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!
Well, Ang, according to that article, I’ve been doing it all wrong! Haha. I prefer, if possible, on rest days to lay around in my PJs watching old movies and giving my muscles a chance to recoop! :) It’s always felt beneficial to me! :)
On my rest days I still walk because I like to get outside especially if it is nice out and it is my mode of transportation most of the time. I take rest days whenever I want to though. :-)
I just ran out of chia seeds – hope I win some!!!
I take rest weekends and I don’t feel guilty about it. I work hard all week (at work and working out), so I thoroughly enjoy my weekends.
I always forget about rest. I have the mentality of “the more the better”. This article really opened my eyes. This is especially important since I am new to running & I teach so many group fitness classes. For my active rest days I usually walk, practice light yoga, or do an intense session (like 1 hr) of full body stretching. That way I am not stressing my body, but I am not just lounging.
Thanks for the article summary, & thanks for the chia seed giveaway. I’ve been wanting to try them for so long!
Ch-ch-ch-chia! I’ve been waiting for a chia seed giveaway :-)
On rest days, I like to take my dog out for a quick walk, do some gentle yoga poses or light lap swimming to help my muscles flush out the lactic acid that causes soreness. Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day, but I did some strenuous yoga and pulled my lower back – ouch!
Have a great day.
~Laura
Backstage Pass to Health & Happiness
Laura MKE.blogspot.com
I feel like I need to do something. SO, I often consider lifting weights a day off… Or, a hike or bike ride on the weekends instead of running!
I love your blog! Thanks so much for writing. I am definitely an all out rester. Sometimes I try to do some stretching, since I don’t focus on that enough, but mostly I just take it easy. Well-deserved, I say.
I have never tried chia seeds…hopefully I’ll get the chance now!
I do nothing. Flat out lazy.
I do a 3 day on 1 day off week. By that time I need a rest for sure. I do usually take my dog for a work and maybe use that day to clean up the house but for the most part I just veg.
I think rest days are really important. It is hard to slow down sometimes, but overall performance will improve with some much needed rest time, especially when intensely training!
I <3 chia seeds in my oatmeal!
I think its really important to listen to your body if your body is saying I just need to lay around or its saying wow what a nice day I really want to go for a walk then do it. I feel like so many of us follow too many “rules” about what we “should” do.
Oh man this poor college student would love a giant bag of chia seeds!!
I usually run 3 days a week, cross train 3 days a week and take one day completely off. Although depending on my schedule and post-injury body, it sometimes works out to more than one rest day…
I usually mix it up, but if I did a really hard workout the day before and am so sore the next day, I like to take a little walk because otherwise I feel like the muscles stay more sore and for a longer time period. Light walking and stretching for me!
I do participate in active rest days, for the most part. I’m a big fan of talking long, easy walks- so I guess what I’m doing is right on! I don’t stretch enough though… I need to get on that!
I want chia seeds too! I have yet to try them!!
xo
K
Rest days…ahhh. If you have earned them, definitely take them! I would love some chia seeds as I have not tried them yet. I am sure they would give me and my green monster a boost!
I only have one rest day a week.. I really don’t need more then that.. So when I do have it, I take that time to do simple, productive things that make me feel good. Small walk to a park that I’ve been wanting to go to, cleaning the bathroom like I was supposed to three weeks ago (you have no idea how gross our bathroom is right now roflmao), organizing my very messy closet, dancing my heart out.
Of course, there are days that I actually do nothin’. I mean, sometimes my body just says “Hey kaylee. Sit yo buns down on that comfy couch over there and watch trashy VH1 shows.” to which I respond “Well, if you insist… ♥”
XD
I reckon you should do what you want, and if it feels good.. keep it up! If it doesn’t, then change it. Your body knows what’s up.
Good timing on the post, as I am just realizing I need to give my body some more rest during my marathon training. I used to really overdo-it on rest days, but now I take it easy. What I do on my rest days often depends on how busy I am. If I have a lot of free time, I’ll go for a walk or bike. If I’m too busy, I won’t worry about it.
I like to schedule my active rest days around my cleaning schedule. I found the doing house work is a good active recovery. It gets me moving, but not out of breath.
I have a very hard time resting… as in sitting still or vegging out. I have a 5 year old and a 8 month old so the days I don’t run or exercise I’m still running after the young ones!! I did recently “sleep in” (till 7:00.. I usually put my running shoes on at 4:45) and I didn’t feel one bit of guilty!! I loved every second of my “no exercise” day!!
I try to at least go for a short walk or just do something, it helps with some of the soreness for weight lifting. I would love to win the chia seeds too!