Frankie Goes To Hollywood

When you are very sick, it's time to catch up on your reading, or perhaps watch what is saved on your DVR.  In a word, you REST.  Resting allows the body to heal from a cold, a broken heart, a broken leg, the stomach flu.  These examples are obvious and most people know that they need rest.

However, rest is also very important to your training program.  Resting while healthy and in training allows your body to heal, just as resting when you are sick or in times of emotional distress, allows your body to heal.  One aspect of training that isn't talked about enough, in my opinion, are the benefits of one rest day per week to 10 days of training.  The rest day gets swept under the rug in this society that seems to feel like we always have to be doing something in order to succeed!  I will argue the opposite, that it is the times in between that allow us to become successful.  The easier your rest days, the harder you can go on your hard days because you have stored up the energy.  If you never fill your tank up, you will always be running on empty.

I could probably search and include many links on this subject here for you to click on and read, but something about this seems like a waste of time for you.  I'll break it down - when you rest, your body heals.  The small microscopic tears in your muscles heal.  Your brain takes a break from motivating you out the door.   You get to relax and not worry about squeezing in your workout to an already busy day.  There is an art in resting and those that perfect this art end up with amazing results on the race course. They also end up being relatively injury free! Resting allows you to focus on your mind and your body - to do a self check and to see how you are really doing.  When we constantly push and pull and nag and talk and text and email and facebook and twitter and multi-task and keep our eyes and souls closed, we further ourselves from our body and what can be accomplished when the body and mind are in sync.  Rest allows you to reconnect.  Rest allows you to take a moment to pat yourself on your back for your efforts. Rest allows you to ask yourself questions that are pushed way back when we are constantly fatigued.  These questions and their answers are what will keep you going and living your best life.

Even if it's just one day in 10 days, a rest day will improve your overall training.  Think about it and then try it.  It definitely won't hurt you!