How does rest fit in?

So we all know we need to work hard to get stronger, but how does rest fit into the equation?  Rest is just as important in your training as work is.  REST IS SUPER IMPORTANT!! Too many people forget this part of their training.  Rest is so important and needs to be a scheduled part of your training.  So, do you plan a rest day?  Maybe you're wondering why you need to plan a rest day.  When you are training hard, your body needs a day to recover.  If you simply go hard all the time, your body will eventually break down. Anne Ahern Moore is a USAT coach and an amazing athlete.  She said, "Our bodies simply cannot sustain high intensity training day after day, week after week, month after month...Just as you can't continue to add floors to a high rise building without ensuring the building has a solid foundation to hold it-you can't build your fitness without endurance that comes with lower intensity training."  While she's talking specifically about endurance in training, much of what she says may also be applied to rest.  If we do not allow our bodies to recover, they break down.  This can result in illness, injury, a combination of the two, etc.

You may be thinking that you sleep 7-8 hours a night, therefore you are resting.  Technically, you are right. Sleep is rest.  But it's more than just sleep.  Rest also involves recovery.  What's the difference?  Rest is taking a break from the work.  Recovery is active.  It's the less intense days.  If you don't plan to rest and recover, you can plan to crash.  When you take the time to rest and recover, you allow your body to rebuild. This allows your immune system to work like it should because you're not always trying to repair while you tear down.  Your body can then metabolize fat instead of simply sugar.  You start to sleep better at night. Your hormone levels tend to better stabilize.  The benefits go on and on.

If you go hard six days a week, plan a rest day for the seventh.  I know.  That OCD, your inner athlete starts screaming, "You're going to lose everything we've been working toward!"  I promise that statement is not true.  In fact, the reverse is true.  Realistically, our bodies should only strength train, especially if you're going hard, 2-3 times a week with a recovery day in between.  The American Heart Association recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous cardiovascular exercise every week.  How you choose to do that is up to you.  Maybe you strength train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (of course alternating upper and lower body) and get your cardio Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday.  Tada! Now, what's moderate to vigorous?  I like to say that you are comfortably uncomfortable.  You are going hard enough that you can tell you're working hard but that you can maintain it for a while (30-ish minutes).  Feel free to interject some intervals into your endurance/cardio training.  Throw in some hills or speed.  Be creative.  Have fun.  But, ALWAYS BE SAFE!!

Okay you guys, thanks for checking in with me.  If you have questions or comments, let me know.  Good luck with your fitness goals.  Stick with it.  You are amazing!  Thanks again.    

A love-hate relationship

Okay guys.  Here's the deal.  Few things that I know of will make you better faster than hills.  They're the things we all love to hate.  Many of us avoid them and would rather add mileage than attack a hill.  But, they are SO good for you.  They challenge you and make you push yourself.  When I'm doing them, I have a mantra, "They make my butt look good.  They make my butt look good."  You're welcome to barrow it if you like.

So I have a workout.  It's hill repeats.  I know.  I know.  Who wants to do hill repeats?  You do because you want to be better.  Find a good hill.  You want it to be a challenge but not so hard that it kills you the first time you run/ride it.  I have a hill that's about two miles from my house.  I use those two miles to warm up and the two home to cool down.  The work out then goes like this:
     60-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     60-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     60-sec. rest
     70-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     80-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     60-sec. rest
     90-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     90-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     60-sec. rest
     80-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     70-sec. run up the hill/come back down
     60-sec. rest
     60-sec. run up the hill.come back down
     60-sec. run up the hill/come back down

So this a pyramid, easy to remember.  It's simple but effective.  By the time I run that second 90-second run, I'm almost dying but then I know I only have four more repeats and I can do that.  I love the feeling of accomplishment when I complete it.  This works for both running and cycling.  I've even done it in a Spinning class.  You always end up with wobbly legs.

When I first started running, I avoided hill, especially the really good ones.  They were hard and I was kind of a wimp.  I kind of had that mentality for a long time.  I remember the first time I ran hill repeats.  I'd been invited by a group of ladies I sometimes ran with and thought it would be a good idea.  By that point I had become a stronger runner and figured I could handle some hill repeats.  It humbled me.  The little stabilizer muscles in my legs were so sore the next day.  Somewhere along the line, I started to hate hill less.  I embraced them as a challenge and started to love the feeling that I was no longer being conquered by a hill, I was now conquering hills.  I'd love it when I'd be out running errands and look at a hill I had recently conquered and love that I was no longer scared of that particular hill.

Now I have a running route that is pretty hilly.  We run it most weekends.  It's part of the Ironman St. George 70.3 course.  It climbs for about two and a half to three miles.  It's not steady the whole time.  It has rolling hills but it's a challenge and I love it.  That route is what we used to train for last year's marathon.  I'll admit there are times even now when I'm climbing my hills and I'm really glad when we reach the top.  But I'm stronger now that I've ever been and I know that my hill repeats are partly responsible for that.    

If you have questions about this workout or anything else, let me know.  I hope you're hanging in there with your goals and staying strong, both body and mind.  Thanks for checking in with me and come back again soon!