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| Kitty knows how to relax |
It is great to push ourselves to the limit when we are working out. It gives us a real sense of accomplishment to feel our muscles working with the sweat pouring down our faces.
However, sometimes we over do it. Many of use feel guilty if we take a day off. Tired and sore, we still continue to exercise until our bodies fight back. We get injured. We are so fatigued that we can't even move. We get sick.
This is what has happened to me.
The body needs to rest and recover to get healthier and stronger. This is what I tell my clients. I didn't take my own good advice and now I am paying the price.
So why is rest so important?
- Muscle Recovery - Rest allows muscle tissue time to repair itself and replenish energy stores. If you over train, the body might continue to breakdown muscle instead of rebuilding it. Do some gentle stretching on your rest days to stay flexible and limber.
- Better Sleep - While it is true that regular exercise can help improve the quality of your sleep, too much exercise can have the opposite effect. Sleep is so important to good health, don't jeopardize it.
- Avoiding Injury - As I mentioned above, over training can result in injury, fatigue and illness. It can also trigger depression and decreased performance. Not so good.
- Life Balance - You need to ensure that you are making time to focus on family, friends and work. Too much time spent exercising can take away from time spent with the people you care about or engaging in other activities you love.
Have you ever over trained? How did you feel? Do you schedule weekly rest days?
Stay Healthy,
Tracy
