No Rest for the Wicked

The Thompson Twins record Into the Gap got a lot of play on my crappy stereo in the mid ’80s. I sat on my yellow-and-orange shag carpeting (seriously) in front of the speakers, closely examining every epaulet, button, bauble, scarf, zipper, and doodad in their photos. The dangling earrings, the Nagel-inspired makeup, the moussed-and-tousled hair…

And I sang along to “No Peace for the Wicked,” which wasn’t a radio hit, but was one of my favorite songs (topped only by “If You Were Here” from the movie Sixteen Candles. Watch this video and prepare to sigh.)

Anyway… this is the chorus:

(There’s no peace) No peace for the wicked
We’re dancing till we drop
(There’s no rest) No rest for the wicked
And we’re all too scared to stop

I was/am particularly fond of the phrase, “we’re dancing till we drop.”

I’ve been singing this song in my head all day and reminding myself that a good rest day is as big a part of my workout plan as the workouts. It’s tough, though. I mean, I was feeling raggedy and worn out yesterday, so I clearly needed some down-time, but it’s no fun. I want to run. And lift. And jump. And play. Instead, I woke up, ate breakfast, fussed with my appearance, and came to work. No outdoor socialization time. No damp clothes hanging over my shower curtain rod. I smelled fresh from the get-go… what an outrage!

But tomorrow: salvation in the form of Bootcamp, and Thursday, a Spartan workout AND a run, thanks to the beautiful cancellation of our 8:00 a.m. all-hands meeting at work. Then Friday Bootcamp and a UTB on Saturday and suddenly… Superhero training is back in effect. Hooray!

I went searching for info on getting good rest today and stopped when I found a PDF of an article from Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit. He was NOT saying not to rest, but his article was poo-pooing the notion that more-than-average rest and pampering will lead to improved performance. He asserted that rather than blame “overtraining” for slow improvement, athletes should be sure they’re ramping up their intensity at an appropriate pace so they don’t burnout. The idea is to master the moves with consistency, then gradually amp up the intensity.

I thought this was a particularly smartass and completely awesome quote from him:

Countless bad-asses from sporting and special operations communities, long regarded as bullet proof, have been burned at the stake of ego and intensity.