Hi Fusers!

Here is Part 2 of Beverly's "Take a Rest" series. Check out Part 1 if you missed it. Enjoy!

The Benefits of Rest

What is the upside of a day or two off? One of the most important benefits of a rest day is that your body is able to  adapt to the level of stress it is experiencing. Your muscles grow when you rest.  Also, if you are more rested, you will be more focused and able to enjoy your day-to-day life.

Plus, with a rest day in place, you now have an hour or two to do something fun. A day off will leave you with energy to enjoy the other important aspects of life.

On Your Day of Rest

On your rest day do not cross-train.  Get a massage, do some light stretching or walking, just to fend off lethargy. Keep your heart rate down and your muscles relaxed.

Needing a Longer Break

If you have answered yes to a few questions listed in Part 1 of the series, you might consider easing up for a couple weeks along with taking a day or two of rest. Easing up means giving only 60 to 70% effort to your workout, using lighter weights and/or exercising for less time.

Do not worry that backing off or taking a day or two off will derail your fitness. According to American Council on Exercise, depending on your level of fitness it takes weeks before your cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength will significantly decline. The energy you gain from a rest will help you meet and maybe even exceed your goals.

What's your favorite way to unwind, relax and restore?

Yours in Health,

The Fuse Fitness

Hey everyone! Happy almost Friday to you! Probably will be Friday by the time you read this :)

So this week has been kinda up and down for me. There's been a lot of great things, but I've felt pretty run down all week. I think I hit a wall....and really needed some extra rest. Thankfully, I had a free hour yesterday due to a client being out of town, and I was able to hit the sauna at Iron Works...yeah, I totally fell asleep. But I woke up feeling really rejuvenated...sometimes a little extra rest does the trick ;)

But I'd rather focus on the positive things....so here's a recap in photos and videos.

We have a new studio mascot, first discovered last Saturday. She's stayed around all week, hanging out by our front door. And yes, she's still alive, she was crawling around just earlier this evening.

Awesome Sunday sunset, captured from my living room:

This never gets old :)

I had to take a photo of my second favorite cat (1st favorite being my own of course :) ). Her name is Kit and I'm pretty sure she's having a love affair with my gym bag. For 3 years I have been going to my clients' home to train them, and Kit just can't get enough of my bag. She loves to rub herself all over it, get in and hang out. She gets a bit embarrassed when I try to take her picture, so I have to be covert about it :)

I wouldn't want to hurt my kitty's feelings, so I've gotta post a pic of her too. She is not as sweet as Kit, she bites and scratches....but I love her anyway :)

Cute, huh?

I also wanted to give a huge shout out to all our students and clients! We have been so impressed with everyone's pushups this week! It's been really awesome seeing you all break your records day after day....lovin' it!

Here's an awesome clip from this evening's Monkey Ninja Bootcamp, you guys killed it!

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We're finishing getting ready for a Halloween party for my daughter and her girlfriends this weekend. She's very excited....and I've got a lot of baking left to do! Call me crazy, but I couldn't bear buying her a whole bunch of junky, processed candy for the goody bags. Instead, I signed myself up for making homemade Halloween treats to put in the bags....you know, in all my spare time :) It's a win win--I feel better about knowing that the homemade treats have quality ingredients. She's happy because even though she would love a bunch of candy, she knows that homemade treats always taste better in the end. I've got my work cut out for me tomorrow evening :)

I'll let you know how it goes :)

Happy Weekend and Happy Halloween!

Yours in Health,

Kristin @ The Fuse Fitness