Training Rest Relaxation

Hey everyone, I just got back from vacationing with friends in the Smokey Mountains, after recently competing in the Chicago Open. While there I thought it might be a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of rest and relaxation, and their effect on training. It’s been a few weeks since I wrote this post, so you’ll have to excuse me for being busy and slow to post it. Anyways…

After having just finished training hard for several tournaments, I’m now getting ready to start training for another set of grappling matches and an MMA fight. Something that helps keep me hungry and refreshed for training is taking a short time off. In this case, I went on a two-day hike with my girlfriend in Georgia, and then met up with friends from the gym near Gatlinburg to finish off the weekend. While this isn’t a long time to take off, it’s plenty of time to allow my body to restore itself, and more importantly, clear my mind so that I can turn up the intensity for training the following week.

After a hard training camp leading up to a tournament or fight, I am so anxious and excited that by the end of the camp, I’m “ready to go.” Moreover, after the match or competition is over, I have the relief of completing something I had trained so hard for. This leaves me mentally exhausted and also begins to negatively affect my training and teaching. This also holds true for anyone that is training hard to simply improve their game, getting ready to go for a new belt, or anytime someone is keeping a very hard training schedule for a prolonged period of time. Either way, being exhausted is not a good catalyst for improvement and will only lead to frustration.

Rest, is something not all us athletes is fundamental our training, however, rest is absolutely crucial when it comes to making progress in our training. That being said, instead of only placing importance on how many rounds of rolling we can get in or how many reps we can drill, we should also allow our bodies the time they needs to repair, so that we can continue with an intense training regime. On top of that, you want to be well rested and able to stay on top of the other aspects of your life, such as family and work. There are numerous studies showing these positive effects of adequate rest and its correlation with improved athletic performance, and I encourage you to research more for yourself in your spare time.

All in all, the next time you feel drained and exhausted or mentally and physically wiped, try taking a few days off or even a week. I personally enjoy getting out in nature and doing things like hiking and camping. Hikes, and generally being away from everything, help to clear my head and allows me to re focus and get ready to train hard, and be the best teacher I can be for my students. You can do whatever you want though. Just do something that relaxes you and allows you to come back refreshed and ready to perform at your best on the mat. Just don’t take too long off!