Happy Labor Day!
When I tried to think of what to write about today, all I could think of was how happy I was to rest. Which of course, led to me realizing I haven't addressed the importance of rest on this blog. Possibly ever. What better time than now?
Taking a break is good for the soul and - it turns out - also for the body. You may have heard it said that you need at least one full rest day a week. Did you ever wonder why? Did you ever wonder why your body needs a full day of recovery from all activity? The reason is simple, really.
When you work out, you're actually tearing up the muscle fibers. You are breaking your muscles, in other words. They have to repair themselves - which is where rest comes in. Each one of those tiny tears in the muscle gets repaired, most often stronger than they were originally. In truth, you don't get stronger by working out; you get stronger by resting.
I personally have a tendency to overwork (bet you couldn't have guessed that, right?). I rationalize going hard because it keeps me in the habit. I can't get "lazy" by taking a day off. Then I begin to wonder how I could possibly continue to eat the same amount of food on rest days as I do on "work" days. The problem with that logic is that rest isn't truly about doing nothing. Rest is about repair, and it's actually a lot of work. Most important to remember, though? It's IMPORTANT work, and without it? You are risking injury.
You know, I mentioned a few paragraphs up that rest is good for the soul and the body. Both can be injured by "too much." Please, do me a favor? Honor this Labor Day in a slightly different way? Take the time to honor your own labors - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and otherwise. Rest, recover, and rebuild so that tomorrow you can be stronger than ever.
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