Zyaga Writing about whatever the hell I want, cuz it's the Interwebz!

Tuesday Tips: Remember to Rest

Lately, I’ve been doing quite a bit and my body has definitely been feeling it. I’ve realized that I’m doing too much too fast. Every so often I forget this handy little rule and end up needing to remind myself: Remember to Rest.

The general idea most of us have stuck in our head is to practice, practice, practice. The problem is we generally forget that our bodies have a specified rate at which they “repair”. If you work yourself too hard but don’t get enough rest in between, you’ll actually do more damage to yourself than good. Without rest, instead of toning or building muscles your muscles will instead begin breaking down. This can also result from a lack of proper nutrition. The more you work out, the more your body will need to burn. That’s not to say we’re all Michael Phelps and need to consume unimaginable amounts of food to make up for our exercise for the day. However, you should be expecting to be eating more than you normally do.

I won’t go in depth on what you should be eating, because that wouldn’t be an article, that would be a book. Just remember to take enough time out of each day to rest so that your body can recover. You may think you’re doing okay, or that you can just “deal with it”, but believe me when I say that it will eventually catch back up with you. Also, if your body breaks down or you get sick, your training will have all been for nothing, now won’t it?