Q Like many people, I lead a sedentary life. Work dictates that I do my long run or race at the weekend, so my ‘rest day’ falls midweek. How can it be good for me to spend eight hours at a desk then come home and do nothing?
A Firstly, while you may have a sedentary job, if you’re concerned about taking one day off from training I wouldn’t say you lead a sedentary life. So, why should you schedule rest days into your training? A training session weakens your body, depleting nutrient supplies and damaging muscles. This may sound like bad news, but it’s actually the stimulus for your body to repair and rebuild itself – though only if you allow it time to do so. Your immune system is also depressed by endurance training, so taking a day’s rest each week may prevent longer lay-offs through illness. Neglecting proper recovery over a long period is one cause of overtraining.
Instead of thinking of rest days as “empty” days, treat them as “recovery” days. How you spend them will depend on the volume and intensity of your training as well as your other commitments. For many runners, knowing a day off from training is approaching can be psychologically important when tackling a hard session, but inactivity is not your only option.
Light exercise may speed up recovery by increasing blood flow around the body, but you should stay in a low aerobic zone (around 60–70 per cent of your maximum heart rate). Choose a low-impact activity with different movements from running: cycling or swimming are excellent choices. Recovery sessions should be 20 to 30 minutes, but if you feel tired 10 minutes in, stop.
Recovery days are ideal for addressing areas of fitness that you might neglect; try yoga or Pilates classes, or just a long stretching session.
— Ant Smith, runner and personal trainerer
