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!
My rest days are for resting, but I am usually itching to do some activity. Usually I am really ready to workout again after a day off!!!
Hi Ange,
I definately think that this article could send the wrong message to some people. Especially in a world where people often struggle with eating and exercise disorders. It is eas to get caught up in it all and to think that it is never enough. I remember when I use to think that exercising 3 times a week was alot. Then you get to 3 days a week and all of a sudden you think you need to do it 5 times. It just escalates from there. It is important to know when enough is enough. The struggle is being comfortable with what is good for you and trying not to compare yourself to everyone else.
:)
I agree with you that a rest day is crucial to staying energized and feeling good for the next workout, especially if it was an intense or long run/training session. Thanks for the insight!
I can stand doing NOTHING all day. So, no rest days, I will walk at lunch or walk to the store…just to get the blood flowing!
I like to take a rest day to go for a walk, or do something more relaxing that I feel benefits me more mentally than physically. Being a healthy, well-balanced person is more than just nutrition and exercise!
LOVE Chia seeeds!!! :D
xxoo
Heather
I looove couch days. I in fact take more couch days than are probably necessary, but the dogs do get walked most every day, and some rest days are really not with a swim or yoga or Zumba class. I am interested to see what your breakdown for immediately after a workout is…after a long run my 0-7minutes is normally collapse on couch and have inner conflict about “strides/stretching/icing/eating” versus “fall into sweaty coma”.
I think it is really important to listen to your own body in regard to rest days. Everyone will tell you something different! I usually take it easy on rest days with no “scheduled exercise,” but I still remain active throughout my day. I definitely think that having a little activity and not a “go into a coma” rest day helps your body and mind!
Since I’m training for St. Jude 1/2 in December, I love my rest days. I generally will do a 20 min yoga for runners or detox yoga from yogadownload.com on my rest days. Today my son is sick (prob the flu…) so I took a TRUE rest day, even a NAP!!!! We love chia seeds, I have my husband and kids eating them on their cereal, sprinkled in soup, etc!
My rest days are Wednesdays and Sundays which I use for cleaning the house and yard work, so I guess that counts as some form of exercise. I can’t stand being inactive all day!:)
I like to do yoga but sometimes end up doing nothing instead! I would love to try out chia seeds!
I require rest days. I need one day every so often where I zone out.
As for exercise rest days… I try to have a day off of running every other day. I will walk, bike or do nothing those days.
I think they are neccesary.
I definitely take two rest days a week. Maybe I’ll do 20 minutes of yoga, but that’s it. I think they are good for my mental and physical health!
Love the chia seed giveaway too. . .I’ve been dying to try them!
I have two rest days a week. Since marathon training doesn’t allow me time to take my dog for long walks on the days I run, I usually take my dog on a long walk on rest days. It makes me feel less guilty and my dog SO happy!
I still like to do a little something on my rest days…often times just because something like a long, wandering walk feels so relaxing compared to the training days!! Or sometimes I’ll just dance around the house on my rest days!
I usually take a rest day after long runs and hard weight lifting sessions. I think rest and recovery are very important to rid the body of lactic acid. I just listen to my body, I may do a light Yoga or Pilates class or just do nothing at all. Most importantly, I’ve learned to be in tune with my body and do what feels best.
I love Chia seeds, and would love to win the 3lb. pack!
I get one rest day a week – Friday’s and I look forward to it all week! I used to think I had to do something everyday but I just got tired!
I’m currently training for a marathon and have two rest days a week. Even though I miss running on those days, I know its an investment for me to continue to feel good on the days I do run. I usually end up doing something active, like walking around or playing tennis, but I don’t feel guilty lounging on the coach either :)
*couch!
I like to rest on my rest days. I am learning to listen to my body more, so if I feel like I need to go for a light workout, I will. I will do pilates or yoga. I feel like focusing on stretching and proper nutrition on your rest days is ideal! Especially if you might feel a little guilty for taking a day off.
I rest totally…. except for making smoothies with chia seed in them… gee i wonder where i could get some? ;-) Thanks for having this contest!
I don’t really LIKE to be active on recovery days, but I do feel like I recover better when I have a light walk or something just to loosen up a bit. It helps me keep from getting sore.