It may be one of the most important days of your training week; the rest day. Resting is where all the “magic” happens, where our bodies repair from the load and damage we do in training. Without rest we cannot operate at our maximum potential. For the high revving and eager athlete they may not want to rest and do easy training in favor of rest. While it may be good for the mind to be doing “more” the body needs to be reseted over a 24-48 hour time period. These short focused rest days weekly are in addition to the changing weekly and monthly training loads that your Tristar coach will be creating for you.
Depending on what athlete level you are we have given advice in the three columns below. Touching each level will reveal the recovery strategy you should chose. 👇
RECOVERY STRATEGY
REST DAYS
2-3 days per week of rest are common . These are hard stop rest days with no training and or activity, stretching only. At peaks beginner athletes will go down to one rest day.
RECOVERY TIME
Most sessions for these athletes should take no more than 24 hours to recover from. Longer than this and the stimulus in training may be too great.
LIFESTYLE
Life stress, standing on your feet and other non training activities should be considered and monitored. True rest days really are just that. Spending time with family and friends can regenerate training and mojo. We at Tristar Athletes advocate for a low tech day on these rest days as well if possible.
OTHER RECOVERY STRATEGIES
SLEEP
Beginner athletes need more sleep. < 6 hours and you should likely take the day off completely. A once per week catch up on sleep of up to 8 hours or more is ideal.
FOOD
Unless directed otherwise athletes training should focus on foods that reduce inflammation (Dairy) and increase healthy slow burning carbohydrates. Try to target a larger breakfast on rest days and eat lighter before bed with a higher percentage of protein and good fats. A small reduction in Caffeine may also help to facilitate sleep. Alcohol on rest days is not recommended due to the empty calories. Avoid training products and or sugary packaged goods on rest days.
MEDITATION
Meditaion is highly recommended as is stretching on total rest days. Total rest days one should avoid yoga and pilates classes unless your coach approves them. True rest days are RESTFUL!
MASSAGE
Recovery boots and or professional deep tissue massages can return healthy blood flow to the active tissues and remove toxins from the blood. Try to target one massage every two to four weeks.
RECOVERY STRATEGY
REST DAYS
1-2 days per week of rest are common . These are hard stop rest days with no training and or activity, stretching only. At peaks intermediate athletes will go down to one rest day.
RECOVERY TIME
Most sessions for these athletes should take no more than 24 hours to recover from. Some athletes training for longer distance may see up to 48hrs for full recovery.
LIFESTYLE
Life stress, standing on your feet and other non training activities should be considered and monitored. True rest days really are just that. Spending time with family and friends can regenerate training and mojo. We at Tristar Athletes advocate for a low tech day on these rest days as well if possible.
OTHER RECOVERY STRATEGIES
SLEEP
Intermediate athletes need somewhat less sleep than beginners or advanced, though they can only get away with low levels of sleep for a very short period of time. < 6 hours and you should likely take the day off completely. A once per week catch up on sleep of up to 8 hours or more is ideal.
FOOD
Unless directed otherwise athletes training should focus on foods that reduce inflammation (Dairy) and increase healthy slow burning carbohydrates. Try to target a larger breakfast on rest days and eat lighter before bed with a higher percentage of protein and good fats. A small reduction in Caffeine may also help to facilitate sleep. Alcohol on rest days is not recommended due to the empty calories. Avoid training products and or sugary packaged goods on rest days.
MEDITATION
Meditaion is highly recommended as is stretching on total rest days. Total rest days one should avoid yoga and pilates classes unless your coach approves them. True rest days are RESTFUL!
ADVANCED Ⓒ
MASSAGE
Recovery boots and or professional deep tissue massages can return healthy blood flow to the active tissues and remove toxins from the blood. Try to target one massage every two to four weeks.
ADVANCED Ⓒ
RECOVERY STRATEGY
REST DAYS
0-1 days per week of rest are common . These are hard stop rest days with no training and or activity, stretching only. Advanced athletes can do more active recovery than a full stop rest day for most of their season.
RECOVERY TIME
Most sessions for these athletes should take no more than 24 hours to recover from however the key session may take up to 48hrs. At peak advanced Tristar Athletes will need longer recovery due to the deep time trialing and higher intensity factor output vs beginner and intermediate athletes. Peak weeks will be much larger and valleys much shorter in terms of overall training stress. Periodically, advanced level athletes will be instituted a total rest day when they do not recognize that they are not receiving well.
LIFESTYLE
These athletes are hyper aware of their bodies and chose a lifestyle that maximizes their athletic potential. At times they may shy away from physical work to save their best energies for their training sessions. Still, true rest days really are just that. Spending time with family and friends can regenerate training and mojo. Even for the advanced levels at Tristar Athletes we advocate for a low tech day on these rest days if possible.
OTHER RECOVERY STRATEGIES
SLEEP
Advanced athletes need lots of sleep. 8-10 hours per night. A once per week catch up on sleep of up to 10 solid hours or more is ideal.
FOOD
Advanced athletes will require a higher carbohydrate demand even on their rest days (Due to their higher than normal metabolism) Unless directed otherwise athletes training should focus on foods that reduce inflammation (Dairy) and increase healthy slow burning carbohydrates. These athletes also will try to target a larger breakfast on rest days and eat lighter before bed with a higher percentage of protein and good fats. A small reduction in Caffeine may also help to facilitate sleep. Alcohol on rest days is not recommended due to the empty calories. Avoid training products and or sugary packaged goods on rest days.
MEDITATION
Meditaion is highly recommended as is stretching on total rest days. Total rest days one should include yoga and pilates classes True rest days are RESTFUL!
MASSAGE
Recovery boots and or professional deep tissue massages can return healthy blood flow to the active tissues and remove toxins from the blood. Try to target one massage per week at a minimum.
Tristar Coach and athlete exchange…. rest may be the one aspect of your training left where you can get faster…!
