Slow Down, You Crazy Child: How To Do Resting 🍒

Why don't you realize, the weekend waits for you

5 min read

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RANDOM ACTS OF WELLNESS

Not all heroes wear capes! If he was a lady in pumps, he’d make the Well on Heels hall of fame, but a runner’s bib will be his honorary sash. Next weekend, wellness entrepreneur and athlete Matt Christopherson plans to run 125K for an incredible cause.  The vision, entitled Project125 is to raise money for his friend Krista Temple, a 2012 Olympic Silver medalist in rowing who was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and to raise awareness for other Olympians and athletes like her, who dedicate their lives to competition, only to find that when the sun sets on their athletic career, they may be left with few resources in the event of injury or illness.  A noble cause to say the least, and let me repeat: THIS MAN IS RUNNING 80 MILES IN 2 DAYS, FROM VANCOUVER TO WHISTLER, AT ELEVATION.  Hear more about his inspiring story here, and if you are able, please find it in your heart to donate and pass it on. 💙

SIMPLY THE REST

My first follow-up question for Matt Christopherson will be about how he spent his rest day. For those of us mere mortals, the current guidelines for exercise recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity plus two sessions of strength training per week.  If you are regularly meeting or even exceeding those guidelines, it’s time to get serious about rest and recovery.  We focus a LOT on sleep here, but there’s a difference between sleep and rest, and they’re both critical. For those of you who aren’t actively making time to be inactive, “neglecting rest is as bad as skipping a month’s worth of training.” Proper rest is essential to the training process, helping the body adapt to the stress it endures during exercise and develop the resilience to perform better. The recommended formula is three days (of exercise) on, one day off, then two days on, one day off. It’s not about curling up in your hamster hole and being totally sedentary for 24 hours, but more like shifting into a lower gear and coasting. I rest my case.

PICK A LITTLE, TALK A LITTLE

How about a rest from ME? Let’s turn this monologue into a scene! I want to hear from you. Drop a note in the comments section to answer the following question:
(When you’re done resting) what’s your go-to song to kick up your workout?  Here are my top 3, you send me yours and let’s make an epic mixtape:

1. Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
2. Paper Planes, M.I.A.
3. What Makes A Good Man?, The Heavy

HERE’S A TIP, MAKE THE CHANGE

If you simply cannot fathom a day of complete rest, then a) you should be friends with my husband, and b) there are still ways to “event-ize” your downtime, aka do something while you’re doing less. Go for a long walk (or even a ruck!), do light yoga or stretching, and while you’re at it, knock back some antioxidant-loaded tart cherry juice to combat inflammation and sore muscles. Tart cherries are also a natural source of melatonin- rare to find in food form, and setting you up for an extra restful rest day. Productwise, I like what these guys are doing, but a range of options exist, just make sure it’s labeled “tart,” as they are their own unique type of cherries. Sweet.

🍒🍒🍒

Be well, rest up, you better cool it off before you burn it out. Extra goodies and Labor Day deals ahead for paid subscribers only! Here’s a sneak peek:

• It’s peak corn-on-the-cob season, which means there’s no better time to think about flossing! For a sweet deal on the world’s first electric flosser, head to Flaus and use the code SAM20 at checkout for 20% off your order! 🌽 🦷

HANGRY EYES

The snack issue! Always something new and different in the world of crap-for-sale and it’s hard to separate the glutinous wheat from the chaff. Here are my favorite snacks for when the 4pm savory tooth starts twitching. (And then you can floss it with Flaus):