Rest Days

When you exercise regularly, it's hard to take a day off, and taking a few days off is even more challenging.

Here is how I often feel about rest days:

But, truth is, the body needs rest.  Rest days allow the body to recover, which ultimately helps to build more strength and improve athletic performance.  Some would argue that the greatest fitness gains are made while the body rests.

I find it challenging to take a rest day.  I feel lazy, because my default for any given day is to have at least one, if not two, workouts to complete.  And, if I'm not working out, I feel more sluggish.

My coach routinely schedules about one rest day per week for me.  I'm not always the best about abiding by my rest, and often I'll move a strength training workout or a swim that didn't get done earlier in the week to a rest day.  I'll rationalize it in my mind that it's not *that* tough a workout, and I'll "rest" for the duration of the day.   And I need to be better about that.

I have a cold.  I don't get sick very often, which I attribute to a healthy diet, exercise, and hand sanitizer.  So, I've taken three days off from training.

My gut feeling would have been to trudge on through and do my two hour run, hour long swim, and all the other workouts on my schedule.  Fortunately, I have level heads advising me, my coach and my personal trainer boyfriend, who have urged me to get some rest.

My three days of rest have done me some good.  I've slept in, something I rarely do.  I'm going to attempt a brick workout this afternoon; I think I'm ready.