SubscribeAs mentioned in my last article, rest is important. I don’t hate rest. I really like to rest, I just happen to like doing things more. It can be hard to rest. We are afraid that rest will become addicting and we will become couch potatoes. Rest days are good. Learn to put them to good use. I am saying this even when I know it is next to impossible. I have been married for over 25 years. One trick to staying married that long is sharing my free time. That means Saturdays are mostly mine to beat myself up. I can go do an 8 hour long slow workout on Saturday then use Sunday as my rest day. Sunday happens to be the day I share with my family so it is not a total rest day but at least I am not working out. Sometimes, I think getting out and walking around with my wife helps with recovery. It probably does not help with recovery if you look to sit at every bench you walk by.
We all know that we need to rest. Think about what happens when you lift weights or do sprints. You go all out for a very short duration, take a breather then repeat. We need to rest. Sleeping is a big part of rest. When you are into serious training, you need to get plenty of quality sleep. Most of us know what time we are going to wake up in the morning. If you go to sleep late, set your alarm clock accordingly. Do not set your alarm clock early then hit the snooze button for an hour. That is not a good hour’s sleep. I noticed that I do not sleep as well when I am resting for a long duration. When I took time off after the triathlon, work stress kept me up at night. Balance is good.
I tend to eat a balanced diet consisting of healthy foods. I also look for real foods with real sugar and real fat. There is nothing wrong with going out and eating some junk food on a rest day. I consider fat free yogurt junk food but that is not what I will indulge in on a rest day. I will aim for pizza or In-N-Out burger and a milkshake from real ice cream on a rest day.
Drink plenty of water and get some sleep on rest days. Rest is good.
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