A common joke among the Crossfit crowd is that some part of your body is always sore. Whether it be your legs from squats, arms from pull-ups, or chest from push-ups, performing functional movements in hypertrophy ranges (8-12 reps) breaks your muscles down and builds them back up. Muscle soreness is the bi-product of that breakdown.
But when should soreness be a concern? Here are some ways to gauge if you should hit the gym or take a rest day:
Do remember, resting does not permit you to skip the gym altogether. While it might be good to rest, you could also use the day as an active recovery day.
This type of recovery focuses on completing exercises at a low intensity but high enough to increase blood flow and rid the body of the enzymes responsible for muscle damage and fatigue. In short, active recovery will help minimize the symptoms of muscle soreness.
Delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS) is the build-up of lactic acid from anaerobic exercise. This lowers the pH of your blood which in turn causes the pain you feel during exercise and DOMS.
Active recovery helps to clear the lactic acid and reduce your chances of DOMS. This is why cooling down post-WOD is so valuable. It will allow you to perform at similar levels throughout the week.
What is the best way to recover you ask?
Hopefully, this gives you some more insight into your workouts and how they make you feel. If you have any questions, please let any of the coaches know!
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