Good morning!
It isn’t always easy returning to school or work after the last long weekend of summer. So to cheer you all up, I am having a fun chia seed giveaway this morning!
Read on to find out how to enter. :)
Rest Days: What Exactly Do You Do?
Over the years, my thoughts on rest and recovery days have been all over the map.
In my late teens and early twenties, I rarely considered the option of even giving myself a so called rest day. I did too much and I felt burned out. No surprises there.
After my injury this year, something sort of clicked inside me and I started to appreciate taking rest days. I realized that if I was going to give my best performance, I needed to let my body heal itself.
Over the past several months as I have been training for my summer races, I realized even more how important a rest day can be and how much it improves both my physical and mental energy. As my mileage has increased, I appreciate and look forward to my rest days more and more.
What do I do on my rest day?
I typically take the term ‘rest day’ to heart. I don’t exercise or really even move much during my rest days. I see it as a well deserved lazy day when I don’t feel a workout nagging in the back of my mind. However, I will admit, some of my rest days I am left feeling fidgety. Some days I want to exercise a bit, but I feel like I would be harming my body and not giving it proper rest. I am also questioning if I should be doing anything else on my rest days. More stretching, sleeping, icing, eating, etc. Truly, rest days couldn’t be as simple as resting, could they?
Given this dilemma, I was quite happy to see my Runner’s World arrive in the mail. One of the featured cover stories, ‘Rest Right: Make the most of your days off’ caught my attention. Like always, the fabulous people at Runner’s World read my mind.
Here is the kicker:
Exercise physiologist, Dr. Stephen McGregor says to make the most out of your recovery days doing absolutely nothing all day is not ideal.
I’m telling you guys, I almost threw this magazine in the garbage! I said to myself, ‘No one can take away my lazy rest days! Noooooooooo!’
Wait, I’m supposed to move on my rest days? AreyoujokingIhopeyouarejokingme.
Dr. McGregor says that having an active recovery (have you ever heard of a bigger oxymoron!?) can sooth aches and prepare you for stronger workouts better than an inactive recovery day.
Still not liking where this is going. But, I read on. ;)
The article went on to give some tips for increasing the benefit of recovery days.
1) Move It
Do very light activity like walking your dog or riding a bike for about 30 minutes. “Keep the intensity low…you shouldn’t be out of breath.”
2) Loosen Up
We don’t always have time to stretch properly after tough workouts, especially if they are long in duration. Use your rest days to focus on stretching out your tight spots. Research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine finds that yoga boosts running performance.
3) Eat Smart
Focus on eating the nutrients that you don’t get enough of during the week. If you normally spend 45 minutes on exercise, take some of this time to plan out proper nutrition.
3) Tune In Early
Our bodies and brains need sleep to heal from the mental and physical stress of training. Try to get 7-9 hours of undisturbed sleep.
My thoughts:
Ok, so some light activity might not hurt me, in fact it could actually improve my recovery. I think I am going to be more open to the idea of doing some light walking on my rest days if I want to.
However, coming from my obsessive past with exercise, I know that information like this can be used in a negative way by some. I think it is important to stress that even though some light activity may improve recovery, it is still 100% FINE and DANDY to just sit on the couch during our rest days. We earned the rest and we can spend it however we please.
So of course, take this article with a grain of salt. The take home message here is if you want to do some light exercise and find yourself fidgety when sitting still all day then by all means do some. But, don’t allow yourself to fall into the ‘I should be doing more and more’ trap. If you really want to veg out on your rest day, then veg the heck out!
How do you approach rest days? Are you an all out rester or do you prefer to get in some activity? Have you found that activity helps your recovery?
Leave one comment below by midnight EST for your chance to win a 3 pound bag of chia seeds, graciously donated by Chia Seeds Direct. Contest open to US and Canadian residents only please.
I hear that Chia Seeds Direct also has free shipping within the US.
Chia seeds…the wonder seed!
Goodluck and Happy Short Work Week!
See you later for a breakdown of what to do immediately after an intense workout from minutes 0-45. Have I been doing it all wrong? Stay tuned to find out!
Ang, this is such funny timing because I just wrapped up my university field hockey training camp last Thursday and after 15 days of 2-a-day workouts including tons of sprint work, stairs, actual sport, lifting weights, we always take both, an active and total rest day. The active rest day is a really useful tool for getting your muscles warm enough to stretch. Also, I find that without active rest, it is very hard to flush the lactate out of muscles. I love having one of each and I find that my body also responds better to a steady decline in activity, rather than an abrupt cessation in activity. Besides, a total rest day is more useful for experimenting with those chia seeds!
Great info. I haven’t had a chance to look at my runners msg yet. Blarg!
Yay chia seeds!
I tend to do rest days like you do – not much. But I like the idea of taking the time to stretch, as I feel that I normally rush through that part – and it feels the best!
I’ve SO been wanting to try chia seeds – thanks for the chance at some!
I’m all for doing nothing on rest days! Sometimes I feel like just sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and book.
I am so curious about chia seeds!
I usually end up taking the dogs for a walk most days, so I still do a little something on my “rest” days. I usually I think of them more as a none running day, although I do try and cross-train the day after my long run (we’ll see how that goes after 18 & 20 milers in the next couple of weeks).
Oh, chia seeds. I’ve been longing to try them!! I’ve seen some at whole foods, but I wasn’t sure which ones to get. I would love to try them!!!
I sleep in on my day of rest! It is nice not to hear that 5 am alarm.
I usually just see how I feel on my rest days. Sunday I was really tired (I ran 8 miles on Saturday), so I just did errands, stuff around the house, met up with friends, etc., making the most of my extra time! Some days I’ll do some light walking or something if I feel more energetic.
Also, I have been dying to try chia seeds!
I always feel so weird doing NOTHING on rest days, and then wonder if that was good for my body. I wonder if I did something light like yoga or the bike ride they suggested, if I’d feel better the day I went back to my harder workouts? Hmm.
And I hope I win the chia seeds! I’ve been so curious about them!
I truly try to take my rest day as a complete rest day. I find this gives me the motivation to get back at it the next day
I went a long time without ever taking rest days and lately have realized what a horrible plan that is! I was so burnt out all the time! No I make myself take at least one rest day a week. It’s usually during the week and since I have to walk a lot during the day anyways, I stay somewhat active. I also try to get a good stretch in!
I’m as lazy as possible on my rest days … although perhaps that would be less of a problem if it was only one day a week, rather than two or three!
Most rest days I take totally off. I might walk a bit to run errands or something, but usually the extra time in my day goes to working instead of a lighter workout.
I think the article is right, though. When I ran competitively I would always do a light jog on rest days, the theory being that it helps to work lactic acid-related soreness out of your muscles. I think it does help, but it’s only really imperative if you’re looking to PR all the time. Dealing with a little extra muscle soreness during your next workout might be annoying, but if you need a rest day to totally laze, it definitely won’t be the end of the world.
On rest days I usually try to go for a little walk or do some light yoga. Even if I am just walking instead of driving for an errand, I count that as extra movement!
i sometimes get caught in an exercise catch-22. i feel guilty for going on a run (am i pushing myself too hard?) and i also feel guilty for NOT (i’m just being lazy!) i guess that’s a reason to plan out my workouts/rest days in advance.
anyway, great post as usual! i would LOVE to win some chia seeds! thanks for the awesome giveaway.
taking rest days is hard!! i know i’m still working on overcoming the exercise guilt that comes with this. but when i do let myself take them – usually when i’ve had a killer all-day volleyball tournament the day before or something like that – then they feel great. note to self: rest is GOOD! thanks for being such a positive role model ange!!
ooh, and chia seeds = yummy. best little things ever.
On rest days I am cleaning the house or cutting the lawn which I think qualifies as a light workout. My favourite thing to do though is take the dog for a walk by the lake which is great for body and soul. Just ran out of chia seeds so this would be great to win.
I’m not a runner or a hardcore work out-er, so I don’t usually take a rest day, since most of my exercise comes from moving myself around doing what I need to during the day.
I <3 CHIA! :D
I like to take my dog on a long walk on my rest days. We move slow, so it’s not rigorous, but it shakes out my legs and releases all the lactic acid build up!
My rest days depend on the activity, when I tried 30 Day Shred for the first time I needed 2 days of rest. LOL
BTW – Thank you for the Healthy Swirl Pancake recipe! I make a batch on Sundays and freeze them to take to work with me for breakfast. I am no longer tempted by the donuts and they keep me full till lunch!