If you were a horse I could explain it:
http://www.equestrianandhorse.com/...e-rhabdomylosis.html

http://spintowinrodeo.com/...scle-disorders-horse

Not uncommon for hard-working horses that have been given a day off and have received a high-carbohydrate meal on the rest day. I would hazard to guess it could happen in people too.

What's a rest day for you.

For me it's an easy swim and a 30 min run. Without doing that I feel like crxp the day after doing nothing.

jaretj

Rest day in this context is doing as little as possible, in other words no active-recovery.

I thought there might be a rational explanation.

They talk about it in the TDF all the time with each rest day - how the day after is always a mystery as to how people will feel. Some feel great, some dont. Predominantly people seem to feel mostly sluggish. My guess is the energy systems have had a chance to cool off a little and the body starts to enter a deeper recovery phase. Those energy systems therefore take more time to wake back up once stimulus is applied.

I notice it quite often during recovery weeks after a 3-4 week build. I'll take a day off and usually the next couple of days of easy sessions feel pretty hard and are a struggle. Its just a process to work through each time.

Whenever I take a day completely off without doing anything I feel like crap the next day. I found for me the best "rest" day is to get out and do an easy jog or an hour on the bike just spinning. My goal with these days is to try and get blood flowing to remove the junk that has built up in my legs.

I experience the same thing. Quite often I feel the same way during a taper (no energy). I always read about people having all this extra energy during a taper.....not me! I figure my body really needs the rest and wants more. Then again, I'm no spring chicken.

I'm completely the same way. Real taper before IM means even less energy than I had while training full gas. I sleep way more and am pretty unmotivated to do anything.

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing there is something to this.
Maybe I don't work hard enough to get there though, lol, as every time I take a day completely off, I feel strong the next day. I took a bike ride yesterday after an off day and made 9 PR's on strava segments. It's a good reminder of the two things necessary to get faster - stress and recovery.

I always feel anxious on a rest day, I think this is more mental than anything - 'missing a chance to train'.

I've noticed both can happen to me after a rest day, although typically when my training is already light I feel very refreshed after a rest day and when I'm in the middle of a build or a lot of volume I tend to feel more sluggish.

Like most, I seem to feel my best after a quick recovery effort of some kind. As a result, when I do a quick taper before a short course race I tend to take the 2nd day before completely off and do a short run the day prior to race day.

For me, it's because I add gluttony to my sloth. It's the combination that does me in.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Also, beer.

I don't plan rest days. .. just take them when my body tells me it needs one (or life gets in the way). If I'm tired and want to do things, I do active recovery. If I'm tired and need a complete rest day I do that too.

Just being lazy because the plan says so has never worked for me.