Normally it doesn't bother me, but it's cold and flu season in Canada and I ended up getting a cold largely from training too hard last week. I try and train 2-3x a week and rest in between sessions. I know I should just take it easy on rest days but I just want to get going. I try to take my mind off training by doing other hobbies but I'm to tired to do those too. I feel much better today but I might put off training for an extra day just to be sure I'm healthy enough to get back into it. It'll be Thursday before I get back into it if I don't get any sicker. How do you deal with recovery/rest days when all you want to do is train?
I read stuff often about martial arts, and post on MAP When I'm off for a few days I will do something light and technical to keep my mind going, like TaiChi set in high stances, or light/slow shadow boxing.
Light movements, stretching. I might work on technique, it could be repping light weights in small sets, ironing out any problems, or it could be doing 10 of every strike on the heavy bag, or even just working through each half of a sword kata. Training without working physically hard.
Usually days like that drive me nuts. I train five day/ week and the weekend used to be boring. Well, still is lots of times. But since I also train the kids, I often came to enjoy days off What I do is probably the usual: I watch some TV, play some videogames or work on some things MA-related (my grading program; the program for the kids; my handwritten notes; organizing my stuff; ...).
Nothing stops it being frustrating. Same with injury. I think I started a thread about it to vent a few months ago too haha! I hate it. But rest/recovery is vital.
Finally back from a Knee / wrist and lung disfunction...I been out since essentially Sept. Between Sep > Dec, I probably went to around 4 classes. But can't do anything but nothing. Films. games, comics...
I'm old.... I rest However the last time I had the flu all I could muster was the energy to get from the bed to the chair and back again. I have been dealing with a sinus infection and there have been days where I simply accepted the fact I could do nothing, those days were harder to deal with, but not as hard as the headache. Other days I simply chose something else to do, Yoga for example or stretching, sometimes qigong. If the weather was nicer I'd even go for a walk. And even in this weather there were a couple of days I dragged my geezerly self up the stairs for exercise. You could always do something physical, but less strenuous.
WhitePanda, are you training for the ring, or an upcoming fight? The reason I ask is in my experience those not training for the ring want it all too soon. For me training days mean not only practical skills, but cardio too, so you don't want to be doing cardio on rest days. I'm planning on doing a short video on why you (us) aren't as good as our instructors. On my off days I still train, but I work fluidity and I train slowly. For the last few months I've been working this type of drill, but inserting low line kicks too, as well as eye jabs. It's now become real fluid, sharp, second nature and so on and it's because it's what I do at home away from class. How many of you have had an instructor say, "it's the sort of drill you can do while waiting for the kettle to boil?" Difference is I actually do these drills while waiting for the kettle to boil. Embrace the rest days, learn, research and train, just not too physically.
You can make a difference between rest and recovery days. Rest days are just that you rest you need at least one of these days a week, but recovery days can be light training days designed to get your blood flowing, your muscles moving and work technical stuff. Easy aerobic training in the form of jogging, cardio circuits, tempo intervals bw circuits can all be used. Look up Charlie Francis easy and hard days to see how this type of training works
