The Rest Day: Do You Need One?

Rest. You know you need it. Others are always saying you need more of it. What is rest and how much is enough? And do you really need it? There are many different ways to interpret rest. But this is where things get blurry. In this world of high achievers and goal-oriented people, the idea of choosing to rest can be seen as a waste of time or sign of weakness. But be assured that rest is good. Let’s look at some different ways to rest.

Taking Days Off

In the course of becoming an endurance athlete, you’ve gone through the process of adding days of training to the mix. You probably first recognized the need for rest when your body struggled to keep up with the added stress load. As you progress to different levels of fitness and commitment to training, the same type of challenges come up. No matter what level you are or how fit you become, rest is always important.

If you are a triathlete trying to include a certain number of workouts in each sport per week, how do you take a rest day and still reach your goals? If you are runner trying to hit 70 miles a week to train for a big marathon, how do you reach your mileage while still taking a rest day? What is the advantage of taking a full rest day? Taking a day off can make these goals a little more difficult. But it may just make you a better athlete in the long run. It’s the only way to truly give your body rest that will allow full recovery. Full recovery involves multiple systems of the body — muscular, cardiovascular, nervous, and hormonal. There are times when these systems will benefit more from full rest as opposed to “active recovery.” ‍

Active Recovery

Anytime you take an easy day or cross-train, this is considered active recovery. And there are many benefits. In some cases, it makes sense to actively recover rather than take a full rest day. The main benefit comes down to movement. Put simply, movement pumps fluid through your body. This pumping action flushes out the bad stuff and brings in the good stuff that helps with healing and regeneration. As long as this movement is gentle and/or in a different pattern, then you will achieve this goal.

But beware: Many athletes are not actively resting when they think they are. Don’t make this mistake. In active rest, the the slower you go and the lower your heart rate, the better. It’s silly to push yourself to go 10 seconds faster per mile on an active rest day. Give yourself a break and cruise with minimal effort. You may even want to leave your watch at home. ‍

What Is Best for You?

Everyone is different. There are many variables that can dictate the need for rest, including training age (how many years you’ve been training), actual age, training goals, stage of training, and life stresses (to name a few). You can assess these variables to establish where you stand, but it ultimately comes down to whether or not you have exceeded your normal capabilities. If so, you need rest to allow your body to absorb the training. For most athletes, it will take a bit of trial and error to find the right balance (see sidebar for some tell-tale signs). Working with a coach can help guide you and give you a sounding board to assess your training. Remember, the improvements come when you rest and recover — not when you are tearing yourself down through hard training. Of course, you do need to overreach in your training to stimulate gains. But you’ll get stronger after the rest day works its magic. Listen to your body. It will tell you when it needs to rest.

Multiple Ironman winner Mark Allen talked about a trick to “get out the door” and see how you feel. Sometimes your body will respond and it will feel good to do a workout. Other times, you’ll know it is best to turn around and skip it. It can be a challenge to tune into the rhythms of your body and learn the way it works. But this is your challenge as an athlete. Meeting it will enable your to reach your goals and get the most from your potential ability.

Signs that you need to take a rest day:‍

Muscle soreness

Joint soreness

Tendon soreness

Feeling achy or cold symptoms

Lethargy

Lack of motivation

Feeling stressed out

Digestive distress

Elevated morning heart rate