The Importance of Rest

Nikki Gillingham  //  March 16, 2012

Hello fellow fitness enthusiasts!

Spring is coming, slowly but surely, and I’m hoping everyone is catching the work-out bug and getting ready to enjoy the soon-to-be beautiful weather. I know that once I find my rhythm and get into the habit of running every day, I never want to stop. I feel guilty when I take a day off, even if I’m tired, and I’m constantly trying to achieve a certain number of miles each week. I do yoga Sunday mornings, and get in the occasional spin class and weight workout to mix things up.

If you’re an exercise-aholic like me, then I have two words for you:

REST DAYS!

This is, admittedly, a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ I am notorious for pushing beyond my limits, feeling great about it, and then either exhausting my body or hurting myself. This puts me out of the game for a few days or, even worse – months.

Your body, as fabulous and strong as it is, needs a break. You gain strength while resting and repairing, not while tearing your muscles and pushing through tough workouts. If you do not give yourself adequate ‘rest’ or ‘easy’ days, you are going to start feeling fatigued, sore, and eventually get injured.

Exhibit A: The fall of 2009, I was running cross-country for St. Thomas University. After a tough end of season ACAA Championship race, in -10 degree weather and freezing rain, the Tommies’ year was over. We were tired, sore, and looking forward to the mandatory 2 weeks off. Then the coach hit us with the news: 4 girls would be travelling to Alberta to compete in Nationals – I was one of them. I had my (shortened) mandatory rest period – 4 days, then myself and the other girls began an intense training program.

I remember being exhausted after our first speed workout. Two days later, we were back at the track, and our coach told us what we would be doing: Exactly what we’d done before, but with more reps.

“You didn’t think this was going to get easier, did you?”

That seemed to be the theme for the next month. I ended up developing very bad knots in my calf muscles. It was a problem I had all through the season; not getting proper care for them when the problem began and increasing the workload afterward made them infinitely worse. I began having shin splints 24/7 and couldn’t even walk between classes. I walked the course the day before the race in Alberta and wanted to cry – the down hills were too much for my tight calves. Post-race, I was too sore to walk normally (I did a weird shuffle for a few days).

After returning home from the trip, I was out for six weeks. The longest six weeks of my life, but it took that long to heal and rest my uncared-for legs.

Let that be a lesson to those of you pushing yourselves too hard. Take the rest days now – once a week, at least – or you’ll end up hurting later for much longer.

Taking a rest day doesn’t mean sitting on the couch with a bag of potato chips and a beer. Your rest day can involve LIGHT exercise – maybe an easy 20 minutes on the elliptical, just to get your legs worked out. Yoga is fabulous on a rest day; allowing your body to relax and get a good stretch. I highly recommend it.

Or, your rest day can involve absolutely nothing. It is perfectly OK to lay on the couch all day (try to avoid those chips!)

You may also discover that you require more than one rest day a week. Or you may discover that you can only run a certain distance, or achieve a certain total mileage per week, before your body starts fighting back. Everyone is different, and you should not push your body (too far) beyond its limits.

When you feel pain following each 50km-week and can’t get past it, maybe your body can only handle 45km.  Or if you feel terrible shoulder pain when pressing more than a certain weight, maybe you need to lower it a few pounds.  Listen to your body and respond (the PR way).

That being said – you will not know what your body’s limit is unless you try and go there. Go out, have fun, push yourself and discover new heights. You will be surprised what your body can do.

Happy training!