About 5 days per week.
once per week, usually a monday
.
I think the assertion that you never need a rest day under a well-structured training plan is controversial, but I’m not going to defend either side strenuously.
I take the conventional one rest day per week. That rest day really helps calibrate my efforts for the next week. I can take stock of how much I feel like I need the rest day, how much I feel like the rest day helped, and what I actually did on the rest day (usually some stretching and extra focus on nutrition); then as I start the next week I can plan for my hard efforts. If I can strategically add some volume or intensity somewhere in the next training cycle, my rest days help me know that.
By the way-- where did (or do) you row?
… BTW, there are actually plenty of people who advocate additional rest days. In the rowing world, Xeno Muller is a huge proponent of taking the day off if you find yourself dreading the workout. (There are also other, less flaky people who believe in impromptu rest days.)
It seems like this approach could be dangerous, because it could lead to a whole lot of missed workouts, but I don’t think this is actually a problem for most serious athletes. As long as you are confident in your dedication to the sport, the slippery slope of missed training time is illusory. Missing one work out would probably improve the quality of the next few workouts, too. Figuring out whether to skip a day turns out to be a little complex because you have to be able to identify and evaluate different sources of dread, but the ability to weigh those things is an important skill.
my understanding is that many of the top nz itu athletes have one rest day per week…
Sunday,
.
Today!!!
I take every Monday off. I would rather make every workout a quality workout than I would to water down a bunch of workouts and post on slowtwitch that off days are for lazy people…
Maybe you should also compare, time in sport, race results as well. Because those change your answer…
I find that the hardest thing about a rest day is knowing the buddies are swimming/riding/running on that given day. Drives me nuts, not because I worry that they are getting ahead, but because I have fun when I’m swimming/riding/running (99% of the time ;)) and I want to be ‘out there’. Of course, over the years, I’ve learned that if I’m going to improve, not to mention, stay in the sport for many years, I’ve got to listen to my body when it tells me its tired, and then I rest.
Morph
1 day per week, Friday, and not by choice. I work 7am-6pm. No time or energy left for a workout after that.
muscles burn calories. More muscle = more calorie burn = potential for weight loss if you watch that you don’t go eating frozen yogurt by the bucket after your weight training sessions.
2 easy days per week of nothing but a very light spin. Complete day off when things are too hectic or I don’t feel like doing anything.
I almost always take Sunday off from regimented workouts. That said, I usually go surfing, but I don’t consider that a workout since most of the time is spent sitting on my board in the water waiting for waves to come.
For me, I don’t physically need a day off, but mentally I do. It sort of resets me for the week coming up.
No such thing as a rest day. Days I don’t train are usually because life is too damn busy with work, kids, etc. Those days almost never qualify as quality recovery. They may be 0’s in the training log, but I’m always freaking tired when they are done.
My best recovery days almost always incorporate sleeping in, healthy meals, and an easy spin on the bike.
Off every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and every other Sunday during the last 20 years unless life gets in the way. Honestly believe most AGers overtrain.
6 complete rest days in 2009, i wouldn’t do this if ilked rest days…that said, mile swims with hot tub/yoga are pretty much rest days and i do those every other week…
go hawks