Almost everything in life is best if used in a certain dose. Anything from sleep, to food, to medication are best used in the proper amounts. Too little sleep or food leads to feeling tired and rundown while too much can make you fat and sluggish. Medication is even more obvious, too little is completely ineffective, while too much can literally kill you. Excercise most certainly falls under the same guidelines. Too little movement will make your joints seize, and lead to general sluggishness, not to mention the potential for extra fat. Too much excercise can be just as bad. This typically leads to at best little adaptation over time, and in the worst case too much improper movement can lead to injury. The right balance between intensity and rest is key to maximizing adaptations.
Most people when they first start CrossFit don't understand the relationship. They see for the most part short workouts surrounded by "warmup" and skill work. Initially the weights are light and the intensity is specifically low to help teach proper movement patterns. The people who come from a "standard" gym environement initially feel that more is needed. While intensity during CrossFit workouts is low, this is fine. The problem is people rarely see when to stop the "extra" workouts until it is too late and injury or burnout has set in.
The elite athletes can also fall into this trap. They are willing to do almost anything to get to the next level including 2 and 3 WODs a day. On occasion that can be a great way to shock the system, but certainly can easily get out of hand if proper rest days aren't near by.
In the end, good form, consistency, and high intensity seem to be the best perscription for CrossFit. If you feel you need more, spend some time working on a skill. It is amazing how doing a movement better makes it easier in the end.
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