Day 59

Week 7, Day 7 Dynamix is done. Today is Sunday and that means Dynamix. The rest day that never happened. I wake up every Sunday and look at what I have to do and realize that I don't have to work. It is rest day for me with P90X3 and if it were not for my planking and pushups, I wouldn't have to do a single thing. Then about an hour after waking up I plug in the dvd and start working. I do Dynamix anyway and I always feel better after.

I am not suggesting that you don't take a rest day. I am not suggesting that you do take a rest day. I am only saying that rest if you feel you need it and if you feel like doing something do it. There is no cookie-cutter way to be healthy. Yeah, OK so there are some programs and plans that have a specific plan in place and they work. They tell you to rest, or they tell you to workout. I know you need rest to let the connective tissue and muscles to rest and recover. That is why there is a rest day and a transition week incorporated into the P90X programs. You can't do heavy chest every day, most of us know this. You can alternate and let one muscle group rest one or 2 days while working other areas. You can also take a full day off to rest or even a few days if you feel you need to.

If you have an injury such as a sprain (ligament injury) or a pull/strain (muscle or tendon injury) you will need more than a few days. Rest can be a good thing, and from time to time a needed thing. Injuries happen can happen if we ignore our body's warning signs, like twinges in the knees or elbows. Soreness can happen from physical exertion, but you feel that in the middle of the muscle, not at the ends. If you feel the twinge or some pain at the end of the muscle, you are either experiencing a muscle strain or some tendonitis. I learned this little mnemonic to understand the difference between tendons and ligaments. Tendons (T)ie muscle to bone and Ligaments (L)ink bone to bone. Easy huh? When you have a sprain you have stretched the ligaments that keep that joint secure. The most common of these and one we all may have experienced at one time or another is a sprained ankle. People talk about Tennis Elbow which is just tendonitis in the elbow another pretty common injury associated with over use of the extensors and flexors (muscles that open and close the hand). When faced with these injuries we will have to take time off. If you feel like you need to take some, then take it. If you do need to and don't the alternative could be an extended rest period to heal an injury.

The morale of the story is this, rest is necessary for muscles to recover, it does not have to be in the form of doing nothing, just doing nothing in a particular area. You can choose to do nothing or something mild like dynamic stretching or yoga. You should make rest a priority when the body requires it and make work and effort a priority even when the mind wants to avoid it.