🧘 Rest Day? Here’s How to Do It Right

Days off don’t mean sitting still. With the right recovery, athletes stay strong, avoid burnout, and lower the risk of injury. Here’s how parents and athletes can make rest days both fun and productive.

August 25, 2025

📰 COLLEGIATE ELITES WEEKLY

Issue 011 — August 25, 2025

Rest days aren’t just a break. They’re a secret weapon.
When done right, recovery days help athletes train harder, perform better, and prevent injury.

Too many athletes think “more is better,” but the best athletes know how to balance intensity with intentional recovery. Here’s how to get it right.

🧠 WHY RECOVERY DAYS MATTER

Training breaks your body down. Recovery builds it back stronger.
When you skip proper recovery:

💪 Muscles don’t rebuild efficiently: Every lift, sprint, or jump creates tiny tears in muscle fibers. Without proper recovery, those fibers can’t repair fully, which slows strength and skill gains.

🐢 Fatigue carries into your next session: Training taxes your energy stores. If you don’t recharge, performance drops, focus fades, and even simple movements feel harder. Recovery days reset your energy so you can show up ready to work.

🤕 Injury risk climbs: Overuse injuries often come from training too hard without breaks. Recovery lets joints, tendons, and muscles adapt safely, lowering the chance of strains, sprains, and fatigue.

❝

“Athletes who respect their recovery see faster results and fewer setbacks. It’s not about doing less. It’s about letting your body do what it’s designed to do, adapt. Rest.”

⚡ WHAT ACTIVE RECOVERY LOOKS LIKE

Active recovery isn’t sitting on the couch all day. It’s light movement that keeps your blood flowing without adding stress to the body.

Here are easy, athlete-friendly options:

  • 20–30 minutes of light biking or walking

  • A slow jog or casual shoot-around

  • Stretching or mobility work

  • Foam rolling or band-assisted stretching

  • Yoga or a recovery flow

💡 Parents: this is a great chance to make recovery fun — go for a family bike ride or play a non-competitive game together. Anything that gets your athlete briefly off the couch is good!

❌ WHAT NOT TO DO ON REST DAYS

To get the most out of recovery, avoid:

  • High-intensity workouts — avoid adding extra sprints, lifts, or drills on your recovery day.

  • Heavy lifting or max effort sessions — save the big lifts for training days.

  • Skipping movement entirely — a little activity goes a long way to help muscles recover

  • Ignoring nutrition and hydration — food and fluids are just as important on off days as on training days.

✅ THE PAYOFF OF DOING IT RIGHT

  • Faster strength and speed gains

  • Improved focus in practice and games

  • Lower chance of overuse injuries

  • More consistent performance week after week

🎯 FINAL THOUGHT

Active recovery isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s part of a smart training plan. Show up for your off days with intention, and your “on days” will be even better.

Your off days set the stage for your best days. Treat them like part of your training, because they are.

Push hard on the field, but respecting the recovery process keeps you in the game.
Great athletes train hard. Elite athletes recover harder.

Be Elite.

—The Collegiate Elites Team

✅ TAKE ACTION

📍 In Seattle?

Come train with us in person at the Collegiate Elites weight room.
Get hands-on coaching, structured training, and the same environment our college athletes trust to stay sharp. 👉

🧠 Training hard is how you get better. Recovering well is how you lock those gains in.

The athletes who respect both sides of the process — the grind and the reset — are the ones who stay healthy, build confidence, and perform at their best when it counts.

🌐 Not local?
Train with a former college athlete — online or in your area. 👉