That cortisol bump can cause mood issues, irritability, sleep problems and other health issues if stress levels are chronically high. Why is that? ‘The body doesn't know if you're running away from danger or if you're running for fun,’ says Vincent. But every time you lace up, it actually increases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body. If they don't get that much-needed time, the constant pounding can cause chronic damage, such as tendinitis – which is inflammation from overuse. But blood doesn't get to them easily, so they take longer to repair than tissues that get a more plentiful supply of your claret (like muscles), explains Vincent. Tendons are connective tissues that hold muscle to bone, so they work constantly as the body moves. ‘But if you run today, tomorrow and the next day, it never has time to fully repair.’ Eventually, you could be looking at a stress fracture – and a lengthy spell out of action.
Contrary to what ill-informed naysayers will trot out, running is actually great for your bones – the impact stresses the bone tissue, and just like a muscle, that increases cell turnover and forces the bone to remodel with stronger structures, says Vincent. If you're trying to sidestep an injury, rest is crucial. That negates all the hard work you put in. Without it, the body has no opportunity to rebuild and strengthen muscles they just continue to break down. Vincent says that, depending on the length and intensity of your workout, the body needs a minimum of 36-48 hours to properly reboot. Sounds like a good deal, but there’s a catch: that response only happens with adequate time off from exercising. So it responds by rebuilding your muscles stronger, in preparation for the next session. When you run (or do any kind of exercise), you create microscopic tears in your muscle fibres and your body likes those about as much as you like trying to open a sweaty gel packet after 15 miles. Still got ants in your runderpants? Here are four more reasons to chill. That day off is when your body uses nutrients and undergoes biological processes and hormone cycles to rebuild itself, says Tenforde. Whether you’re strictly a recreational runner or training more regularly and seriously, there's value in taking at least one day off from your training each week – even if you're deep into a run streak. Follow these training tweaks to optimise recovery and build a stronger, and more rested, you. Fail to rest properly and you'll slowly – or sometimes rather rapidly – fall apart. In other words, rest right and you'll run better, avoid time on the physio's treatment table, stay motivated and gain more reward from your running. ‘If you don't have time to recharge, it can lead to staleness and general apathy about training.’ ‘As much as athletes focus on their volume of training and the speed at which they do workouts, what they do outside of running is equally important to becoming stronger and more resilient in the future,’ says Dr Adam Tenforde, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehab at Harvard University, US, and a former elite runner.ĭr Bonnie Marks, staff psychologist at New York University’s Sports Performance Center, agrees.
And allowing yourself time to recover afterward is what makes it possible for you to come back better next week, next month, next race.īest sleep trackers for a better night’s rest That's because when you run, you aren't just building your stamina and strength you're also breaking your body down, causing a tiny amount of tissue damage with every step. Every time you run, your body has to adapt to get stronger.’ ‘The big reason you need it is recovery and recuperation. ‘Rest is not a four-letter word,’ says Dr Kevin Vincent, director of the University of Florida Running Medicine Clinic in the US. Rest days help to strengthen your body, sharpen your mind and boost your motivation levels so that you actually want to get out for your next run. The answer to that question is simple: NOT running is just as important as fitting in that long weekend run or that Tuesday speed session. After all, why would you do nothing when there's always something to cross off that long, long to-do list? So when you see the word ‘rest’ on your schedule, it's tempting to skip past it and look for the next 'real' to-do. When staring at a new training plan, you quickly realise there's a lot to do, and that's on top of all the other things in your day-to-day life.
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