We’re often asked by prospective members and existing members alike – how many times a week should I do CrossFit? Some also ask – is 3x CrossFit a week enough? Or sometimes – how many times should I attend to see progress?
The short answer to these questions is… it depends. That being said, we do see common patterns linked with how many times a week people typically attend, and there is (we believe!) a ‘sweet spot’ that suits most CrossFit gym members. Before we reveal all of our secrets – let’s rewind and establish a bit of context around this big topic!
The original CrossFit prescription
The original CrossFit.com programme followed a format of 3-on 1-off; a 4 day pattern. For individuals with a set weekly schedule, this idea became tricky, as the pattern worked for an day rotation as opposed to 7. To follow it strictly would mean varying the ‘rest days’ from week to week, which isn’t always practical for many busy adults.
Now, even if it was a set 7 day pattern with pre-determined rest days, this would still be tricky for many to accommodate – especially those working from home with varying flexibility and meeting patterns, or those working shifts or irregular hours.
Post-Covid: Changing Times
Pre-covid, a lot of CrossFit Gyms (SCFIT included!) would see members attending on a strict routine. You’d see your 6am folk, always coming in early to get their pre-work fitness fix, and the evening-goers dropping in after work for their class, and they would rarely cross over. People would often comment that at gym events such as CrossFit Competitions and Throwdowns they would meet fellow gym members who they had never even seen before – despite them being longstanding members. The reason? They each had their set class times, and rarely deviated. Post 2020, as many businesses started to normalise working from home and flexible working became the norm, gym members started to enjoy more flexibility with their class times, and often their training days too. For many this added flexibility was a huge bonus – it gave more options for them to attend the gym, and allowed them to make more progress by attending more regularly.
So how many times should I attend…?
This really depends – first of all on your goals. For example, a budding CrossFit competitor is unlikely to meet their competitive goals by attending just twice a week… and similarly for a tired, busy parent with a demanding, physical job looking to ‘just move’ and be coached in a safe and welcoming environment is likely to feel burnt out if they attend a CrossFit class every single day. So – what is the sweet spot? if you’re trying to work out how many CrossFit classes you can fit into your week, and are keen to gauge an idea of the kind of progress you should expect to see, check out our guide below for a very broad overview* of what to expect.
*It’s worth noting here that there are a huge number of additional factors when predicting the progress someone is likely to see when starting CrossFit. Starting fitness level, previous experience, hours and quality of sleep, diet, hydration, alcohol consumption, activity levels outside of the gym, family and general lifestyle all play a very significant role in progress – so be sure to take this guide with a ‘pinch of salt’.
2 CrossFit classes per week
You’ll undoubtedly start to notice a difference in fitness, although progress will be a little slower. It’s possible you’ll feel quite sore the day after, and may continue to experience this soreness even a few weeks into your programme. This soreness (DOMS – Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is different for everyone and depends on many factors, but it’s often more prominent for people doing new movements that their body hasn’t done in a while, or isn’t used to doing regularly. When you consider the number of different movements in CrossFit, in just two classes per week, it could be that you ‘miss’ a number of movements sometimes for weeks at a time. So, when you do attend a class that re-introduces this movement, it will be more of a ‘shock’ to the system. This isn’t a huge problem in itself, but can make your overall experience less enjoyable, and mean you can fall into a cycle of only being able to come twice a week, because you feel too sore to come more frequently. Not only this, but ‘missing’ movements regularly will simply stunt your progress, because you are practicing them less often. It can even put you at higher risk of injury, as your body isn’t being exposed to the movement patterns as regularly.
Our advice:
If you can, dial back the intensity a little, and try to attend more regularly. If twice per week is your only option, this is absolutely 1000x better than not attending at all – but be mindful that you may be more susceptible to DOMs. Choose lower risk movement options if you arrive to class and are presented with a movement you haven’t performed in a long time, and as always – if in doubt, ask the CrossFit Coach. They will always be on hand in class to support and advise the best adaptation of the workout for you, your goals and your routine.
3 CrossFit classes per week
This is where we start to experience real progress! Attending 3 sessions a week will allow your body to be exposed to a range of different movements and modalities, and provide the consistency needed to start seeing major changes in your body, mood and fitness levels. You’ll likely feel less sore, but hopefully feel as though you’re experiencing enough rest and downtime between classes to feel ready to go when your next class comes around. If you have a few rest days in a row, it’s possible you might feel pretty stiff – and the first class back may feel more tough, and might leave you feeling a little sore afterwards.
Our advice:
You’re now just one class a week away from the ‘sweet spot’! During a quiet moment at the weekend, look at your calendar for the week ahead. Find 5 class times you will be able to attend, and book them all into your diary. If something comes up one day (or worst case scenario – two days) you’ll still always have at least three sessions in the books! Hopefully, you’ll be able to make four – and before you know it, you’ll be moving on up to 4 CrossFit classes per week and seeing significant progress!
4 CrossFit Classes per week
This, for most CrossFit gym members, is the ideal! It’s frequent enough to see real, measurable results, but with enough time for the body to rest and recover in between. So if you’re nailing 4 days a week – what’s next? Should you aspire to 5 days a week, or is this the ideal attendance?
Our advice:
It depends. It depends on your body, your goals, and your other lifestyle factors. If you’re an existing SCFT member and you’re consistently attending 4 days a week, and are not sure what to work towards next, book a free Member Check In! We’d love to hear about your progress and help support you towards your future goals.
5 CrossFit Classes+ per week
For many, an additional class per week = more progress! The class programming in designed in such a way that you shouldn’t feel too beaten up by attending this regularly (i.e., there will be a good balance of short and fast workouts, ‘heavy days’, and lower intensity cardio sessions!). If you’re programming your own workouts though, be mindful of modalities, themes and movements, to make sure you’re not doing the same thing for multiple days in a row. This will help manage energy levels and reduce the risk of injury or overtraining.
Our advice:
If you have the time and energy to attend 5 days per week, and you’ve chatted to a coach at SCFIT, go for it! If you’re just starting out, our recommendation is to build up to this. Going straight from 0 CrossFit Classes a week to 5 CrossFit Classes+ per week is big jump, and could put you at risk of injury, or overtraining and reaching burnout. And as we’ve covered already – recovery is SO important, so make sure you are not neglecting your diet, sleep and recovery if you’re going to be ramping up the training.
Whatever my routine.. should I totally rest on my rest days?
This is a big question, and the topic of much debate. Our advice is always to move in some capacity – sitting down all day is proven to do the body no good, and if you’re working out with some intensity on your training days, being completely sedentary on your days off will likely make you more sore and stiff when you return to class. Most CrossFit gym members will feel the benefit of gentle exercise, such as going for a walk, going for a gentle swim, or having a stretch. This is our advice: simply move. You may hear of some CrossFitters doing ‘active recovery’ on their rest days – this may mean the aforementioned gentle exercise, but some may even go to the gym and do a low-impact ‘Zone 2’ workout or similar. If you are either:
– feeling very sore on your rest days, and ‘feeling worse’ for having rested
Or
– are itching to exercise on your rest days, and feel great
…then chat to a CrossFit Coach at the gym! They’ll be able to chat to you about your goals and circumstances and advise how best to move forward. If you fall into camp A, it might be there are other aspects of recovery that need some attention, and not necessarily that a rest day is a bad thing. Similar, if you fall into Camp B, it may be that it’s time to ‘level up’ the intensity in your workouts on the training days, if your body feels like it’s lacking a challenge. Changing how many days you train may not be the answer, so be sure to chat to your CrossFit coach for their advice.
The most popular CrossFit membership at SCFIT
So – with all of this in mind – it probably comes as no surprise that at SCFIT, our most popular gym membership is our 18 CrossFit Classes per month option, working out to 4 sessions per week. For most, this is the perfect balance between attending frequently enough to see measurable results, but not so often that other life priorities are compromised, or that the member is left feeling burnt out or depleted.
In summary…
In general, 4 CrossFit classes per week is ideal – and as you become more experienced, fitter and used to the movement patterns and intensity, 5 days could really give you the edge! Whatever your goals, always chat to your CrossFit coach and let them know what you want to achieve in the context of your work, home and lifestyle factors. We’re here to support you on your CrossFit journey, and have your best interests at heart.
Keen to know more about CrossFit, and find out if SCFIT is a good fit for you? Book a free No Sweat Intro in the gym now!