A few days ago on this blog I mentioned how I’ve seen athletes push through fatigue to the point of getting injured because they convinced themselves it’s better to be able to put the #NoRestDays hashtag at the end of their Instagram posts than it is to take care of themselves properly. I made that comment kind of in jest, but it’s also true. It happens more often than you might think, and people will often push too hard because they see others doing the same.
To be honest, I don’t really have a problem with the #NoRestDays philosophy. What I do have a problem with, is people thinking that No Rest Days means that a person should lift heavy weights and push themselves to the max 7 days per week. I do not support that prescription. Instead, let me tell you what I do encourage. Doing things to promote recovery (such as self-guided stretching, mobility, and/or yoga), performing active rest (such as going for a slow jog, easy row, or casual ride on the Assault Bike, or body weight movements done at a low intensity just to keep the blood flowing, etc), easy skill work that doesn’t tax the nervous system too much, and self care (like massage, cupping, dry-needling) are always thing I support.
If you’re a Type-A personality that’s convinced that you absolutely must do something every day, then it’s fine. But, when you wake up and can barely get out of bed, or when it’s hard to get off of the toilet at work even when you use the railing in the stall, and when you walk around with your shoes untied because it hurts to much to bend over to tie them… then maybe you should simply rethink what it is you can do to still be productive. For those athletes who push their bodies hard all the time, remember that your body needs time to recover. You’ll see more even more gainz when you give those muscles time to rebuild stronger than before.
So next time your friends peer pressure you into doing “that one WOD I saw Rich Froning do four days ago” or when you decide to see if you can test all of the Wodapalooza workouts… in a single afternoon “just to see how you stack up,” ask yourself if the potential risk of getting hurt outweighs the ability to say “I would have placed third to last” to your friends. If your body is telling you that you should rest, usually you should listen. If you absolutely cannot take a “Rest Day,” then tell yourself that the 20 minute ROMWOD flow you picked out is your work for the day. When tomorrow comes, you can crush those weights all over again!
Stay safe. Keep your body as healthy as you can, since you only have one. Dedicate time to proper recovery. And as always, if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know!
Smashby's Training Blog 
