Ryan Hall takes full day off

YES!

I was just scrolling through and about to write a reply about the whole "less is more" philosophy for the US in the late 90's. Yeah, turns out it doesn't work.

The resurgence of American distance running can be attributed to paying attention to international coaches like Lydiard, Canova, etc. and running more miles and workouts that integrate longer intervals.

There's no such thing as "less is more." Hard work = results. Also, many more people think they are "overtraining" than actually are. You're just tired. Get over it, wussy.

wi|fredo wrote:

And yet there are plenty of elite non-kenyans (and kenyans) that don't take a day off. You are a nameless internet poster just like me. Nothing you have said indicates you have any great knowledge of running. I HAVE done 100+ mile weeks with 4 hard days.

You're only showing that you have no idea what a "hard" day is. It's not worth arguing with you.

You just named 5 people from the 90's. That's proof that there was absolutely no depth back then.

Name a few more.

You still haven't made a case for why it's ocd. Fine, i'm running easy all the time and doing something I like every day. Sorry I like running more than you

wi|fredo wrote:

You still haven't made a case for why it's ocd. Fine, i'm running easy all the time and doing something I like every day. Sorry I like running more than you

There's nothing wrong with jogging. It's just a bit pretentious when you try to claim you know what it takes to be an elite athlete. It's OCD to believe that taking a day off will negatively impact your fitness. Kenyans are FAR more willing to take a day (or 2) off than Americans.

And yet you are claiming you know what it takes to be an elite athlete...

wi|fredo wrote:

And yet you are claiming you know what it takes to be an elite athlete...

Exactly. I really have wasted all this time arguing with a high school kid haven't I?

I guess we're both the losers here...

You can't be serious. You think that some arbitrary seventh day off is the magical formula for running well? That anyone who runs seven days per week is uninformed? That you train so much harder than all of us? I run for a professional team that has produced a number of elite athletes, and there are no off-days. What about a day off every two weeks? Every month? Why every 7 days? Taking a certain day off every week sounds a lot more OCD to me than going moderately long stretches without a day off.

You have got to be trolling. Take a day off each week if you like, but it's not the only way.

Mzuuungu wrote:

Finally, a serious question. It was probably rhetorical, but I will bite. The fact is that if you trained as hard as I do (or the elite Kenyans do) then you would NOT feel fine when Sunday came. You would need the physical/mental break. That is why most Kenyans would look at you like you were crazy if you asked them to go for a run on Sunday. They look forward to the day off. If you are not running 100+ miles per week, hammering a fartlek on Tuesday, doing a hard track session on Thursday, a long run on Saturday (not easy), and doubles every day then you're not in a position to talk about what works for elite runners. You cannot equate the "rest" needs of a recreational runner with those of someone who is pushing their body to it's limit. You know best though.

8 days off in the year. 6159 miles. Sub 2:10 marathon.

12 days off in the year, just over 4000 miles. He does more speed work and was a damn fast miler.

No days off in this month of training, sub 1:00 HM.

There's plenty more if you want, but you get the idea. These guys are elite and do bust their ass harder than most recreational runners. They don't take much time off at all, certainly not 52 days a year. That is ridiculous and not needed. If you look most days off for Scott and Rogers were for travel or sickness. Never, "Oh, I need to recover". They recovered while running. It is not a difficult concept to grasp.

Peter Poppers wrote:

You can't be serious. You think that some arbitrary seventh day off is the magical formula for running well? That anyone who runs seven days per week is uninformed? That you train so much harder than all of us? I run for a professional team that has produced a number of elite athletes, and there are no off-days. What about a day off every two weeks? Every month? Why every 7 days? Taking a certain day off every week sounds a lot more OCD to me than going moderately long stretches without a day off.

You have got to be trolling. Take a day off each week if you like, but it's not the only way.

Not trolling - Americans take a lot less time off, and I've never said that cannot work. I have been talking from my own personal experience, which is with elite Kenyan athletes. I beg to differ regarding taking Sunday off being OCD though - that is like saying people are OCD if they take the weekend off from work. It's human nature to enjoy a bit of down time - the question is whether or not that down-time is harmful or beneficial. Notice, I also said the MAJORITY of Kenyans take a day off (not every single one). Running 7 days per week can work for some people, but it is obviously not possible to maintain the same intensity of training without a day off that you can with a day off. There is always going to be a trade off between volume and intensity.

Mzuuungu wrote:

wi|fredo wrote:

And yet you are claiming you know what it takes to be an elite athlete...

Exactly. I really have wasted all this time arguing with a high school kid haven't I?

I guess we're both the losers here...

No, I actually made it through all 4 years without dropping out

But why make it an arbitrary day off per seven days? You can easily train just as hard without a day off every week. Why would it be impossible? It seems like you're just as obsessed with your own paradigm.

No, you can't train just as hard. You can maintain a similar balance overall between volume/intensity... but if you take one day off it necessarily allows you to increase the intensity. That's not rocket science right? I mean, all that is saying is that a day off allows the body/mind to recover. As for it being an "arbitrary" day off... certainly (and I have never contradicted this) someone could WAIT until they feel like they NEED a day off, but why wait until it may be too late? If you train hard enough you will look forward to a day off (so why not have a specific day in mind?) so long as you are not so OCD that you think a day off will hurt you...

Some of you need to look up straw man in the dictionary. I don't know who you think you are arguing with.

The pro-rest day people are saying that SOME PEOPLE will be better off if they periodically take rest days during heavy training because they will be less likely to get injured (not less is more, not everyone should always take 1 day in 7 off, or the other imaginary positions you are trying to refute).

No, mzungu is implying that it is the optimal way to train. Obviously I would agree that a day off each week is best for SOME PEOPLE.

Thank you! This era also produced over 100 sub 2:20 US marathoners a year! We have 28 so far this year and are back on track because guys are back out on the roads putting in the miles.

Ooooooooooh... I'm implying it now? Haha... is that just your way of admitting I didn't actually SAY it?

I said the maximum balance between intensity/volume will be a trade off.

I said that taking on e day off/week allows greater intensity.

I said that MOST Kenyans take Sunday off.

I DIDN'T say anything other than that...

so why not run really hard one day a week and take 6 off?

wtf________ wrote:

so why not run really hard one day a week and take 6 off?

Figure it out for yourself.