Rest Days and Active Recovery
We talk a lot about optimizing performance, achieving goals, and in gym training sessions but what if they key to your success happens at home.
When we resistance train we make tiny tears in our muscle fibers. These, in their repair they make our muscles stronger and bigger when recovered correctly. Athletes should aim to take 1 full rest and 1 active recovery day each week for ideal repair an performance ability.
Active recovery days refer to light, low-intensity exercise to optimize recovery time after intense periods of training. These can look like walking, yoga, biking (low pressure, low HR and comfortable movement.)
OVERTRAINING!
When we fail to take rest days, it always catches up. No one is immune, regardless of fitness level. During periods of overtraining, we overwhelm the body with work to a volume it is unable to properly recover. This is DANGEROUS, not only physically (injury, stalled performance) but mentally).
