Happy Tuesday! It’s time for another edition of Tuesday Topics. This week’s Tuesday Topic: What are your thoughts about rest days? You can write about this or any running related blog post. Remember to link-up with Kim and Zenaida and the bottom of this post!
Although I enjoy a Netflix marathon every now and then, I have a hard time sitting still for a long time. Because of this, I usually opt for active rest days. Active rest days still give me an opportunity to get in low impact movement which I always enjoy. Here are a few example of my normal active recovery workouts.
Stretching/Yoga
I use my Peloton app to do full body or lower body stretches. Lately it feels like my workouts have been very leg focused so these stretches are always super helpful. I’m also getting better acquainted with certain yoga moves that really help hip and back tightness.
Walking
I absolutely love long walks. Earlier this year I left my house thinking I would do a run and ended up doing a 2 hour walk and it was so good. I try to get between 8,000-10,000 steps a day so I’m always finding ways to incorporate walking into my daily activities, but it’s also great as a standalone workout as well, especially power walking!
Walk/Run
I’m not a huge fan of recovery runs, so I like a good walk/run workout. It still allows for a little bit of running, but also focuses on plenty of walk breaks.
Spinning
For years I have always enjoyed doing a low impact spinning class to help flush out my legs, especially after a hard run or workout. I notice that doing at least a 30 min spin class helps with the soreness in my legs. I can’t really explain why it works for me, but it just does!
Tell me: What are your thoughts on rest days?
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I am a big fan of rest days–I always say runners can’t live on miles alone. I take one complete rest day every week. It think it’s so important to let the body recover.
I’m always amazed at people that can run everyday. I wish I could but my body would hate me, lol.
WOOT!! Yes to active rest/recovery days!! They are a perfect fit for me as well. My body just feels better to be in motion, even if it’s slow. Like you, I have discovered how fantastic cycling is for recovery.
Same here! If I sit all day my back tends to hurt too so it’s better for me to be active.
I’m not a big fan of “recovery runs” either. I think a rest day should be a proper rest day and I don’t do any cardio-related exercise at all.
Like you, I do some easy yoga and stretching. I just got back from a 2-hour walk in the autumn sun, it feels so good!
That’s how I feel too, and when I’ve tried to do recovery runs I always end up running faster, or further, than I should lol
My rest days are days without running. Usually 3 or 4 a week. But lately I try to walk or hike just to keep active. Esp when working from home.
Hiking is something I would love to do more but unfortunately we don’t have many places to hike near where I live.
I usually go for active rest days with either a walk or yoga, but sometimes my body lets me know a complete rest day is needed.
I haven’t done a complete rest day since quarantine – I just realized how crazy that is as I typed it!
I kind of consider rest days to be a part of my training routine. I always do a little bit of walking (my dog has never taken a rest day in her life) but that’s pretty much it. Like you say, sitting around doesn’t really cut it either, I need a little bit of movement.
I laughed when you said your dog hasn’t taken a rest day in her life – so true!!
I love rest days and I am looking forward to them. They give me a nice break from my regular routine. Not one rest days looks like the other and I always try to honor what my body needs at the time.
i love that not all of your rest days look the same. That’s a great way to keep things interesting.
I am a person that doesn’t have trouble sitting still, LOL . . . sort of. But I’m not the person that has to be constantly in motion, running long even when there’s really no reason to.
Still I tend to be pretty active, and have a tendency to go overboard sometimes too, especially when training. Which is why I’ve used the pandemic to really explore what’s the right amount of activity for me. I’m still not sure!
I do love to walk, always have. It’s a rare day I don’t get in at least 8000 steps — although sometimes it’s harder when not running, OTOH I think my average daily steps actually went up without running!
I have cut down on the length of my runs so much this year. At first it felt odd but now I’m used to it, but it’s probably why I like to walk more too, lol.
I know that my body needs more rest than I take. I do like to go on walks or do stretches on a rest day. I wish I did not feel like it was so hard to take them!
I’ve found it harder to think about taking rest days since I’m not training for anything.
Well no rest days from running but I try to run my easy runs at an easy pace. Though lately they’ve been faster than expected. 🙂
Yes that’s why I don’t do recovery runs because I always run them too fast lol