What does "rest day" mean to you?

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13

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  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    tycho_mx wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I have a question- as this is on the list today....

    why are people so afraid of actually doing NOTHING on their rest day?
    that seems to be a common issue... (not saying it's OP's) but what's the fear there?

    It's not fear (in my case, at least). It's an optimization of a training system.

    Some people with the exercise habit get anxious if they don't at least move a bit. And, because for a lot of us sore muscles feel better with gentle exercising than simply not doing anything.

    My current coach doesn't prescribe me absolute rest days during training cycles (there are some full break periods). But I have some experience experimenting with what works for me. And my aims are very precise (cycling related), not just feel well/look well/lose weight.

    I understand that sore muscles feel better with movement.

    Again- I train- I don't just "workout" to feel well.

    But- yeah- having a down day of doing practically nothing- to nothing at all isn't bad.

    I am grateful I have dance days built into my "off lift" days- usually I go through a full 30-45 min yoga stretch on 1-2 of those days.
    But seriously- Wednesday- I do Na-Ting.

    I get up- go to work- sit on my bounce ball- stretch at work b/c I gets stiff- go home- go to dinner with my darling BF and then either come home have a romp in the sack- or just sit on the couch cuddle and watch TV.

    Nothing wrong with doing- NOTHING. I guess is my point. Learning how to truly rest is just as important as actually training.

    I'd second whoever says mobility work- doing foam rolling and mobility work on down days is also extremely important.
  • ddixon503
    ddixon503 Posts: 119 Member
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    Rest Day? You mean they actually EXIST?!? ;)
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
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    If you're on MFP during a rest day, is that still considered doing nothing?
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
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    I typically don't have a rest day. I find that I need to do something active to keep my mind right. HA I think someone else said it better...clarity. I will listen to my body and if I feel like I really need to take some rest time it is more like a easy run, walk, bike ride or yoga. I find that if I get bored I WILL eat.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Rest day = Sleep in and don't workout. Eat food, play XBox instead of exercise. The most I would do was some light stretching.
  • rrowdiness
    rrowdiness Posts: 119 Member
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    Low intensity, like walking, easy swimming etc.

    Depends on what training schedule I'm on and how the body is feeling as well - if it's a rest day between two long runs then I'll drop back to just a walk. Otherwise I'll go for a short ride or whatever. I do one day a week which is committed rest (ie nothing more than walking) and another two days a week which are 'rest' from running programme, but include a 50km round trip commute on the bike.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited March 2015
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    SuggaD wrote: »
    tycho_mx wrote: »
    All relative to many things.

    You mention a race. How important is this race for you? If very important, a consistent, proven tapering plan is needed. You might not have one unless you have some practice seasons to determine what works for you and what doesn't.

    Also - what is your current fitness level? I have a couple of pro-cyclist friends for whom "resting" days consist of 2 hour rides at a fairly reasonable clip... the days before a major event. Your mileage may vary - I'd be useless during a race if I tried that. So my taper week now consists of about 2 very easy days, one short, very hard effort day, another two easy days and one final preparation way with very short, very sharp efforts. If I don't do these the effort at the beginning of a race feels inordinately hard!

    I had another teammate, not elite, who was so nervous on the week before races that he was reduced to an anxious bundle if he took days fully off. So he was better off doing light riding instead of being fully rested, just in terms of sanity and mental preparedness.

    It's a 1/2 marathon...my first. I want to finish strong and have fun. I have a goal time in mind, but its not aggressive as I took too much time off during the winter.

    Fitness-wise, I'm very fit (of course, I'm always working at improving my fitness). I usually don't take full rest days. My regular weekly routine consists of 20-30 miles a week running, 100+ miles cycling, walking the dog regularly, weights 3x per week, swim 3 hours per week.

    You should probably start taking rest days being that active. You're not giving yourself any recovery.

    In RE to your race, I really wouldn't be doing much of anything this week save for a few miles and some stretching and whatnot.
  • rrowdiness
    rrowdiness Posts: 119 Member
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    JoRocka wrote: »
    I have a question- as this is on the list today....

    why are people so afraid of actually doing NOTHING on their rest day?
    that seems to be a common issue... (not saying it's OP's) but what's the fear there?

    Three things:
    1. don't want to fall behind in training, having invested all this time / effort already
    2. having to keep an eye on food intake for the day
    3. habit

    Solutions to these are all about mindset.
    1. Make 'rest day' the 'planning day' - review previous days, chart progress, look to the future
    2. Make rest day the 'healthy eating day' - focus on getting everything 100% right (under calories, on macros)
    3. Make rest day 'leisure day' - swap out gym time / run time for additional sleep, gaming, adult entertainment, whatever floats.

    I don't like rest days, they feel like a bit of a waste but am aware that my body needs downtime, so I schedule it. I would really struggle with more than 3 days without exercise though. Even tapering for an event is frustrating - which plays out pretty well, because come race day I'm always completely up for it.
  • stingrayinfl
    stingrayinfl Posts: 284 Member
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    depends on what I have done before the rest day or what I have coming up...if I ran a full or an ultra, I will usually just hike a few miles or get on the elliptical. If it is before a full or ultra, I will rest or walk a couple of miles
  • MeganFlanagan16
    MeganFlanagan16 Posts: 136 Member
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    A long walk or swimming for an hour or so.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    For lifting, a rest day means no heavy lifting. I have 2 of those per week. I don't really track rest days for cardio. Too me, cardio can be done whenever. I just may not hit it as hard on certain days if I feel like taking it easy. Luckily, I enjoy my cardio so in reality, I don't really care if a rest day is needed.
  • jessupbrady
    jessupbrady Posts: 508 Member
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    Rest Day: When I'm too busy to get my exercise in because I am trying to figure out what kind of mess my kids created for me to resolve.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    It means no actual exercise. Mondays are my rest days, but I still work (in retail, so I'm moving around a lot) and have school (that includes about 3/4 of a mile walking to and from my car), so I can still easily hit 10,000 steps. I didn't yesterday only because this week is spring break.
  • gio14
    gio14 Posts: 57 Member
    edited March 2015
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  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
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    Rest Day=No lifting
  • DymonNdaRgh40
    DymonNdaRgh40 Posts: 661 Member
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    rrowdiness wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    I have a question- as this is on the list today....

    why are people so afraid of actually doing NOTHING on their rest day?
    that seems to be a common issue... (not saying it's OP's) but what's the fear there?

    Three things:
    1. don't want to fall behind in training, having invested all this time / effort already
    2. having to keep an eye on food intake for the day
    3. habit

    Solutions to these are all about mindset.
    1. Make 'rest day' the 'planning day' - review previous days, chart progress, look to the future
    2. Make rest day the 'healthy eating day' - focus on getting everything 100% right (under calories, on macros)
    3. Make rest day 'leisure day' - swap out gym time / run time for additional sleep, gaming, adult entertainment, whatever floats.

    I don't like rest days, they feel like a bit of a waste but am aware that my body needs downtime, so I schedule it. I would really struggle with more than 3 days without exercise though. Even tapering for an event is frustrating - which plays out pretty well, because come race day I'm always completely up for it.

    I don't like rest days much either but I like the solutions you listed to help change your mindset on them.
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
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    Typically I have a rest/XT day (though today it was purely a rest day because MIDTERMS ARE HARD) and then a full rest day at the end of the week. Rest/XT means a half hour (or so) on the rowing machine or stationary bike. Rest means nothing out of the ordinary; I might walk to/from campus, but nothing that makes me work up a sweat. I will usually do core work on both those days, but my core work is only 15-20 minutes, and I don't log it or anything, so it's like it doesn't count ;)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    gio14 wrote: »
    Rest day = mobility work, stretching, cuzi, steam/sauna room, maybe some light cardio. Rest day is a body-reboot day.

    This is a nice way to think about it, I like that.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I tend to take my rest days on my busiest/longest work days, or plan them to fall on a day I have an event or something to do. No extra yoga or active rest for me.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    For me it depends how sore I am, and what the weather is like. If it's nice out, I'll probably go for a walk, right now it's typically some stationary bike or nothing.

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