Rest as Cross Training

windwalker

I need an Adventure
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Dec 28, 2006
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Rest as Cross Training

I decided to write on this subject when I fell asleep last night doing a blog entry. No matter what sport you train for, even if your sport is just living a healthy life style, the best cross training you do is getting enough rest. Without adequate rest your just continuing to tear your body down not build it up.

When we do a hard workout we tear up our muscles, the muscle fibers actually get microscopic tears. They get lactic acid, the waste from doing the motion, pooled around between the fibers and you feel soreness. When you don't get enough rest all these things continue to happen without your body having a chance to repair the damage and remove the waste.

When you do get enough rest, especially sleep, your body will repair the damage and build the muscle tissue back stronger that it was before. That's what Training is all about, getting stronger and being able to exercise longer.

Your muscles are like car engines, they get fuel and oxygen delivered to them by the blood stream, they do their motion, and expel the lactic acid (exhaust) back into the blood stream. When you do this over a long period your body can't keep us so you have more lactic acid built up than the blood can remove. But during rest your body can get rid of the lactic acid that was left behind. When it continues to build up you feel it as soreness. The soreness becomes deeper and more uncomfortable the longer you go without rest.

Some people wrongly think that more and more exercise is required to get stronger. You just compound the damage when you workout even harder with out getting enough rest. So make rest a part of your training routine and you will not only make better gains but feel wonderful while your doing it.

Rambling Panda :hippie:
 
This week the rest plan got side tracked a bit. I did a hard 5 miles on my hill course, then planned a nice nap before work. Not to be, I had a message waiting at the end of the workout to call work. I had to go right to work and work till 9pm, so power nap didn't happen.

Panda:hippie:
 
Dave I love my rest day. And have learned enough by now to know that sometimes you just gotta rest, even if it means letting the training go--especially if you're feeling am injury.

And even though I have a scheduled rest day in my training, I will switch it around if I am just not feeling it on any given day. I think it takes awhile to listen to/trust your body. But it definitely pays.

Maura
 
Dave I love my rest day. And have learned enough by now to know that sometimes you just gotta rest, even if it means letting the training go--especially if you're feeling am injury.

And even though I have a scheduled rest day in my training, I will switch it around if I am just not feeling it on any given day. I think it takes awhile to listen to/trust your body. But it definitely pays.

Maura

Yep, totally agree. I never have a workout schedule chiseled in stone, each day is subject to modification. Another part of resting that is vital is not doing hard workouts just before or after a race. The longer the rest the more easy workouts you need before and after.

Dave:hippie:
 













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