Rest and Recovery. What every fitness addict hates to hear but needs to learn!

I am speaking from first had experience with this one. Over the last month or so I have felt that my body has ' given up'. I have been wondering why my workouts and new running routes have not been giving me the usual excitement and challenge I have become so used to. Yoga sounds like a bore, stair running makes me dizzy and the very thought of completing a triathlon makes me want to curl up and hide!

Most people who know me or have trained with me will tell you that I am fairly motivated and consistent with my training. What I am not so great at, is taking a break to let my body recover. I am the first to admit that I have been guilty of living by the "more is better motto". I often feel that if I am not drowning in a pool of sweat, aching the next day or burning 100's of calories, then the workout has been a waste of time. Well my friends..... my body has won this time and has not been shy in telling me to SLOW DOWN!

Rest and recovery is a vital part of any training. The muscles need time to repair themselves, in order to build up bigger and stronger in the long term. Exercising at a high intensity, too often will likely cause a prolonged state of raised cortisol levels ( a hormone which is produced in response to stress on the body). "High cortisol levels increase muscle protein breakdown and inhibit protein synthesis (building up muscle proteins)". So essentially by over-training, we are doing ourselves more damage than good and are going no where to achieving our fitness goals.
With this in mind, I went on the search for a well balanced workout schedule including good amounts of rest and recovery. Dr Mercola suggests the following:

1. Minimum 2/1 easy to hard workout ratio (easy = maintaining easy conversation while exercising)
2. 1-2 moderate workouts with 2 days in between (moderate = can speak in words but not sentences)
3. 1-2 hard workouts with 3 day's in between.(hard = impossible to talk during workout)

We are all going to have 'good and bad' days with our training but please refrain from over-training and give your body the rest it needs! I need you with me to continue our goals towards a fitter and healthier life!