How To Design Active Recovery CrossFit Workouts

It is no secret that CrossFit workouts consist of high-intensity conditioning and heavy strength training. It is rare that CrossFit athletes leave the gym at the end of the week and feel that they went several days without a set of challenging workouts and crave more. But, in reality, the rest of the days are when magic really happens.

It is because of this that CrossFit athletes need to be strategic and consistent about taking rest days at appropriate intervals throughout the week and year.

This may seem counterintuitive to most CrossFit athletes, who tend to be type A personalities and want intense workouts as frequently as possible.

Taking rest days is when you will actually see the fruits of your labor as the nervous system, cardiovascular system, muscle fibers, and connective tissues recover. Proper nutrition, good hydration, and enough sleep are received during the rest day and even on the days that you are training with high intensity.

These are the big three in truly maximizing the recovery process.

I teach all of my CrossFit athletes this inside of my 1:1 Pain-Free Performance Program.

In this article, we’ll dive into the benefits of an active recovery workout for CrossFit, the science behind them, and provide examples for you to take your recovery (and performance) to the next level.

What Is A Good Active Recovery CrossFit Workout?

Whether you prefer AMRAPs, Rounds for Quality, or EMOMs, these 20-minute sessions will help you recover effectively and return stronger for your next intense workout. Try these three CrossFit-inspired active recovery routines to keep your body primed and ready for peak performance.

Workout 1: AMRAP 20 Minutes

Goal: Active recovery focusing on mobility and low-intensity cardio.

1. Row: 500 meters
2. Air Squats: 20 reps
3. Band Pull-Aparts: 20 reps
4. Banded Good Mornings: 20 reps
5. Foam Roll: 2 minutes (quads, hamstrings, back)

Instructions: Move through the exercises at a comfortable pace. Focus on quality movement and maintaining a low heart rate.

Workout 2: EMOM 20 Minutes

Goal: Full-body mobility and light conditioning.

Every minute on the minute (rotate through the exercises):

1. Minute 1: Jump Rope – 60 single unders
2. Minute 2: Cat-Cow Stretch – 1 minute
3. Minute 3: Light Dumbbell Press (5-10 lbs) – 15 reps
4. Minute 4: Goblet Squats (light weight) – 15 reps
5. Minute 5: Shoulder Taps – 20 reps (10 each side)

Instructions: Focus on smooth, controlled movements and breathing. Adjust reps as needed to keep the intensity low.

Workout 3: Rounds for Quality

Goal: Active recovery emphasizing flexibility and stability.

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes, focusing on form and control:

1. Walking Lunges: 20 steps (10 each leg)
2. Cobra Stretch: 30 seconds
3. Banded Face Pulls: 15 reps
4. Single-Leg Deadlifts (bodyweight): 10 reps each leg
5. Child’s Pose: 30 seconds

Instructions: Move slowly and with intention. Prioritize deep stretching and stability in each movement.

The Stimulus Adaptation Recovery (SRA) Curve

Stimulus-Adaptation-Recovery (SAR) curves describe how the body responds to training. When you apply a training stimulus (workout), your body experiences fatigue.

During the adaptation phase, your body rebuilds stronger to handle similar future stress better. Recovery is the period where your body repairs and restores energy levels, preparing you for the next workout. Proper management of these phases ensures continual progress and prevents overtraining.

The SRA curve can be pictured below.

As you can see, before a training session, you remain at a baseline level or “Homeostasis,” where the nervous system has no reason to change as there has been no disturbance to the system.

But as you engage in CrossFit workouts, which consist of heavy strength training and conditioning workouts that are high-intensity enough to break down muscle fibers and build up lactic acid, the system drops below this baseline level, and you actually become less fit and weaker as a result of the workout of the day (WOD).

At this point, you will need a period where physical activity is reduced and the focus moves from challenging the body to rejuvenating the body.

So that you can recover to baseline and then super compensate to elevate your fitness level and improve as a CrossFit Athlete (the blue line in the curve)

Now that you have seen an overview of why taking rest days is important, I will move into how these can be arranged throughout the week, the types of rest, and how best to recover on those days to maximize the recovery process.

How To Design Your Training Week

The actual training split you set up for yourself throughout the week will play an essential role in how you can recover from your training session as a CrossFit athlete.

A great way to do so is by scheduling three days on, one-off, two days on, and One day off for your training.

In this weekly schedule, you will have a regular high-intensity training session for three days, then take a rest day, followed by training sessions on the next two days and another rest day to end the week.

This was the original split set by Greg Glassman and has stayed the best bet in my eyes for the recreational CrossFit Athlete.

It allows you to train with high intensity. It provides a rest day where physical activity drops just in time as your nervous system. Readiness begins to dwindle from the previous three challenging workouts.

Then again, as you recover, you will be in time for training sessions four and five before the final rest day is taken at the end of the week.

But, the elephant in the room is that unless you are a competitive CrossFit athlete and the sport pays the bills, the work week may be your ideal time to train, and your days off will be restricted to the weekend.

In this case, a five-day or two-day off can work as long as adequate sleep, proper nutrition, and good hydration are maintained throughout the week.

TYPES OF REST DAYS

Rest days can be divided into two categories: full recovery days, which involve complete passive recovery, and active recovery days, which involve blood circulation and actually taking action to kick-start the recovery process.

Full Rest Days

As mentioned above, full rest days are days when physical activity completely pauses. You may not even step foot in the gym these days, or you may grab a foam roller and do some foam rolling for a few minutes.

You rely on a severe drop in movement to allow your body to recover to and above the Homeostasis line, elevating your fitness level and preparing for the next high-intensity training session.

With full rest days, it is critical to get enough sleep, take care of your nutrition, and get good hydration, as there is no movement to help move things along and ensure you are maximizing the recovery process.

Full rest days may include passive recovery modalities such as Ice Baths, Normatec Boots, Muscle Electric Stim, Massage Guns, and others.

These can all be good options and have their own individual benefits regarding the recovery process, but in my experience, nothing can replace an active approach and prioritizing blood flow, mobility exercises, and low-intensity exercise.

Full rest days are not my favorite type of rest days because they are a passive recovery strategy. Some things can be worked on, and low-intensity exercises can be performed that will not only not drive you further down the SRA curve but actually have the opposite effect and decrease the time it takes the nervous system to rebound and get better.

That said, there are times throughout the week and even year when full rest days may be the best option.

For example, the final day of your training week, the period after a long cycle of challenging workouts, such as intensification blocks in strength training, or the Deload period after a CrossFit athlete completes a season and needs a full break from the gym.

In these times, the focus is primarily on mental health and getting you back into the mindset of wanting to train again, both for the following week and for the next start of a training cycle.

Active Rest Days

Active rest is your best bet for maximizing the recovery process and accelerating your recovery back above the Homeostatic SRA curve line.

During active recovery days, the focus will be on promoting blood flow to bring proper nutrition to the muscle tissue that has been broken down in the previous week of intense workouts. We will also work on the range of motion of the joints of the body and the flexibility of the muscle tissue.

Active rest days can include targeted mobility exercises such as joint mobilizations with resistance bands, Max Aerobic Power 10 intervals such as easy work on a rowing machine, long walks, a light jog, or low-intensity exercises in a “for quality” format, Tai Chi, Yoga classes, or dynamic stretching—really anything where you are moving your body at an easy pace.

Active rest days can potentially fully replace passive recovery days because they are so much more effective at both preparing you for the next training session and adding tiny bits of volume to work on things that need to be improved, such as weak or tight muscles that are common issues, like the ankle or hip flexors.

HOW TO DESIGN EFFECTIVE RECOVERY CROSSFIT WORKOUTS

The number one overarching requirement when designing active recovery workout days is that they feel rejuvenating. You need to remember that these days are off days, and the training should be of lower intensity at a significantly reduced level of your max heart rate and have a low impact on the system.

The best way to design these active rest days is to incorporate the exercises into a weekly active recovery WOD with just the right amount of challenge to the cardiovascular system. This will increase blood flow to the working muscles and joints, bringing much-needed nutrition. 

In my Pain-Free Performance Program, I will routinely use MAP 10 intervals to accomplish this.

MAP 10 intervals are workouts where the pace of the session is at the same level as a long walk but a brisk walk.

Inside the MAP 10 session, you can structure it as an every-minute-on-the-minute (EMOM) workout where you place several low-intensity or mobility exercises at the top of each minute and repeat for 60 minutes.

You can also do steady state as many reps as possible workouts (AMRAPs) or rounds for quality workouts where you aren’t dictated by a clock minute to minute but are moving at a low intensity pace that promotes blood flow without excessive system fatigue.

Final Thoughts on Active Recovery Workouts For CrossFit

Structuring your active recovery days offers a wide range of possibilities as long as you adhere to the principles outlined above. When in doubt, prioritize active recovery over complete rest days to enhance blood flow, which is essential for maximizing recovery and preparing you for your next training session.

Remember, active recovery isn’t just about movement; it’s also about supporting your body with enough sleep, proper nutrition, and adequate hydration. These elements are critical to ensuring your recovery process is as effective as possible.

By incorporating active recovery workouts into your routine, you allow your body to heal and adapt while maintaining movement. The workouts and principles discussed here will help you promote circulation, flexibility, and mobility without adding extra stress to your muscles and joints.

I hope this article has provided clarity on designing active CrossFit recovery workouts, helping you train harder, recover better, and elevate your performance as a CrossFit athlete.

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