Taking a rest week is one of my least favorite things to do. However, rest and rest weeks are smart for anyone in the fitness sphere to give themselves and their bodies a break. Here are five reasons to take that time off.
You’ve Just Finished A Big Race
After a big race, a rest week is a good idea. After months and weeks of dedication and training, your mind and body both deserve a bit of vacation. use the time to sleep in, stretch, and do anything besides run. It may feel out of character, but you will come back from it ready to tackle your next goal.
You Are Experiencing Soreness, Aches or Pains
Obviously, you should take a break if you are injured, but about if you have some unusual soreness or aches? Take a rest week. Let the pains and discomfort have a chance to heal up, and do your part with ice, heat, compression, rolling, and/or stretching. Make sure you consult a medical professional if the condition persists.
You Are Ill
If you are sick, stay home and get some rest. Seriously. I confess that I will run with allergies and maybe with a mild cold or headache, but anything more serious puts me back in bed. Exercise is great, but if you overdo it while sick, you run the risk of making things so much worse. It’s ok to recover: honor yourself enough to do it.
You’re Not In The Right Head Space
We have all talked about lack of motivation or losing our running mojo. When (not if) it happens, take a rest week. Take the time to remember why you love running and give yourself a chance to fall in love with it through your absence. You’ll find your way back.
You’re Overworked, Overwhelmed, and Overwrought
Let’s face it: life happens. And when life gets the better of you, take a break. Fitness can be a great escape from your daily stressors, but when it becomes more of a burden than an aid, it’s ok to take some time off. Take care of what needs your immediate attention and then add back in when you can. There’s no shame in managing your schedule in that works best for you.
When do you find yourself likely to take a rest week?
Never unless I’m injured.
Everyone is different. All your reasons are valid.
Even after I hard race I need to run. Consistency is the key for me. I run easy but I get out there no matter what.
Ha ha… I like the first sentence of this post. Yes, we fight against these rest weeks! For all the reasons you mentioned, it can be a good idea sometimes. I take cut-back weeks sometimes, but the last time I took a whole rest week was when I was sick. I have to admit it felt kind of good!
Agree on all of these. I’m likely to rest or cut back when I’m sick or just feeling blase about running!
I seldom ever take an entire week off, but I do scale things back substantially. If I ease up on the running, I’ll do more walking or easy cycling. I’ve learned my body recovers best if it’s in motion…
I think most runners nowadays really don’t give themselves proper rest & to some degree I actually blame social media! Some injuries probably wouldn’t last as long or even be avoidable with more rest.
I actually started a post a long time ago with the title even is enough enough? I figured it wouldn’t be well received so I never listed it.
I am not immune from it! When I first started running halfs I’d always give myself a week off afterwards. Then I started to run more races in a year & stopped doing it.
I do like to take a week off running from time to time. Now they often fall when I’m helping my mom or something unexpected happens with her, so I can’t really plan for them.
I rarely get colds, but when I do it means I’m really run down &I want to give my body the rest it’s asking for!
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I agree with Judy that I think many runners don’t give themselves enough rest. When did rest become a “four-letter” word? You’ve hit on some great reasons to take a break – no shame in needing some downtime!