When exercising it's so easy to get in the mindset of I must workout everyday to run faster & to get stronger and forget that your body needs a recovery day even if your mind is against it.
Although it doesn't really seem like it, recovery days are just as important as workout days. Trust me when I say I'm guilty of going OH WHO NEEDS A REST DAY I'M SO CLOSE TO GETTING MY MIN PER MILE DOWN. The who who needs a rest day is me. If you've also felt this way, thinking that rest days are for the weak, let me tell you something I wish someone told me: We are not machines. Stop trying to act like one.
hi yes i am a professional at not knowing what to do with my hands
I personally even wondered did professional Olympic Athletes take rest days? I found my answer in Alexandra Raisman's (Olympic Gymnast) Instagram post and in Alysia Montano's (Olympic Runner) Instagram post. One thing that they both mentioned was to listen to your body first and then your training schedule. For Alexandra Raisman, she took a break after Rio (a well deserved one at that! did! you! watch! the! Olympics!) and for Alysia Montano, she makes sure to put rest days into her training schedule.
Recovery days don't make you weak, they make you stronger. By having a rest day in your schedule, you allow your muscles to relax and save yourself from any injury you would have gotten if you overtrained. If you remember from my previous posts that was the reason I ended up out of running for a few months - I didn't take rest days and my injuries came rolling into my life like HAHA YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD AVOID ME.
And let me tell you having to sit out for a month while seeing people running & exercising is honestly the worst. There's that lil voice in your mind that's like HEY THAT COULD BE YOU BUT YOU STILL HAVE XYZ WEEKS TILL YOU'RE COMPLETELY HEALED. After you take your recovery day- trust me when I say this - your body will be thanking you! literally take the recovery day! your body will be 110% blessed! The next day you'll feel fresh and ready for whatever workout you have planned.
actual footage of me when I see someone running on my rest/recovery day
And let me tell you having to sit out for a month while seeing people running & exercising is honestly the worst. There's that lil voice in your mind that's like HEY THAT COULD BE YOU BUT YOU STILL HAVE XYZ WEEKS TILL YOU'RE COMPLETELY HEALED. After you take your recovery day- trust me when I say this - your body will be thanking you! literally take the recovery day! your body will be 110% blessed! The next day you'll feel fresh and ready for whatever workout you have planned.
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"Resting is just as important as working out because it's an equal part of the total process required to build strength, endurance, and muscle."
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Resting doesn't mean eating Doritos on the couch and binge watching Game of Thrones. It means doing a bit of walking around your house or outside. Okay and maybe binge watch a LIL Game of Thrones. Generally you should be moving around a bit but not in an exercise/workout sense. Rather in a I-will-not-become-the-living-embodiment-of-a-potato-on-my-day-off kind of way.
Yes. You may be thinking on your rest days I'm so close to my goal! I'm almost there! I don't need it! A rest day is going to slow me down!
NO. NO IT WILL NOT!
It will strengthen your muscles, you won't feel a tiredness during your workout since you rested the day before and you'll feel ready to take on any new challenge you've set up for yourself.
It will strengthen your muscles, you won't feel a tiredness during your workout since you rested the day before and you'll feel ready to take on any new challenge you've set up for yourself.
On your rest/recovery days, REST. Your body needs time to relax and recharge. Listen to your body - it's the only one you have.
*currently in the process of combining both Instagrams to this one*
if we're mutuals on twitter or on my other Instagram I'll follow back!
if we're mutuals on twitter or on my other Instagram I'll follow back!
