|
Posted by Grant on 26. February 2009 20:10
|
I'm no scientist but I know myself well enough to know when I need to take a day off. An elevated resting heart rate is one key indicator that it's time for me to back off, and I don't need a heart rate monitor to tell me that my engine is running a bit higher than usual. I'm also constantly hungry (but that is typical for me, as any friends will attest to) -- but the elevated heart rate is my reliable red flag.
So today is a rest day. Or an "active rest" day for those using training lingo ("active" in that I still end up walking for about 1 hour to/from the train station and the client's office, and I always take the stairs to my 11th floor desk which translates to over 200 steps). Even without dedicated training time, I still get a fair amount of activity in during a normal day.
Allowing time for rest and recovery is critical; this is when the body rebuilds itself. The idea with exercise is "stimulate, don't obliterate" so that you adapt and grow more fit -- a relentless workout schedule without sufficient recovery time is a recipe for chronic fatigue, burnout, and injury.
For some terrific insight into the principles of recovery for endurance athletes, read this article by Alan Couzens. Couzens knows his stuff!
I love these quotes that Alan opens with:
“The hardest thing for an athlete to do is not train. You can’t sit still. You feel like you should be out there working”
- Graeme Obree (former 1hr cycling world record holdert)
“The bottom line is that the body does not get fitter through exercise. It gets fitter through recovery”
- Peter Keen (coach of Chris Boardman)
“Recovery. That’s the name of the game in cycling. Whoever recovers the fastest wins”
- Lance Armstrong
“There is a time to train and a time to rest. It is the true test of the runner to get them both right.”
- Noel Carrol (Irish Olympian and running coach)
“I take a nap almost every day. I couldn’t do without my nap”
- Scott Molina
So today is a rest day for me and I'll look forward to a fun weekend!