CrossFit Boston

 When I asked Alex if he wanted to workout today he told me he was taking a rest week. (In the back of my mind: "What the hell is a rest week!") Later in the day I asked Alex if he planned on doing a team-WoD on Friday. He gave me the same answer. 

 Over the past two months I have changed two things regarding my training. The more important change is simple. I started sleeping more. A lot more. Since I started Crossfit two years ago I shunned sleep. I  relied on two main excuses. One, sleeping wastes time. Two, I was still producing personal-bests with less than optimal sleeping patterns. This isn't a brag, its just the little data I have. But I neglected one important possibility. My performance could have been better. Also, I blatantly ignored any long term affects that would be caused by my insufficient sleep.  Since August I have routinely slept for 9 (not 8) or more hours a night. Since August I have felt more energetic and been able to tolerate much higher exercise volumes. Unfortunately I don't have a more accurate metric. Nonetheless, after two weeks of experimenting with two-a-day WoDs interspersed throughout a 3 days on and 1 day off schedule, I have yet to see any retrograde performance. I have never been able to maintain this level of volume in the past. 

 What about Alex's rest week?  Alex is adapting his schedule to allow him more rest becase he is losing sleep elsewhere. We would be better Crossfitters if we didn't have to teach Crossfit, balance budgets, fight fires, feed children, or intubate some poor slob found nigh-dead at Downtown Crossing. Unfortunately, our modern lives aggressively impede most attempts toward better fitness. That said, many of us can't achieve the meager standard of 8 hours of sleep. The mention of 9 or more causes frowns and cringes across the room. When will we have time to do everything else if spend all our time sleeping? The answer is simple. If you are not consistently sleeping 8 or more hours every night of the week try taking a rest week one week out of every month. Or try significantly reducing the exercise volume for one week every month. For example, in a five day period only work out three days and alternate the rest days (day on, day off, day on, day off, day on). You will notice increased performance and decreased soreness. Most importantly you will be improving your health. 

 Doing Crossfit is not enough; it isn't a golden panacea. I am aware the temptation and comfort of routine. But heed the suggestion that Crossfit can become less effective at making us better Crossfitters and healthier people (the more important goal I think) if we do not let ourselves rest properly.