Rest days - will my fitness suffer?

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  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I tip my hat to you. Or would, were I wearing one.

    I've seen far too many posters make a mistake, then double down when that mistake was pointed out or questioned. You, on the other hand, posted where/how you got your numbers, looked to see if the others were right, and acknowledged an error.
  • shesthetype
    shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
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    TR0berts wrote: »
    I tip my hat to you. Or would, were I wearing one.

    I've seen far too many posters make a mistake, then double down when that mistake was pointed out or questioned. You, on the other hand, posted where/how you got your numbers, looked to see if the others were right, and acknowledged an error.

    I shall fashion you a hat out of tinfoil lol. (Full on picturing the tinfoil hat in the movie Signs haha).
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    no guilt. This is what keeps me from getting repetitive strain injuries. Those days off are important.
  • shesthetype
    shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
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    esjones12 wrote: »
    Your fitness and health will suffer if you do not prioritize recovery and rest days. You can actually cause a lot of harm to your body (and your fitness level will plateau) if you don't rest enough.

    Trust me, I understand the psychological part of not wanting to rest and recover. However, if you educate yourself on it and realize you can actually make rest and recovery feel like training - then that part won't bother you. Since I sit at a desk most of the day my rest and recover usually involves walking, light aqua work, and lots of foam rolling. I make recovery a priority and see it as part of my training program.

    If you are looking to take two days of rest instead of one, perhaps re-evaluate your entire training routine. You may need to switch some stuff up. If you don't follow a real training program, then you may want to look into one that fits your goals.

    I haven't done any cardio/running for 3 days now (just weights) when usually I do it at least every second day. This morning I got back into it and I was very surprised to find that my usual results were all that little bit better! Burned more calories and made better time. Interesting how I assumed that results would go backwards if I rested and instead like everyone has said, if anything I've actually improved. You learn something new every day!
  • Vladimirnapkin
    Vladimirnapkin Posts: 299 Member
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    My training volume is on the high end of normal and I KNOW the necessity of rest days and I still feel guilty when I take the day off. I always feel better the next day, however. If I do feel compelled to do something on a planned rest day, I make sure it's not stressing whatever I'm supposed to be resting. (Like swim or walk around.)

    If you are really enjoying running, I'd encourage you to get a GPS watch. The Garmin 220 is nice and getting affordable as newer models come out. The GPS watch can free you from running the same place all the time.
  • shesthetype
    shesthetype Posts: 45 Member
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    Vladimirnapkin wrote: »
    If you are really enjoying running, I'd encourage you to get a GPS watch. The Garmin 220 is nice and getting affordable as newer models come out. The GPS watch can free you from running the same place all the time.

    It's going on my Christmas list! It will make things much easier to work out and calculate :)

  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    shesthetype wrote: »

    I haven't done any cardio/running for 3 days now (just weights) when usually I do it at least every second day. This morning I got back into it and I was very surprised to find that my usual results were all that little bit better! Burned more calories and made better time. Interesting how I assumed that results would go backwards if I rested and instead like everyone has said, if anything I've actually improved. You learn something new every day!

    Bingo! You finally made it to the yellow section (supercompensation) which I circled in the chart. That's how we prevent plateaus, and move our fitness forward to greater heights to reach our potential. It happens in short training blocks, as well as longer training blocks, as well as years.

    Congrats! Now tear it down again with more training, use some recovery - and reach new heights for your next supercompensation period.

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