I reached my second rest day, as one person on the Dirt In Your Skirt Facebook page commented, “I hate rest day. The necessary evil in my world.”Yes, it is a necessary evil, which prompted my article link of the day. 

By Elizabeth Quinn, About.com Guide

“Most athletes know that getting enough rest after exercise is essential to high-level performance, but many still over train and feel guilty when they take a day off. The body repairs and strengthens itself in the time between workouts, and continuous training can actually weaken the strongest athletes.

Rest days are critical to sports performance for a variety of reasons. Some are physiological and some are psychological. Rest is physically necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen. For recreational athletes, building in rest days can help maintain a better balance between home, work and fitness goals….” READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE —HERE—

Check out more about rest from healthambition.com with these tips:

Most people who take part in sports or otherwise live very active lifestyles are very used to being told to take active rest days. However, some of them just willingly do so without really knowing why that downtime is beneficial. In general, rest days are worthwhile because:

• Our bodies are under greater strain during workouts, and rest days allow time for recuperation.
• A lack of adequate rest days makes the immune less able to help the body recover after muscle tears and strains.
• People who do not take enough rest days put themselves at a higher-than-average risk of injury.

For the full article: How to Be Productive on an Active Rest Day