avoiding the "rest" days

B

blackanddom

0
OK, i have a nagging burn to never take a day off. I get frustrated and annoyed at not doing anything physicla on my day off. I am in 5k shape cardiovascularly (i run at least 3 miles 3 times a week, mostly more) and i lift 3 days a week. One of those days overlaps so i have two days off. However, im wondering if it would be okay to do a static run for like 20 minutes on my off days, or at least one of them, just to loosen up my muscles and burn some energy. I mean, in between Hiit workouts and weight traning days, just to blow off steam at a slow steady static pace.
I know rest days are called that for a reason, but is a 20 minute jog to stop from going crazy really interrupted the rest cycle?
Im curious as to the responses here.
 
i didnt mean to add specs about myself i was just using myself as a n example that a 20 minute run isnt taxing. Im curious to this answer in general for all health types.
 
Actually, going for a very easy recovery run the day after your hardcore training days can be surprisingly beneficial ... it will help loosen tight legs and help clear out any lingering lactic acid. 3 miles is the standard distance, so you're right in line. For a good rest day, shoot for the day following your most intense workout - a speed or tempo run.
 
seeing you didn't give many people that much time to post to ur question i'm guessing today may have been ur rest day lolol :costumed5:
 
If you can run 3 miles without taxing yourself too hard, I'd say a mile or maybe 1.5 would be okay for a 'rest' day. The idea here is not too push yourself, merely to get out and about.
 
I'm always reluctant to recommend additional days of running beyond 3 days/week. It's not your muscles or CV system I'm worried about, but connective tissues/joints, some of which (due to low sensitivity) won't let you know that there's a problem until there's REALLY a problem. Going for a walk, cycling or swimming on these recovery days is much lower-impact, will still get you active and using up extra energy, and can be used as recovery sessions (active recovery appears to be very beneficial).

There's a lot of information out there that says "don't train more than (X amount of days per week)," which people often misinterpret as "don't EXERCISE more than (X amount of days per week). Truth be told, daily activity is good for most people. People who have chronic diseases/conditions (which make them more susceptible to the potential side-effects of exercise) are often given the fitness guideline of having a daily ideal of activity. The thing is, the guidelines aren't recommending that they thrash themselves daily, which is what we usually try to do in gym environments. The guidelines often recommend low intensity training (around 40-60% MHR) daily. If you're used to HIIT, then of course, this sort of intensity is nothing challenging - it's what you do in your recovery period between sprints. But low intensity, low impact exercise for half an hour on your recovery days should take the edge off, improve recovery and make you feel better.
 
Nothing wrong with getting the heart pumping a bit on a rest day, but it will take its toll if you try to overdo it. Understand that rest is an important part of a training regiment, yeah you may go a bit nuts sitting around, but rest days aren't like sit on your butt and don't move days, just take it easy, give your system time to recover from the stress you've put it through. Without rest you won't have any gains, so enjoy the day off. And if you wanna run, make it casual, don't time it, just enjoy the outdoors, focus on that.
 
1. Have you considered stretching, meditation or tai chi/chi gung or some sort of skill training on your rest days?

2. You might want to read the articles on the Westside web site. They are slanted toward powerlifters, but I think the basic principals are applicable to almost any physical pusuit. They recommend varying intensity and volume by alternating maximum, recovery and dynamic effort sessions. You can do something similar with running by alternating speed, distance, hills and stairs, etc.
 
thanks guys- and yea, saturday was my rest day..and i was itchin...i ended up hiking about 2-3 miles because the weather was okay. Almost all the responses have fallen within my opinion as well, which makes me feel a little better. See you around.
 
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