Knowing when to fold

(John McEvoy, CrossFit Craic)

I have heard the following phrase many times within the inner circles of sport and fitness – “There is no such thing as over-training, just under-recovering.”

On rest days you make all your progress. You do not really get stronger, faster, or fitter while you are in the gym. The physiological processes of these changes occur during your rest periods. That is why it’s so important to listen to your body and take time off when you need to. You should never force yourself to come in and workout just because you like the look of the workout. If you feel tired, injured or burned out, take a day off! It will make the following days training a lot more effective and enjoyable – knowing you are fresh. The timing will be different for everybody. Some people come back from vacation stronger than ever and others feel like it’s their first day all over again. You need to figure out what is best for you. Too much training and you will burn out, too little and you will not make progress.

We understand that you all love coming in here. I have heard a lot of you say that it is the best part of your day, the only time you have to yourself. On those days when you feel sluggish or just not up for a hard workout you can stay home, come in and just do some mobility work or equally you can come in and just work the skills of the movements we are covering.

The bottom line is that we want you all to be progressing continuously. If you are not getting better in every area then something is off. There are 3 areas that you must focus on to succeed. Each one is equally important.

1-    Good Nutrition

2-   Good Training

3-    Adequate Rest and Recovery

For additional reading on this very important topic, I strongly recommend checking out this article by Dawn Fletcher in the CrossFit magazine WODTalk.  She lays out some very helpful pointers on how to optimize your rest and recovery, which is important for longevity as a healthy CrossFitter, athlete and human.

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