CrossFit® is above all equilibrium. High intensity workouts require much rest, otherwise the accounts do not add up. As the days go by, a simple night's sleep becomes insufficient to maintain maximum performance at the garage, and at some point the body can reduce its functions.
That's why the 24 hours of recovery are not to be called "a long time", but in reality it is the right one for the level of need of the sport.
To fully understand the importance of rest, you need to know what are the After Burn and the Overtraining; that is, the positive and negative impacts of high-intensity workouts like CrossFit®.
Index
What is After Burn?
CrossFit® makes you lose weight, period. Some athletes can burn more than 1.000 calories per workout, which shows how much this sport requires of the body. The exercises are so intense that they continue to burn calories in the rest period, that's why it's called After Burn.
The more intense the physical activity, the greater the body stress and the more oxygen the body needs to generate energy. No wonder you get out of breath sometimes, right? The whole metabolism works to compensate for the loss of oxygen. What not everyone knows is that this compensation continues long after the breathing has returned to normal. The body continues to collect oxygen, the metabolism is still accelerated.
There is much discussion about how important the After Burn is for weight loss and how long it lasts. Some studies claim that the effect can last 12 to 24 hours, others up to 72 hours. Do you know what that means? That when you return to the box the next day to train, your body may still have to recover from the previous workout.
One thing is certain: understanding After Burn is essential for respect body stabilization times. Your metabolism will thank you with even better yields.
What is Overtraining?
Doing a lot of high intensity physical activity can create negative effects like l'overtraining, that is, the overtraining. Submitting the body to periods of muscular stress without adequate rest can cause fatigue, exhaustion, weakness, irritability, distraction and even metabolic injuries or heart failure.
Therefore, ignoring the "rest day" thinking I am doing well, with the idea of "the more I do it, the faster I reach my goals" is a hole in the water. There is a risk that the body can compensate for fatigue overload a muscle or tendon, causing a accident which would keep you out of training for many days.
Overtraining has long been considered a myth. However, the evidence shows that it happens and is real. Given that we currently live in a society obsessed with the perfect physique, where everything is done to achieve goals, it is good to understand the risks.
The lack of a day off, poor sleep and unhealthy eating they can trigger this factor so that the individual will only feel tired, in a bad mood and even frustrated in not improving their performance.
So keep in mind: sometimes the less is more.
So when to rest?
We have already talked about this in a previous article. But in general, the ideal frequency of breaks for high intensity training is one or two days a week. Experienced athletes can also maintain an active rest day, everything depends on performance and habits such as good nutrition and few injuries.