Active recovery/crossfit

Thanks Rob, Greg, and Norcal for all of your great work. You guys are all really amazing.

I read the recomendations for the active rest days as more skill practice than conditioning. Is this correct? and was wondering if crossfit "metcon" WOD's, mountain biking, or grappling would seriously hinder recovery. I guess my question pertains more to the hypertrophy phase rather than the strength phase.
Thanks.

[Greg Everett]

A CrossFit WOD is exactly what you do NOT want to do on your rest days--that's the furthest thing from rest you can find. What you're looking to do is squeeze in some activity that allows you to move without taxing you at all. The reason things like working boxing technique and sled pulling fit this bill so well is that any kind of loaded eccentric movements are absent--they're also meant to be pretty low-level in terms of work.

Mountain biking may be all right if it's relatively brief and easy, but don't overdo it. Same goes for grappling--work technique at 50-60% effort instead of sparring at higher intensities.

Ultimately, you'll have to experiment to some degree to see what you can and can't tolerate. You may be able to get away with more than someone else, but most people need to keep their rest days super low intensity. I would suggest starting very easy and trying to gradually increase activity as you see fit. Otherwise you may end up spinning your wheels.

[clinton bohaty]

Would jogging be something I could do on rest days, depending on the intensity.

Something like a slow 1 mile jog, stuck in afghanistan and struggling with what to do for active rest.

Have been doing burgener warm up, snatch practice with empty bar, and cleans with empty bar.

What about doing the crossfit warmup nice and slow.

Clinton

[Mike ODonnell]

Whatever you enjoy doing...simple bodyweight exercise circuit....skill practice...just do it at a slow/enjoyable/sustainable pace...never to failure.

[Herm Blancaflor]

Active recovery such as stretching, foam rolling, and contrast baths have worked for me during my rest days. Greg, I think I've seen you program these things for active rest days, right?

[Dominic Sirianni]

I do a very light CF WOD on an active recovery day with about a half hour to forty minutes foam rolling and stretching afterwards. I consciously keep my exertion to a strictly aerobic range. For some reason the "Helen" WOD works well for me.

I do three rounds not for time of
a 400m light run
21 1/2 pood kb swings to parallel
12 ring rows

Then I get the foam out and a mat and go to town on my IT band, my hamstrings, my hips, etc.

[Grissim Connery]

another good method is xbox.

make sure to foam roll your hands prior to all work.

if you happen to rage-quit, limit slamming the controller on the floor to 50-60% of your max controller slam.