Updated April 15, 2021
When was the last time you took a rest day or an even longer break from your workouts or your regular routine in another way? Like the kind where you literally DO NOTHING, and you planned it that way.
If your answer is “Uhhh, I don’t remember my last rest day,” or “training breaks are for wusses,” this is your invitation to rethink that.
Thousands of people purchased rowing machines in the pandemic. Looking at the rowing-related Facebook groups, A LOT of them decided to go hard into rowing just as soon as they got that baby out of the box.
I get it! Rowing is a fun, total-body, non-impact workout that lets YOU decide how hard or easy it is. Awesome indeed, but too much of a good thing is still too much.
I learned that in spades the last time I rowed a million meters in one month for the Concept2 World Erg Challenge. I hit my goal, but it took me 4ish hours of rowing Every. Single. Day. to get there.
By the end I was exhausted, hurting all over, and kind of hating the erg. I was wildly overtrained. Not a good place to be.
Listen. I’m all about getting a great workout in. Give me something that gets my heart rate up and a sweat rolling and I’m a happy girl. But our bodies weren’t made to go, go, go all the time.
Often you make more progress if you slow down and take it easy, at least a day or two a week.
If you need more reasons to look at taking the pedal off the gas and give yourself a rest day – or two or six – here are three:
1. As we say about training, “You progress in the rest.” The workout is the stimulus for change, but the recovery IS the change. That’s when the muscles are resting and growing after being stressed.
Something to keep in mind: The general rule is you need at least 48 hours to recover from a workout, with full recovery not seen until 72 to 96 hours later. The older we get, the longer the recovery time, by the way.
2. Rest helps you keep your mental edge: A little time off from the gym will do wonders for your performance when you do get back to it. By the way, “a little time off” doesn’t have to mean a rest day or two a week. If your mental or physical performance is really suffering, maybe you need to take a break of a week or more.
Unless you’re training for something right now (and even if you are) we promise the world won’t come to an end if your weight or erg session becomes a day at the pool, an easy-breezy walk or bike ride, or an afternoon in a comfy chair with a good book.
You’d have to do nothing for two weeks or more before you’d really feel the effects of any deconditioning. So kick back and relax, the world’s not coming to an end.
3. Rest prevents injury: By resting you prevent overuse, and that in turn prevents injury. Want to lose ground? Tear a rotator cuff or pop your Achilles. Then you’ll REALLY be resting.
We worship “the hustle” in the United States, often to our detriment. If all you’re doing is going, going, going, whether in your workouts, your work, or some other aspect of your life, you will eventually break down. Bet money on it.
How to make the most of your rest day or days
1. SLEEP IN – Nothing helps you restore your hard-worked muscles like some good shut-eye.
2. BUMP UP THE PROTEIN – It’ll help you rebuild that muscle you damaged in your workout.
3. HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE – We need hydration ALL the time, not just when we’re working out or being active. Don’t worry about some scientific calculation of how much to drink. If you’re peeing clear, you’re good.
So consider this your hall pass to go find a hammock or a cozy couch and a big old glass of tea or lemonade. We’ll see you there!
Questions? Thoughts? Hit us up in the comments, we’ll get back to you asap … probably from the couch.
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