Rest Days and Double WODs

“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

-Unknown

Above:  Joseph gets his knees to his elbows during the 2nd half of Today's WOD!  As the coaches explained, today, there is a big difference in Knees to Elbows and Knees to Triceps/Armpits.  Great job, Joseph!

Today's WOD:
Back Squat
3-3-3-3-3


Then...
For time:
10 Front Squats (155/105 lbs.)
20 Knees to Elbows

8 Front Squats (155/105 lbs.)

16 Knees to Elbows

6 Front Squats (155/105 lbs.)

12 Knees to Elbows

4 Front Squats (155/105 lbs.)

8 Knees to Elbows

2 Front Squats (155/105 lbs.)

4 Knees to Elbows

Rest Days and Double WODs

Rest Days are important.  Let me repeat that... Rest Days are very important!  If you want to be stronger and better, you need your rest.  Continued work with no rest days will be noticeably less effective and your intensity during WODs will drop, since your brain and body are hammered.  This weekend, I "PR'd" my 1-RM Back Squat and 1-RM Shoulder Press by 5 pounds coming off a Rest Day!  As a competitive CrossFitter, rest can be hard to swallow, but I've learned over the years that it is crucial to being successful.  Sometimes my body will tell me I need a Rest Day, like if I feel mentally or physically drained; other times my rest is scheduled, like if I trained hard for 3-days.  I recommend to our athletes either a 5 days ON, 2 days OFF schedule, or a 3 days ON, 1 day OFF, 2 days ON, 1 day OFF schedule--because both of these fit a week perfectly.

Recently, I've also been asked a lot of good questions about my truing and "Double WODs".  I love the eagerness and excitement, however, for most athletes, Double WODs are not recommended, mainly because you cannot maintain intensity and risk overtraining/injury.  Doing more than one workout a day becomes effective only for athletes who are/will be competing at a CrossFit competition, like the CrossFit Games.  In CrossFit competitions, athletes/teams are required to perform anywhere from 2-3 workouts a day for 3 days.

The programming you see in our box is given much thought and we as coaches want to make sure we are developing well-rounded athletes.  Sometimes you will see us program a strength, then have you finish the class with a met-con.  Other days there is just a met-con.  Once in a while, we will program 2 workouts with a rest in between.  Keep in mind, especially when you come in for your WOD, doing one WOD and giving it everything you've got is better than doing 2-3 WODs with half the intensity.  Think quality, not quantity. Get some!

Saturday's WOD Board: