Cross Fit Thousand Oaks

One of the most common questions we get from new people just starting on their CFTO CrossFit journey is, “How often should I work out?”

The answer is, “Come as often as your recovery allows.”

What you want is change – you want to get leaner, stronger, fitter, faster, etc. And it’s understood that you’ll improve at something you do frequently. So, you’d think that more workouts each week equals more positive results — But that’s rarely the case.

It’s common for crossfiters to follow the CrossFit.com website, which is a 3 days on, 1 day off schedule. A few problems arise from a 3-on-1-off frequency. The first and most obvious problem is that it does not fit well with a typical work week. The second problem with a 3-on-1-off frequency is that it can be brutal on beginners without proper scaling. For beginners, a 1-on-3-off schedule might be more appropriate, but you’d still have the 5-day work week issue to deal with.

CFTO members for the most part are working professionals, students, and others who typically have a 5-day work-week and a 2-day weekend. CFTO programming is aligned with the standard work-week and planned accordingly. With proper scaling, CFTO members should come in as many times as their schedule will allow, provided they were recovering from their workouts.

I usually recommend a beginner start with 2 days per week, with plenty of rest in between days. After a month or so, if you are recovering well from your workouts, add another day. Your goal should be to work up to 3 to 5 classes per week. But experience tells us that 3 is the magic number; when you work up to a frequency of 3 or more classes per week, consistently, your progress accelerates dramatically.

Currently, if you are only at the 2 classes per week mark, it’s really important that you try to stay active outside the gym on your off days. This will help you recover from intense days in the gym, allowing you to increase your frequency.

How Do I Know When I’m Recovered?

The next question from the new crossfiter is then, “How do I know if I’m recovered enough to workout again? When I’m not sore anymore?”

It is more than a matter of being sore. Being repeatedly sore the next day, or sometimes the second day, is common and expected – especially at first. If you are sore for several days (like more than 4 days) you are probably not recovering properly, or you may not be scaling the workouts appropriately.

How do you recover properly? Glad you asked!

• Eat enough (of the right foods) to fuel your frequency and intensity.
• Get adequate rest, sleep, and downtime (I admonish everyone to sleep more.)
• Manage stress that arises from work, money, relationships, and all that jazz
• Always be adequately hydrated
• Religiously, even fanatically, do your mobility work
• Use recovery tools like the Mobility WOD website, Yoga, foam rollers, lacrosse balls, stretch bands, and ice. Attend our FREE monthly mobility/massage/self-care seminars.
• More ice.

The mindset and skills set to properly address your recovery will the subject of another article. For now, keep in mind that being able to recover quickly will allow you to increase your frequency, which will in turn get you the results you’re looking for. Failing to recover adequately is a great way to make slow progress and get frustrated — or even get sick or injured.

 

-Dan

This entry was posted on Friday, March 30th, 2012 at 6:25 pm and is filed under Featured, Uncategorized.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.