Rest & Recovery
It's the middle of January and most Americans are doing what they can to get into shape. Along with a proper diet, training consistently is the key to reaching any fitness goal, but over doing it can do more harm than good.
Along with training with a purpose, training consistently, eating well and hiring a professional; rest and recovery are essential elements of an active lifestyle. As you sit down and plan your training schedule week to week or month to month, you want to make sure you include both. Although both rest and recovery are similar, they are not interchangeable.
Rest is the absence of work. Therefore a rest day, in terms of training, is a day in which you do not hit the gym or the pavement or punching bag at all. How much rest our body needs depends on many variables. Exercise intensity, age, fitness level, health, and work are all important factors. There are a few guidelines that apply to most every adult however. First, get quality sleep. We should all be aiming for 6-8 hours of quality sleep every night. Second, set apart at least one day a week in which you allow your body to rest. The more intensely you train and the older you are, the more time you need. So, this could mean resting two days a week if you are a serious athlete or have been training for over 15 years. Lastly, allow your mind to rest as well. Mental rest is as taxing, if not more taxing, than physical stress. My advice is to pray regularly but also set apart some time every week to God.
Recovery is the compromise between rest and training. Self-myofascial release (foam rolling), stretching, physical therapy, and swimming are all great examples of recovery. Unfortunately, most people do not incorporate any of these practices into their routines. Allowing our bodies to properly recover from our training can lead to better results and less injuries.
Our muscles grow bigger and stronger while we rest and recover not while we exercise! "No pain, no gain" may sound cool and garner much attention on social media but it will get you injured fast. An injured athlete is no good to anyone, please rest and recover.