Why Runners Need Rest Days

Running every single day simply isn’t realistic. That is unless you have incredible athletic genes that allow your body to recover faster than most people on Earth.

At a minimum, runners should take at least one day a week, but no longer than three days to rest and recover. Runners’ legs have been hitting the ground over and over again, and they need a break. The constant impact of the ground affects the knees, calves, shins, everywhere!

Many people I’ve spoken to, especially in the military, talk about how they have big goals to all of a sudden run every single day. I look at them crazy because I myself have not been able to do that. The longest I went running three or more miles a day lasted for ten days.

After ten days, I went to the medics, and they said I needed to take a break otherwise, I’d ruin my knees and possibly be sidelined for quite some time. It’ll probably be really hard taking a rest-day, but you will run healthy and injury-free.

To prevent any of my fellow runners from potentially injuring themselves, here are three reasons you should have zero shame in taking a rest day.

1. You Don’t Want to Overdo It and Injure Yourself

Overworking your muscles and bones in your body in any physical activity can result in injury. Injuries just aren’t worth our time because consistency is a crucial ingredient to long-term success.

The fewer times that we get sidelined from our sports and running in particular, the better for our bodies and breaking PRs.

Are you training for a marathon? Good. Just know that you don’t have to go balls to the wall every single day. Listen to what your body is telling you. Maybe instead of a twelve-mile run today, you could hit three or four. If you’re hurting bad, consider taking the day off.

Your body will thank you for giving it time to rest, and you’ll feel three times as motivated to run the next day. Just be sure you don’t get too comfortable taking off-days because that could create bad habits.

You will avoid stress fractures and other injuries that will take you away from running. Self-awareness is key.

2. The Odds of You Reaching Your Goals Heighten.

If you’re taking off days when necessary and increasing the longevity of your running career, the odds of you reaching your goals will increase 10x.

One of the hardest things for any athlete to do is bounce back from an injury and perform at the same or even higher level. Professionals in the sports world are lucky to have access to specialized trainers, masseuses, and nutrition specialists to boost their health.

Not everyone is blessed with such health-related resources to allow us to recover as fast as the professionals. We can do our part by icing our bodies, but mostly taking a day to rest.

Our joints and bones will appreciate the rest-day and allow us to perform at higher levels than if we ran because we felt the need to. If we apply the Law of Diminishing Returns to running, we will find that by running seven days a week versus six will reduce our chance of hitting our goals.

As with any skill people try to develop, they can hit burnout. Although you may feel an addiction to the feelings of running, your body will have the final word. Rest is awesome! You can read even more stories about running on your days off!

3. Your Mental Health Will Be Crisp

Taking care of our bodies has a direct correlation in how we feel mentally. A mentally unstable person is much less efficient than someone who has had adequate rest and time to refocus.

By taking a day or two away from running will allow you to cherish the passion you have for running because it’s so special. If you spoil yourself by running every day, it may not hold a special place in your heart like it used to.

The off days can be used to stretch, ice, and use a foam roller, but they can also be days used for other activities. We all have unique hobbies and passions aside from running.

Going out for a run does not take an entire day, but doing so can eat up a lot of energy and time to get dressed, to our route, and recover afterward. Regular exercise is a phenomenal strategy, but when your body feels like it can’t go, your mind is probably saying the same thing.

Positivity comes from a place of rest and good health. Take your rest day and recoup. Running will still be around tomorrow and the next day.

Final Thought

Passionate runners read about running. If you’ve reached the end, then you thoroughly care about taking care of your health. Running is a unique form of exercise, but we can sometimes be too stubborn to listen to our bodies.

If you’ve felt any shame in taking a day off, don’t, unless the number of days you take off exceeds three, you’re fine. We all go at our own pace, and if we try to keep up with the professionals who preach about the grind, we’re going to hurt ourselves.

Simply put, listen to your body and don’t think that you’re “lazy” just for taking a rest day. Your running route doesn’t have to be the next place you call for an ambulance — that’s what rest days are for.