in gender, biological age and training age. 

As I stated above, the ability to maximally train a system determines a lot.  Many of us do not possess the ability (yet) to reach "maximally".  It's a nervous system thing... it's an exposure thing... and it's a mind, body, spirit thing.  This only limits the effectiveness of the design if it's coached improperly based on not knowing your athletes well enough to create the proper stimulus (in training).

In strength (or time under tension) scenarios, the rest is even more essential to provide that recovery in order to sustain efforts and get stronger... but again, it's truly effective when you understand how to maximally train a system or scenario... and it's even more important to understand the difference between the terms "maximally train" and "high intensity"; both of which are relative to the individual.

So when you study the stats above, and consider your weekly training... there is a reason why you might feel like your WODs suffer towards the end of the week.  If that's the case... are you resting or training 5-6 days in a row, expecting to be 100% recovered for the next training day??

Listen... by Thursday (if you have been training every day), you are going to force your body into using systems we are not designing, because you're not recovered yet.  Because most of us have an unconscious safety jacket that won't allow us to get truly "maximal", most of us are just getting aerobic every day... which takes a ton of time to replenish; like 24-48 hours!!!

The point here is that rest is important for so many things, and it is probably the hardest part of any training program & program design, in terms of mastery and effectiveness.

So there is a method to the madness... and as always, love makes a difference.  If you don't love it, it won't love you back!

Learn to love the rest!

 

Yours in Fitness,

~cpj

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Mary G]

I ❤️ rest

[Kristen]

Well said. I feel like it is a badge of honor to NOT rest and I don't think that is a wise decision.

[Chad]

Over the last 3 years it's been proven to me over and over again just how important rest is. I find myself always working on some type of skill set and when I take a week or so off from that specific skill set I inevitably get stronger or better at it after a rest. I'm constantly learning and experimenting with what my essence is as an athlete and when my body hurts I've learned to listen to it. If I don't rest I feel broken. That's just my experience as of now and the funny thing is that it may be different next month. I love training and it used to mess with my head when I rested but today I have to allow myself to rest. ADC really helped me understand and grasp this. Bottom line for me is if I continuously train without breaks I feel hurt not sore. I don't mind sore but I dislike hurt so I rest.

Pat, thanks for helping me understand that it's encouraged to rest, it's helped me stay in the game and off the injury list.