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!
I’m not very good at ‘all out resting’ and neither is the husband, so I generally do something leisurely, if you will. Something like maybe a slow paced walk aroud our neighborhood or just the regular cleanin’ house (ugh!) As you said about yourself, I tend to crave a ‘do nothing’ day, but then get fidgetty quite quickly. I do find that I feel like I have more energy when I do something, rather than nothing…
Looking forward to the after work-out post!
Nikki :)
my rest days typically involve lots of walking!!! anything to keep my muscles from freaking out on me :]
I had this exact issue on Sunday. Was supposed to be a rest day in my sprint triathlon training plan. But I was feeling good, wanted to move! But I know it is important to take that day off because this week will be full of intense exercise. However, I did walk the dogs 2 miles which I do every day and that kept my legs loose and I felt great getting some fresh air.
I hope I win the chia!!
Courtney
Adventures in Tri-ing
I take rest days a lot more frequently than I used and find that it makes me feel better. Typically I do light walking and stretching on my rest days. The walking is usually done while shopping at mall =]
So EXCITED about the Chia Seeds!
I usually play it by feel :) After a 12 mile run I had during half marathon training I was so antsy that I walked a few miles and went on a bike ride, but after an 8 mile run a couple weeks later all I wanted to do the next day was just sit and stretch. Either way I’m good as long as my body is good!
Hi there! :)
On my rest days I find that after awhile I begin to feel very anxious and start to fidget. I have a hard time not feeling lazy on rest days. So typically I’ll start out indulging in some TV (which I don’t normally do), or I’ll lay around reading a magazine. When I feel like I need to move I’ll do some light housework, or run errands, window shop.. that kind of thing. Some days I’ll play tennis with J. We’re not very good so it’s no serious tennis match or anything, haha! So I guess for me, I start out resting and then end up doing light activity!
Have a great day!
i think when it comes to rest days it’s all about listening to your body. Some weeks my body is telling me i need complete rest, other weeks my body needs stretching so i’ll do light yoga. thanks for bringing up this topic !
i’d love to win chia seeds i’ve never tried them before!! thanks for the giveaway angela!
Since I’m new to running and never have time to hit the gym as often as I should, I’ve never given much thought to rest days. Thank you for the post because it’s definitely on my radar now
. . . and THANK YOU for the Chia Seeds giveaway, I’m crossing my fingers!
Haha, glad to hear I’m not the only one who loves a lazy rest day :P With that said, I do find my muscles feel a lot less stiff when I let them recover through walking or gentle yoga. So I usually take one “lazy day” and one “active” day a week. My workout intesity always changes throughout the week too, so even my workouts can range from 25 minutes to 2 hours. I always make sure to eat lots on rest days as well. Some people eat less because they’re not burning as many calories, but I want to give my boy the fuel it needs to recover :) Besides, I’m always more hungry on my off days anyways! :P
Oooh I really want to try the chia seeds! And I agree with you – I like to be super lazy on my rest days :)
I take whole days off, because when I try to force myself into activity every day of the week, I fall off the wagon. I find I’m more likely to fit in physical activity on most days if I have scheduled days off. Moderation, of course!
Cool giveaway!
I try to take one day off each week from a planned workout. I usually end up doing a good amount of stretching and sometimes walking on my “off” days. However, I never intend to complete any certain activites.
I also will throw in a random rest day if my body simply needs it. I find that taking a rest when my body is telling me to, pays off big-time in the long run.
I have a difficult time taking true rest days, so I will try to do yoga on my days off. I love me some chia seeds!
I think the most important thing to do is LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! If on your “rest” day all you want to do is sit on the couch, then do it! If you can do some light stretching or a walk around the block though, don’t hold back! We are all different fitness levels to begin with, so our rest levels are obviously going to be different as well. You know what’s best for you!
I find that while rest days from training is important, a walk around the park with my dog and BF or leisurely bike ride/rollerblade keeps my spirits up and increases my motivation to tackle training days without feeling like my body hasn’t moved in a while. I do find that I eat a lot more after intense training days!
On rest days, I take advantage of the extra time I have. I sleep in a little (Mmmmm!) and then in the evenings, I’ll take a bath (to warm up my muscles a bit, lol) and spend some time stretching.
Sunday is my rest day…check out my blog post about it! http://life-prosper.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-sundays-are-all-about-be-lazy.html
I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen on Sundays, making meals ahead of time for busy work weeks.
I also just try to relax on my day of rest. I agree with the other comments–I love to just sleep in!
Chia seeds sound exciting! I’d love to give them a try.
I don’t like rest days. I mean, I avoid them. I always think that I have to push more, do more, ride more…. I don’t realize that 4-5 days a week of exercise is great! I think that that’s like doing nothing. When I don’t workout, it’s always on days I can’t. Like when I have to go somewhere for the whole day, or something like this. My classes will start soon, so I won’t be able to workout everyday. Any rest will be well appreciated. I need to work on my psyche :D
My rest days vary in accordance to each week’s activity level. If I have run a LOT (or lifted a lot, not slept as much as I should, etc.) then I have a totally lazy (and even slightly lazy eating!) rest day. I may plop down with a good book, old movie, or my laptop for hours at a time. I take naps, eat a little ice cream, and enjoy my time off! I like to think of my rest days as an exercise just like anything else. If I want to get faster, stronger, or leaner I NEED to let my body heal (just like I need to pound the pavement, lift the weights, or cool down after a workout even when I don’t want to) Yes some rest days are rough because I am so used to being active — but they are VERY needed!
If I’ve slacked the whole week…maybe skipped a run, indulged in too many treats, etc. then I tend to have and “active” rest day. I may ride my bike at night, or do a light bit of yoga, etc. Just something to get me moving–just not sweating.