Rest!

This is your friendly reminder to rest. The reason I am bringing it up again is that I’ve been witnessing two scenarios as of late:

1. Some people slacked off towards the end of last year and are now hitting it ultra hard to make up for lost time.
2. With The Dry Tri on the horizon, many have been overdoing cardio because they signed up for a competition.

Training for a competition or getting back on track is FANTASTIC! But, like anything, the name of the game is sustainability. Will you be able to keep this pace up? Is it even smart to keep this pace up?

You don’t want to beat yourself down.

You have to rest in order to improve.

Taking rest days helps protect you from injury. If you’re stressing your muscles with a workout, they need time to repair. You shouldn’t be sore all the time. Rest days allow the muscles to replenish their glycogen stores, thereby reducing muscle fatigue and preparing the muscles for their next workout.

Say you’re sore after a particular workout. That’s called “overreaching.” It happens to all of us. But, if you are continually over-reaching, you will eventually be over-training. This can lead to sleep disturbances, an increase in the rate of injury, and a lack of performance or progress.

Rest days don’t mean sitting on the couch all day. Moving around on rest days is optimal. It’s called active recovery. Great things to do on rest days include mobility, long walks, or other non-strenuous activities. Don’t do anything that’s going to make you tired or sore.

It’s recommended to take rest days every 3-5 days, depending on your workouts. I, personally, rest on Thursdays and Sundays. On those days, sometimes I walk the bridge, I typically go to the dog park, and I get lots of steps in. As a result, the day following my rest day, I am READY to attack my next workout with full effort.

There is tons of science behind rest days…EVERYONE needs them. So, schedule rest days and ENJOY! You won’t lose your gains…I promise.

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