Recovery days

[carolyn]

This question is similar to the one recently asked about overtraining, hopefully with a different twist, so I dont bore you all.

 

Ive learned thru trial and error when training for backpacking or extended slog fests how important rest days are for my joints. Lately Ive been doing A LOT more climbing, bouldering, traversing, etc. My mind and spirit tend to want to continue long after my muscles/endurance do. I hear how important it is to work toward that 'burn' (which I get daily). Yet, How do I know when Im pushing it too much? How do I know when I need to continue and when I need to rest for a day or two? Granted every 'body' is different...what are the clues you use to say, "time for a day off"? The last thing I want to do is injure and/or work against myself.

[minx]

important question!

 

it depends on how you define rest day i guess.

 

for me it usually involves some activity that is much much different from what i've been doing daily. ie. go for a swim instead of a run or a climb.

 

BUT sometimes...there's just gotta be a day when i do Nothing...and i mean nothing. I can feel these days coming on. Usually when i find myself for 3 or more days dreading the thought of any type of work out or activity i just bag it for a day or two. Seems to be enough.

[lummox]

carolyn said:

This question is similar to the one recently asked about overtraining, hopefully with a different twist, so I dont bore you all.

 

Ive learned thru trial and error when training for backpacking or extended slog fests how important rest days are for my joints. Lately Ive been doing A LOT more climbing, bouldering, traversing, etc. My mind and spirit tend to want to continue long after my muscles/endurance do. I hear how important it is to work toward that 'burn' (which I get daily). Yet, How do I know when Im pushing it too much? How do I know when I need to continue and when I need to rest for a day or two? Granted every 'body' is different...what are the clues you use to say, "time for a day off"? The last thing I want to do is injure and/or work against myself.

some people place a lot of cred in resting heart rate to keep track of overtraining risk. but tendons are diferent. if you wake up achy maybe let off the hard pulling?

[carolyn]

lummox said:some people place a lot of cred in resting heart rate to keep track of overtraining risk. but tendons are diferent. if you wake up achy maybe let off the hard pulling?

 

Isnt it normal to feel sore if your working muscles that dont often get worked? I feel pretty pumped when Im done. My fingers hurt a bit from crimping a lot as well. I havent been too bad in the morning, though.

 

Im really just starting off on this new routine of traversing along a wall (1000ft long?). Ive been enjoying it a lot and its super good practice for endurance, balance, using my feet, etc. Maybe its just the excitement of something new that makes me want to keep going back day after day. I would however like to work it in at least 4-5 days a week if possible w/o injuring myself.

[mbcracken]

lummox said:

some people place a lot of cred in resting heart rate to keep track of overtraining risk. but tendons are diferent. if you wake up achy maybe let off the hard pulling?

 

How does one go about analyzing their resting HR to measure overtraining?

 

-Mike

[carolyn]

I was glancing thru Mark Twights book, extreme alpinism last night.

 

I noticed a part which addresses your question, Mike...

 

p.51

"Also use it to monitor your recovery from workouts. Check recovery status by taking your pulse when you wake up each morning. Recovery is incomplete if you are a trained athlete and your heart beats a few times more per minute than normal, or if you are an untrained persona nd your heart rate is six to eight beats per minute higher than normal....An increase in your wake- up pulse also indicates when illness and overtraining loom...Take rest days whenever needed, based on your waking pulse, especially if you are thirty five or older or coming back from injury or a long break from training and climbing...Pay attention when waking pulse is five or more beats per minute higher than normal..."

[gslater]

Back when I was Joe Bike Racer, I used to track my morning heart rate religiously. Actually quite informative. First thing every morning, I'd take my pulse and enter that data point on a graph. The trends were easy to see that way, and very revealing. The rate was usually pretty consistent, but after a couple of hard racing days or severe training days, there would be a sharp spike in the rate, indicating the need for rest. It would also sometimes be out of whack immediately before I got sick, usually before I showed any symptoms of illness.

 

It's only really an indicator of cardiovascular training, and obviously doesn't tell you too much about whether you're overstressing your joints or anything like that.

[mbcracken]

Carolyn & qslater, thanks for the references and input. Now I just need a magic number for how much to slide the number when being woke up by my 6 & 2 y.o daughters on those early weekend days.

(Kids dancing on the bed way too early...)

 

-Mike

 

 

[Courtenay]

In addition to resting heart rate you can also look at waking body temp -- though again (I think I've mentioned this on this forum before) for women there will be a .5 or greater spike at one part of their cycle (ovulation) so by doing charting for a month or more you can really see fluxuations caused by overtraining vs. "normal". You can also assess by how quickly your heart rate returns to normal during intervals if you're overtraining -- i.e. it hits 175 and just doesn't drop as quickly as it "should." That means cut the workout short.