Rest... but just enough.
Smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce powered Thanksgiving ruminations.
I have an image seared in my head from the countless hours my brother and I spent in our cramped and musty weight room at our high school in Garner, Iowa. Above the dumbbells was an 8” x 11” piece of yellowed paper taped to the mirror, which read, “Seven days off makes one weak.” The point was taken. Don’t rest too long because you’ll soon lose what you’ve gained.
Seven days off makes one weak.
In endurance sports, there is a trend picking up converts among the elite and competitive athletes; it’s the idea that you should pay attention to your Heart Rate Variability (HRV)1, the variability of the time between beats. HRV measures what happens during the rest period between heartbeats.2
The resulting number indicates a plotted score between stress (sub-optimal performance) and readiness (optimal performance).
I bring up all this because even at the micro level, our ability to rest and recoup is essential to readiness. Too much rest and we subvert our state of readiness; too little rest and open ourselves to the risk of an injury or breakdown.
Long-term goals are not often made in one day’s work, but consistent progress is made when one day’s work becomes a string of many. Rest is essential and critical to give our best, yet too much rest is counterproductive.
I hope you enjoyed a couple of days of guilt-free indulgence. Now, let’s get after it!
Marketing Article by Whoop: https://www.whoop.com/us/en/thelocker/heart-rate-variability-hrv/