The squat is a common type of CrossFit workout which gives your body an all-around exercise. Squatting is simply bending your hips and knees while the bar is on your upper back. While squatting, ensure you keep your knees out and your lower back neutral. To complete the squat, come back up from the lowered position and lock your knees and hips at the top. The reason squats are known as compound exercises is that they work on your entire body. To move the weight, your legs bend and straighten as your abs, and lower back muscles stabilize your trunk. The shoulders, upper back, and arms are responsible for balancing the bar on your back. Therefore, a lot of muscles are worked up all at the same time and not just your legs. Compared to exercises such as bench press and overhead shoulder press, the squat works more muscles, especially when having a heavier weight. Squat Pains As it is with many workouts, the possibility of injury in squats is not remote at all. When doing squats, you may experience some pains, and it helps to know what they are all about. Neck Pain If you hold the bar wrongly, squats can hurt your neck. Your muscles must support your weight and not the spine. If you squat with a loose upper back, the bar will stress your spine which is dangerous. Instead, you should squeeze your upper back before unracking the bar in the CrossFit gym. During your squats, stay tight so that the bar won’t move on your back and roll over to your neck. Never use a foam pad, wrap a towel around the bar, or a manta ray. These wrappings put the bar higher and further away from the hips. This, further makes it easier for you to lean forward, therefore, hurting your back. Simply hold the bar right without band-aid solutions. Wrist Pain Holding the bar with your hands will certainly hurt your wrists. This is because holding the weight presses your wrists down and bends them back thereby stretching them past their normal range of motion causing pain not just to your wrists, but also to your elbows. One of the ways to avoid this is supporting the bar with your upper back muscles which are bigger and stronger. Another cause of wrist pain is holding the bar too low. When you squat low bar, it must rest between your rear shoulders and traps. If it rests at low, it will slide down as you squat. This will force your hands to hold it back which causes wrist pain. You can temporarily use wrist wraps to give you support, but at the end of it all, it is your form and equipment that you have to fix. Knee Pain This pain occurs when your knees cave in or travel too far forward. When squatting, push your knees to the side and your hips back at the same time. Go down gradually until your hip crease is below the top of your knees. Squatting like this strengthens the muscles around the knees thereby enhancing support for the knee joint. Other types of squat pain include hip pain, lower back pain, groin pain, and elbow pain. If you concentrate on your form during CrossFit training, most of these pains will go away.

CrossFitters who are true to the spirit of rigorous training activity may experience a sense of boredom on rest days, and this can dampen the benefits meant for such a day. There is a feeling somewhere at the back of your head which is hard to shake off making you believe that there is something that you are missing out on by taking a rest. It is important to know that though stamina, strength, and speed are important in CrossFit training, rest is equally vital. You can only go for so long before your body begins to rebel in an attempt to recover. By varying the way, you rest, your body can have ample time to recuperate while at the same time keeping your mind at ease. Dangers of Not Taking Rest Days Unless you are cut from a different stone, your body requires a break at some point. CrossFit as a sport is structured in a way that breaks down muscle so that it can rebuild them up. However, if the rest period is not integrated, the muscle breakdown initially meant for a good cause can begin hindering development. Strength loss, fatigue, and injury are concerns that come up when you are too active at a level that is intense and demanding. Overtraining will hinder your physical abilities and can also have a detrimental effect on the state of your mind. If your body doesn’t operate to the expected standards, your mind begins taking a toll leading to irritation, frustration, and lack of concentration. This is why you are not doing anybody a favor by taking a day off. When Should Rest Days Be A majority of CrossFit training experts are of the opinion that rest days should be planned for the 4th day. This means 3 days of workouts and 1 day off. People with little flexibility in their schedule patterning rest days this way gives them a fantastic option which ensures the body gets some relaxation. On the other hand, if you have a tight schedule that only leaves specific days open, having 2 days rest per week is a good option. You can either set these days in advance if you love prediction and regularity. Thursdays and Sundays can be your days off. That said, it is important to listen to your body. If you are feeling run down, it may help laying low for that day waiting for your body to be up again. Spending Your Rest Days There is no script cast in stone that outlines how rest days should be spent. Remember this opportunity is to help you ease your tight muscles and get the maximum possible recovery benefits. Even though you are not in the CrossFit gym, you can incorporate some light cardio, stretching, and a little bit of yoga just to spice things up. If you love adventure, you can consider swimming, hiking, or just walking around trying to work up your heart rate.