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Oiselle – Haute Volée hurdler Karelle Edwards is floating in a Flow Long Sleeve in White/White and Roga Shorts in Lemon Tree Print.⠀⠀

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Lemons, camera, ACTION. 📸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Haute Volée hurdler Karelle Edwards is floating in a Flow Long Sleeve in White/White and Roga Shorts in Lemon Tree Print.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Photo: Ryan Warner // @ryanwarnerphotography

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When was the last time you took full rest day.?

Rest Days are Key to Staying Healthy

Planning a full rest day into your routine can actually make you a better runner. Here’s how it works.

August 26, 2020Amanda Smith

Whether training for your next marathon or your first 5K, there is something crucial that can sometimes be neglected by women with a lot of ambition—rest (especially in the form of one full rest day).

When rest is neglected, training suffers. Adequate rest and nutrition throughout any training process are the best ways to ensure not only performance, but overall good health and injury prevention. According to the 2020 National Runner Survey, half of all respondents had an injury that kept them from running for four or more days in the last 12 months.

Fitting in rest days are crucial to keeping your body going in the long run. “It’s extra time to allow for all the, essentially, mechanical repair to go on in the body; production of collagen to repair tendons, muscles, bones, all those tissues taking some breakdown in normal exercise,” says Robert Wayner, PT, DPT, and director of the Ohio Center for Running Performance. A rest day also allows the body to build energy stores back up. “We know that our athletes, over a six-day training period, they may start the week off with full tanks and really good energy balance. But as the week wears on then, especially since some of their workouts are more demanding than others, those more demanding ones are going to take a longer period of time to essentially recoup from caloric energy-wise,” he says. One consequence of continually skipping the rest day and not allowing energy stores to build back up is developing Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) that Wayner says he sees runners fall into inadvertently.

A lot of runners feel guilt around taking a rest day, which comes as a result of a society that glorifies productivity and hyper-competitiveness. Those feelings are especially felt by women who try to ‘do it all.’ The reality is that you cannot train to your full potential if you never let off the gas. Eventually something will break down. For that reason, a group of runners created an Instagram account dedicated solely to idealizing rest where they show how runners like Colleen Quigley, Amelia Boone, or Molly Seidel spend their rest days.

Women’s Running@WomensRunning

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How to fit in your work out at home.

cleveland work out at home

Whether you’re a fitness fanatic or casual gym goer, the thought of picking up a dumbbell covered in germs is enough to make anyone cringe. And with the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) becoming more prominent every day, gyms and fitness centers across the country are closing their doors to help protect members.

If staying active is an important part of your life (as it should be!) you might be wondering how you’re supposed to go about this whole at-home workout thing. Thankfully, it’s easier than you think.

“A lot of what you’ll find with at-home workouts is about maintaining your current level of fitness,” explains exercise physiologist Katie Lawton. “And with workouts, consistency is key.”

Here Lawton shares some practical advice about how to stay active at home.

  1. Find workouts through online videos and apps. The internet is choked full of free workout videos. From yoga, to Zumba, to circuit training that you can do in your backyard. Test out a few workouts to find a series, program or instructor that you like. (Bonus points if you can get other members of your household to join you!)
  2. Walk, run or bike outside. Everyone could use a little fresh air. Hit the pavement in your neighborhood and challenge yourself to walk, run or bike a certain number of minutes or miles. If you’re an experienced fitness buff and you’re really looking to ramp up your heart rate, opt for hills or try a running based HIIT workout.
  3. Focus on body weight movements. Now’s the time to incorporate body weight exercises into your workouts. These tried and true movements include things like pushups, squats, lunges, planks and burpees. They’re convenient, efficient and inexpensive (AKA free). Pick a few different movements and create a circuit workout by completing as many reps of that one movement as possible in one minute. Then rest for a minute and continue on to the next movement and do the same thing. Repeat this for 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. Order inexpensive fitness equipment online. Things like jump ropes, pull up bars that attach to door frames, suspension trainers and resistance bands are inexpensive items that can pack a punch when it comes to your workouts. Lawton recommends choosing a heavier resistance band and suggests tying the suspension trainer to a tree outside. You could also ask around if other family members or neighbors have old dumbbells or barbells that they no longer use.
  5. Utilize items around your house. Lawton encourages creativity when it comes to working out at home. Run up and down your basement stairs, use a chair for triceps dips or grab cans of soup or a gallon of water as a weight. Even jumping over a shoebox a few times can be a quick burst of cardio.
  6. Get your household involved. If you have kids, chances are they have more energy to burn off than you know what to do with and they’d be thrilled to be involved. Try to incorporate them into your plans to stay active – whether it’s encouraging them to do pushups with you or organizing a backyard obstacle course. Try to walk your dog every day, play tag with your kids or get your whole family involved in a backyard soccer game. Also never underestimate the power of a good dance party! It’s a great way to make memories with your family and burn off some stress and anxiety.

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