All biological systems seem to need rest, which is why the rotation of crops was developed, to return nitrogen and humus back to the soil. Planting wheat. Photo by FitOldDog.
“How you think about an issue will determine your relationship to it, so think wisely, which is a life-long process of learning.” FitOldDog
“Get more out of your training by doing it backwards.
I love sitting on this seat, kindly put there by our neighbor, David. It feeds the soul.
Your fitness increases not while you run but during the recovery process that unfolds between runs. The stress of running flips a number of hormonal and genetic switches in various parts of your body, allowing each part to adapt in a way that renders it better prepared for the next workout. But these adaptations can unfold only when your body is at rest.”
Hi folks, welcome!
Great book. A classic. You won’t think about paradigm shifts in the same way again.
Your real training happens as you rest.
You build strength and endurance as you rest, repairing micro-tears induced during training, building new muscle and mitochondria. The quality of your rest-associated building, however, is a function of your training – it has to be just right, not too much and not too little.
Pauline, and the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Awareness Facebook Page drew my attention to this article, and on reflection this is a true epiphany for me. I thought about it after a friend, who is training for the Eagleman Half Ironman, following an online training program. He asked me, “Kevin, I have an easy week, with short runs, only half an hour. Can I do speed work as part of the recovery? It doesn’t seem like a hard enough workout.” My response was, “No way!”
It’s a recovery week, so recover.
Take Matt Fitzgerald’s article to heart and you’ll never neglect your recovery again.
-k @FitOldDog
This is truth. It’s taken me a long, long, time to learn to ENJOY rest, and not feel that I must be doing something.
I just loved the obvious truth of it, and how it changes the way you think about recovery – rather than resenting the lack of training, you actually are training. -k