Life is busy. We work hard, we play hard. And with everything going on how do we find the time to rest? Well, quite simply, we don’t!
Whilst striving to lead healthy lifestyles we exercise regularly and eat well but fail to remember this very important aspect. Without rest you are setting yourself up to burn out. Not allowing time to rest can put a strain on your immune system and cause fatigue, irritability, forgetfulness, mood swings, weight gain and depression. You are essentially putting down your shield of armour and waving your white flag to welcome all the nasty bugs and viruses into your body. Rest is essential and is repeatedly ignored by most people. We are too busy trying to fit everything in, please everyone and get things done that we forget to take a step back from time to time.
I’m going to focus on exercise as my example here…
Now we’ve all seen them (maybe you are one of them). They turn up to the gym wrist straps on, a bandage on one knee, ankle supports flashing above socks. Should this person really be in the gym? And should they really be going hell for leather on that treadmill?? Injuries aside, have you ever gone for your workout and coughed and spluttered your way through your session; felt so weak but bullied yourself into going to make up for those few glasses of Chardonnay you drank last night? Well its time we all stopped beating ourselves up and started focusing on REST.
A few weeks ago my glands started to flare. A week of intense cross fit workouts and strength training was followed quickly by a bank holiday weekend of drinking with friends and not getting enough sleep. So what did I do when I started to feel under the weather…well I soldiered on of course! I cut out the intensive cardio and stuck to slow strength sessions as I wasn’t feeling 100%. What should I have done? NOTHING. The swollen glands led to a viral infection which has now attacked my nervous system and caused me to be the victim of partial (and I’m hoping, temporary) paralysis. So I wanted to spend a bit of time stressing the importance of rest to all you hard working folk as I think we all just need to CHILL OUT (ok putting it in block capitals like that makes look anything but ‘zen’, but I’m just trying to highlight my point! J )
So firstly, I want you to take a good hard look at your schedule. How often do you take a day off? A day off from training, a day off from work, what ever it may be. And I don’t mean ‘I’m only going to do some casual cardio for an hour but that doesn’t count’ or ‘I’m just going to reply to a few emails after Sunday lunch’. I mean OFF, fully switched off. Not many I presume? Well it’s about time you started.
There are people that come into the gym everyday, sometimes more than once a day, without fail. I can see why and how this obsession begins. Exercise is addictive, especially once you start to see results and the incredible changes it can have on your body. I became one of these people; became obsessed with getting strong; wanted to achieve unassisted pull ups, wanted to deadlift more than my body weight, wanted to carry heavy weights over to my clients with ease. And yes I was doing great and the results were so satisfying…but then it all went wrong. Rather than sit back and let my body recover from the onslaught and build itself back up again I kept going. Sounding familiar to anyone yet…? Ever walked in for your 5th session in a row on a Friday morning with a feeling of dread and fatigue? Listen to your body, don’t ignore the signs.
You may argue that professional athletes manage to train 6, maybe 7 times a week and have no problems. Well the clue is in the title- ‘professional athlete’. These people’s lives are dedicated to fine tuning their bodies. They don’t complete a gruelling workout and then have to dash off to work for their 9 hour stint in the office.
So I am advising you to take one day completely off from training per week- If you feel restless go out for a walk or casual bike ride. See if you aren’t refreshed and even more ready for action when you go back to train the next day.
Now to look at the bigger picture. When did you last take an extended break from your training? More than 5 days? Maybe you got injured or became ill and had no choice but to take extended rest. I bet you were thrilled when you could start again and hit the ground running, training like you did before, as much as possible with no consideration of rest for weeks, months, maybe years, until the same problem reared its ugly head again and the cycle continued.
Taking a break from training can help to alleviate any twinges or pains, boost energy levels and help you to overcome plateaus. If you don’t start including this into your routine you will just keep following the same pattern. Try training intensely for 3 weeks and then take an easy week. Slow it down and reduce volume, intensity, frequency or all three. After about 3 cycles try and take 5 days completely off from your usual training. Take an extended break or do something completely different for a bit – staying off the weights, simple body weight circuits in the park, long bike rides, hiking up hills. Don’t be afraid to take a break. Give your body and mind a rest for a few days, you wont lose anything and you will find you come back to the gym feeling fitter and stronger and more prepared for the next phase. Gains don’t happen during the workout, they happen during recovery. Following difficult bouts of work with rest will allow your body to adapt and improve to better handle the new workload.
Mentally you may find it hard to rest- I understand this. When you’re used to training solidly what could happen if you stop…you’ll lose all your strength, muscles will disappear, your fitness will diminish and heavens above you’re going to get fat! THIS WON’T HAPPEN. I haven’t been able to exercise for 2 weeks now, and yes it is frustrating and I can’t wait to get back to training but my body has told me to stop – well it actually told me a while ago and I didn’t listen so now it’s made me stop. So listen to your body and respond to what it is asking of you.
Exercise is the perfect example to highlight the importance of rest. But the same principles must be applied to all aspects of your life. We live in a hectic world and there are constant stressors all around us. The human body is fragile and can be extremely vulnerable if it’s not looked after properly. So sit back, chill out and keep on smiling. J
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