Rest day tips
Over the years, I have learned more and more how rest days are just as important as the hard training days. The saying “train hard, recover harder” is something I think every athlete should live by. If we don’t let our bodies rest and adapt to our training load, we can’t build on that work and push even harder in the next training session. The weeks after my crash at the US Cup have forced me to rest and optimize for the fastest recovery. Here are some of my best tips for getting the most out of your rest days:
Sleep - sleep is so important for recovery, and the body actually does most of its muscle repair when we’re sleeping. I try to prioritize sleep as much as possible, but we all know that can definitely be a challenge at times. I shoot for 8-8.5 hours each night, and when I can, I take a quick 15-20 minute nap during the day.
Good nutrition - eating well is something I prioritize every day, but on my rest days I try to incorporate more plant nutrients than on my hard training days. On a heavy training day, it can be hard to include all the leafy greens and slower digesting foods when I’m trying to optimize nutrition for my hard workout, so on the easy days I try to incorporate more of that into my diet.
Hydrate! This one I think we tend to overlook, but intentionally trying to drink lots throughout the day is important. When I’m traveling I usually always have a water bottle with me, but when I’m home I sometimes forget. What’s helped me is to carry that bottle around with me even when I’m home and switch it up by putting different things in your water (crystal light is my guilty pleasure haha), or different teas.
Rolling, stretching, recovering - your rest day is also the day to optimize recovery tactics to come back stronger in training the next day. I try to find a good amount of time during the day to roll out, stretch, and do some yoga.
I hope these rest day tips challenge you to push harder not just in training but in your resting!