The Importance of Rest in Achieving and Maintaining Optimal Fitness
Last week we talked about the complementary benefits of strength and cardio workouts. In a recent promo for our new Industrial Strength class (Fridays at 5pm!), we preached the O3 credo of achieving optimal fitness via lifting (to build strength), endurance training (to improve flexibility and conditioning), and eating properly (to fuel increases in strength and endurance).
Seems like the ideal triangle (strength workouts, endurance training, nutrition), yes? But let’s reconfigure that triangle into a square. Of equal importance is a fourth component: REST.
Clients get excited about the improved levels of fitness they achieve at O3 via changes they’ve made in their diet and exercise routines. In their enthusiasm, some seek to do even more. When they combine these “step it up” efforts with everyday work, family and life responsibilities, proper recovery time is often the first thing to go by the wayside. And inadequate rest is just as detrimental to fitness as inadequate exercise.
There are a lot of studies that show a symbiotic relationship between regular exercise and adequate rest / recovery time. Proper rest is required to heal and build muscle tissues, keep you injury-free, and help the body resist disease. Regular exercise promotes improved sleep quality by producing smoother, more regular transitions between cycles and phases of sleep. And deep sleep (vs. irregular or fragmented sleep) significantly improves the quality of both physical and mental performance. Conversely, lack of sleep or poor sleep quality diminishes mental focus, elevates concentrations of sugar in your blood, and leaves you vulnerable to injury or illness.
Moral of this story? Get your rest. Try to hit the sack at roughly the same time each night, and shoot for 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Your body will thank and reward you.
