are two rest days necessary sometimes?

chloeealicee
chloeealicee Posts: 204 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I run every other morning and practice pilates and yoga 6 times a week and have recently started dabbling with the idea of light strength training but even though i rest a day between each run my legs are always tired and ache and it effects the quality of my work and daily life. I started running 3 months ago and it's always been this routine.
would longer rest periods help this problem?

Replies

  • lblair31374
    lblair31374 Posts: 9
    I would try it. It's great that you're that active, but you have to listen to your body. If your body is that tired, you're overdoing it.
  • butlersoft
    butlersoft Posts: 219 Member
    Depends how far you run ....

    I run on alternate days and do 3-5 miles (5-8km) each time. I don't have any trouble and don't need longer to recover.

    I'll sometimes do a longer run on the Saturday or Sunday morning too.

    Certainly if you're banging out 10+ miles every other day, you might want to ease up a bit !!
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    After a killer weights session I found that my day 2 ache was twice as bad as day 1 so I ended up taking 3 rest days before I went for a run. I like to let my muscles heal as I feel like it's better for me in the long run.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    I run every other morning and practice pilates and yoga 6 times a week and have recently started dabbling with the idea of light strength training but even though i rest a day between each run my legs are always tired and ache and it effects the quality of my work and daily life. I started running 3 months ago and it's always been this routine.
    would longer rest periods help this problem?

    You could be on a combination of issues, if you're running every other day then that's 3-4 days per week, which isn't a huge amount. that does depend on how far you're running, but if you've only been doing that for three months then I'd assume you're in the realms of 3-5km per session.

    If your legs are feeling fatigued then I'd probably attribute that more to nutrition than overdoing the running.

    What may contribute to that is also doing the yoga and pilates. Whilst neither is particularly high intensity they both involve quite a lot of leg work.

    I run four times per week, generally in the realms of 8-12km with a one longer run up to 24. After most runs I'll have a bottle of recovery drink, 250 calories of protein/ carb mix.

    If I run three or four days straight then my legs do feel a bit leaden on the last day, but generally one rest day is enough for me. On non running days I try to cycle, swim or do some resistance training.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I've only found I really need two or more rest days with heavier high volume programs.

    When I was doing my own training- which had structure- but it wasn't the same- I found only one or two days was fine.

    now I lift 3 days a week 4 at most and I have dance class Saturday- Monday and Tuesday- only Monday over laps with weight training.
    Thursday and Sunday are completely "OFF" for me.

    I need them- I could use a third rest day- and thankfully tuesday is work- but it's not typically heavy training- maybe 30 min of zumba and then usually 75 min of dance- but no lifting- it could totally be a full rest day and I would be happy.

    Your CNS needs time to recover just like your muscles do.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Actually I've now had a look at your diary, and you're inadequately fuelled. You're not eating enough.

    Again if I have big run days I can easily end up 1000 calories short on a day, and that's just not sustainable. I'll go over on days after that to make up the balance, but you don't appear to be making up on the deficiency in your intake.

    That's probably the source of your trouble.
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    I run every other morning and practice pilates and yoga 6 times a week and have recently started dabbling with the idea of light strength training but even though i rest a day between each run my legs are always tired and ache and it effects the quality of my work and daily life. I started running 3 months ago and it's always been this routine.
    would longer rest periods help this problem?

    I think if your legs are interfering with your daily life., you need to reevaluate your training plan, choices of shoes, running surfaces, and perhaps consult a physician. Every other day running shouldn't cause noticeable discomfort in your work and daily activities...

Categories