Lisa was on a mission. She was determined to get into the best shape of her life and was going to walk every day—no matter what. She convinced herself that if she missed even one day, she would fail to achieve her goals. Lisa didn’t listen to the cues her body gave her and her fitness journey was derailed when she suffered an overuse injury that required rest for 6-12 weeks to heal—doctor’s orders. Lisa learned a valuable lesson: the importance of rest.
So many of us wrestle with an all-or-nothing mentality. Either we think that we need to devote every ounce of our being into something to keep up the momentum and execute it perfectly, or we shouldn’t bother for fear there is no way we can keep up. And though burning the midnight oil or pushing our bodies to extremes may not have resulted in anything negative in our twenties, a few more years and experience—and a lot more wisdom—tells us that finding time for rest is paramount to thriving.
Yes, there’s a need for balance in your life. A time to work hard and challenge your limits, and a time to slow down and allow your mind and body to recover. There is value in working a rest day—or rest period—into your busy schedule. In the book Effortless by Greg McKeown, he states that rest is a proven antidote for pre-existing and future stress. Want to keep a stressed body and mind at bay? Make sure you incorporate rest which will restore your energy and allow you to meet challenges with more ease. McKeown recommends regular spurts of just doing nothing—like sleeping in, taking naps, or just staring out the window—to keep your mind fresh, leading you to more success.
Learn to Listen to Your Body
Lisa had to learn the hard way that the concept of no pain, no gain is a myth. Listening to your body is the key to success, and learning to challenge yourself and working out of your comfort zone without hurting your body is a skill. You must first listen to your body and understand that rest and recovery is actually fuel and won’t hinder your performance. In fact, a rest day will actually help your body get stronger.
To break it down, if you ignore your body's signals for recovery, you may see your progress slow and your body start to break down and compensate improperly. Like when you stub your toe and start hobbling around putting more weight on your other foot. Do that too long and you may start to see muscle tissue respond with tightness, tenderness, and knots—what happens when your muscles become less fluid and you start to develop poor habits with alignment and movement patterns. All of these body responses lead to injury.
How Much Rest is Enough?
To rest physically and reset mentally doesn’t take much time, but it does need to be deliberate. McKeown advises that you should learn to flow with your body’s rhythms, and when you find yourself struggling, instead of doubling down, take a pause. He says that peak physical and mental performance requires a rhythm, and relaxing is a responsibility. You should avoid exhausting yourself and limit practice to an amount you can recover from on a weekly or daily basis. Don’t do more today than you can completely recover from today.
You should also take note of your workout. If you find yourself unable to complete a workout in the same amount of time or intensity, your body may be signaling that it needs more rest time with proper nutrition to fuel the body and aid in recovery. If you’re experiencing soreness or pain 72 hours after a workout, that is a sign to incorporate recovery methods into your routine and to take more time to rest.
Effective Recovery Methods
If you’re truly recovering from muscle soreness, consider taking a restful break or lessening the intensity of your workout. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep and stay well hydrated to help in your recovery.
After each workout, you’ll also want to make sure to spend some time doing static stretches—standing in place and holding a stretch for 20-30 seconds. In addition, you can use a foam roller, or other household tools as seen in this video for deeper muscle release. For more stretches check out fitnessdrum.com’s tips here.
This is the time for you to determine what your body needs. Is it truly rest? Then take it. Or is this a time when you need to push through the soreness and keep moving? If so, that’s your answer. Everyone is different, which is why it’s so important to listen to your body, check in with your mind, and determine the right course of action for you.
Lisa learned to trust the process and how to progress safely with the proper amount of work and rest. She is still dedicated to her fitness, but is now remembering the joy and happiness that she gets out of exercise, rather than feeling like she has to meet social expectations. Through proper fuel, rest, and recovery methods, she now embraces her own journey and success and sees that it is an imperfect process.
To properly care for others, you must first prioritize yourself. A tired mind and sore body doesn’t lend itself to being fully present and ready to serve others. So give yourself time to rest, reset and recover. You’ll find that short intentional breaks will help you tremendously not only through keeping yourself strong and active, but also in all aspects of your life.
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