Rest When You’re Dead
Throughout history it’s pretty much a given that Hard Work pays off. Therefore it goes without saying that training more will help you achieve your goals in super quick time. Pushing through fatigue, Pushing through Injuries and not letting a single thing get in your way. This is admirable, and shows dedication, motivation and determination to win at all costs. YOU ARE A WEAPON!!
I have heard many times the saying “There is no such thing as Overtraining”. You can’t put too much work in. Some of you will know the saying “What’s Rich doing?”. If you have been following CrossFit at all you will know Rich Froning as the CrossFit Games Champion 4 years running which puts him in the conversation for CrossFits GOAT. On the run up to the 2011 CrossFit Games the media team at CrossFit shot a fantastic behind the scenes video showing Rich Froning and Jason Khalipas road to the games. One scene shows both the families getting together for a meal, I believe it was thanksgiving. Mid way through the meal Jason notes that Rich is no longer sat at the table. He goes to find him. When he reaches the garage he finds Rich crushing sets of Front Squats and so the phrase “Whats Rich Doing” was born. Jason went home, headed to his garage gym and wrote “Whats Rich Doing?” on the wall. A constant reminder that every time he stops for a rest, rich will be working harder and doing more then you.
It was a crazy clip but a perfect example of what is needed to succeed at the highest levels. It is also old school thinking. There is now a new buzz word “UNDER RECOVERY”.
WHAT IS RECOVERY?
The first part of Recovery is Sleep. When we sleep the body repairs. We are able to switch off all the non essential body functions and let the body fully set about fixing itself. When we think about the amount of sleep we get we recommend between 7-9 hours. For some, like me you are lucky to get 6hours but that’s ok. Fire in a few pensioners and you will be fine.
The second part of Recovery is Nutrition. If you are not fuelling the body to do the work then you are definitely not fuelling it to repair itself. This is where protein comes in. Protein is the building blocks of muscle. When we do a workout may it be a long run or a heavy lifting session or CrossFit you are going to break down some muscle. That’s what muscle soreness is the day after aka DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) is. Your muscles have been damaged or broken down and now the body is trying to repair it. A good rule of thumb for protein intake is:
1 Gram of Protein Per 1lb of bodyweight.
If you have a way to accurately assess your body composition then you can be super accurate and base this on Lean Bodyweight. We use the InBody scanner here at AFSCrossFit. You can book a scan here.
The third part of recovery is training sensibly. The methodology of CrossFit very much focuses on compound movements. That means we are using multiple joints and lots of muscles in every workout. That does mean we don’t use the same training protocols as say a bodybuilding who would train different body parts each session therefore allowing the others to rest. Equally a power lifter would likely train their squats one day, deadlifts another then the chest on a third day. giving each movement pattern time to recover and sometimes would train each one once a week so lots of recovery.
CrossFit.com recommend a 3 on 1 off training plan. Meaning we workout 3 consecutive days then rest the forth day. In my opinion that’s doable if you are a seasoned trainer say more than 3years training experience. We recommend for new members to aim for 3 sessions per week with one day recovery inbetween. We also run different classes. If CrossFit is getting a little tough, then you can lower the intensity and try a strength session. If you need to focus on stretching then add in a Yoga session or 2.
Summary
In summary eat plenty of protein. Get plenty of sleep. Switch up your training. Listen to your Body, it will tell you when to rest. Hopefully that will be through fatigue. But be warned, when we are tired and fatigued we start making mistakes and this is when we risk injury. It's definitely more beneficial to take a day off rather then spend 6months on the rehab table.
With our nutrition program we look at balancing nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, lifestyle and support to put you in the best possible space to succeed in reaching your fitness goals. A No Sweat Intro is the perfect place to come and discuss your needs and see how we can help.
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