Rest... it can be more important than training. Actually, the balance is most important, I learn that every time and again and again and again....
Even if all my physio´s are saying it all the time: I often fortget to (properly) rest in between trainings. I get so enthusiastic about training, that I turn into this tunnel vision mode, fanatic, and overly enthusiastic about the whole sport (running and/or climbing), including the social side of it, that I lose sight of the fact that rest is utterly important in order to recover, and to supercompensate. A feeling that is so wonderful, I can´t even begin to describe, check out my earlier blog on that (Training, Overtraining and Supercompensating).
Anyways, what is the science behind ´rest´? What is it good for?
1. It allows time for recovery.
2. It prevents muscle fatigue.
3. It reduces risk of injury!!! Important!
4. Improves performance.
5. Supports Healthy sleep.
(Healthline, 2022).
More so, as explained in below graph (Source: Carroll and Graham, 2022).
So, in order to supercompensate to the max, you have to rest and recover on time to allow your body to heal, repair and grow more in muscle and strength than before. The trick is to avoid overtraining, and rest on precisely the right time. And this time, I did exactly that! I knew I was overtraining due to lack of sleep, and so I decided not to go to the climbing gym, but rest instead for almost a week. Even more so, I scheduled in my calender when my next rest week should be (around 3 to 4 weeks of training). Like a cycle you can predict....
Thát, plus sticking to your own schedule is very important. I have rest days from climbing scheduled over the week (4 days climbing, 3 days rest). In between training, I either rest or run (easily), depending on my running schedule.
So, how do you deal with rest and training?
Sources:
Healthline. (2022). Rest Day: On: https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/rest-day
Carroll, A., and Graham, M. (2022). On: Why are rest and recovery so important when training. On: https://blog.athletetrainingandhealth.com/why-are-rest-and-recovery-so-important-when-training
