Rest day!

Yesterday was a rest day, so I did just that! I rested!


I often get the question about rest days and whether this means complete rest or if you should try to get some movement in?  Should this be interpreted as active recovery or not?

My answer is quite simple really!  Rest days means that this is where you have the chance to recuperate both mentally and physically.  Depending on your physical status, you can either choose to rest completely and spend a day on the couch, watching the grass grow, and if you are smart about your time management - maybe spend some time preparing your meals for the next few days!  

This is my restday

Another alternative is to spend your day on active-recovery! This means that you get on the bike and grind out some miles in a speed that will allow you to have a somewhat intelligent conversation with someone else at the same time.  You may also choose to go to the beach or pool and get some laps!  The point being that you do whatever activity you choose at an intensity that will allow you to actually recover from the workouts that have proceeded this day!

Rest days are meant to get you ready to be at a point where you can pour your heart into the work you have ahead of you.  The quality of your workouts depends on how recovered you are!  If you are not recovered you do not just risk getting injured (a fact that rarely deters anyone from working out anymore) you are also making sure that you get less out of your workouts if you are not well rested!  So the advice from an old fart is to actually rest - whatever that means to you!

Who Should to what?

This is what really sucks!  You have to figure this out yourself! You have to find out what is right for you, you have to try both and find out what works best for you?  Is it the couch approach or is it the airdyne approach?
Here is where is gets really tricky!  You have to decide every time you get to a rest day.  You have to know your body well enough to know if you are at a point where active recovery makes sense, or at a point where you rest completely, maybe even make an appointment and go get a massage?

So the question is what do you do on your rest days and how do you know what is right for you?


Much love