Rest Days

[vanillarice]

Just trying to get a feel here on the number of rest days people typically take in a week. CrossFit follows the principle of 3 days on 1 day off on a consistent basis, though these past five months or so I've sort of let this fall by the wayside. Monday Wednesday Friday mornings usually consist of either a long run (anywhere from 5-8 miles), interval training, runs in boots and utilities (3-4 miles), or ruck marches (6-9 miles, 40 lbs). And, sunday-friday I like to do a CrossFit workout in the afternoon. Other times I might just feel like killing myself on the row machine. And if im feeling really crazy, i might end the night with a swim, mainly to work on CSS technique. That leaves Saturday as my only full day off, though sometimes depending on the day I might not do a two a day (ex two weeks ago involved a 7 mile trail run in boots. that was my only workout)

Anyway, not trying to build up myself by showing my workout routine, i'm looking for people's feedback on their rest days (how many, how frequent), as well as any other input that can be offered. Thanks!

[scskowron]

I take off one day a week off completely, and usually one other day a week off from running.

Mr Ord suggests taking 2 days off per week (Sunday, and another day), and following the SEAL Fit the rest of the week.

[miracleone]

from an educated opinion in order to allow the body adequate time to recover (this means muscle fibres rebuilding, energy systems recovering and DOMS to recede) there is a need for a 48 hour turn-around between full on sessions. HOWEVER different people like different breaks it is dependent on the individual my opinion as above stated is just what i have been taught. I can answer in more detail if u want, just ask.
chris

[jayp]

So is that to say you rest each specific muscle group two days of the week, as in you can rest them seperately? For example if the first five days of the week I focused on running, could I still fill the last two days with workouts that dealt with pullups? Or should rest days not consist of any workout? ( I do the WOD's on this site if you want an idea of the workouts I do ).

[scskowron]

So is that to say you rest each specific muscle group two days of the week, as in you can rest them seperately? For example if the first five days of the week I focused on running, could I still fill the last two days with workouts that dealt with pullups? Or should rest days not consist of any workout? ( I do the WOD's on this site if you want an idea of the workouts I do ).



Rest days should not have any intensity to them. You can jog, swim, row, bike a little bit without taxing yourself, but as soon as you feel the "this isn't comfortable" feeling, you are working too hard for a rest day. If you have time, work on a skill that requires balance, coordination, or flexibility on a rest day.

Doing workouts that may not seem related is not the same as resting yourself completely. It's counterintuitive, but the body is very much interconnected and doing pullups after several days of running still taxes the body even though it doesn't tax the muscles. Your nervous system, digestive system, and other parts of the body need to recover, even if the specific muscles don't.

[bigv123]

The term that Scs is driving to is called "systemic fatigue". Systemic fatigue is VERY VERY different than localized, muscular fatigue.

V

[jayp]

thanks, that answered my question. From now on I'll make sure my body fully recuperates on rest days. I appreciate the help.