Take it easy. That doesnt mean completely veg out- unless you are so wiped out that you feel like you HAVE to. I spend time with the girfriend, play catch with the dog, clean the apartment up, wash and wax my cars, etc. But mostly my rest days are tied into a long day at work. I just dont get any sport specific training done on those days, but I am walking around and doing stuff.

Anything low stress, and not too intense works best. Playing with the kids, mowing the yard, etc.

~fatBoy
http://trifatboy.com

I am horrible at rest days, because I just feel so much better doing something every morning as it's part of my daily constitution. The only way I get rest days is to 1) travel, 2) get sick, 3) get overwhelmed at work until the day is shot, or 4) exert maximum self-discipline and not workout. I have a local sprint Sunday (no travel) and am trying to figure out how to rest Saturday. Probably go to a movie to kill the time.

I am a believer in active rest so my rest day, which happened to be today, was an easy 3000 yrd swim and an easy 8 mile run at 7:30 pace.

Rest days can be whatever it is that gives your body pause from strenuous training plans, both physically and mentally. It's refreshing sometimes just to know that there's not a 2 hour run or 3 hour bike scheduled... that there's nothing scheduled.

I had the day off from work and coincidently this was my rest day. Normally, with so much time I on my hands I would default to training mode, but not any more. I now enjoy my rest days.

Today's rest was spending 5 hours gardening. I forgot lunch and with the heat outside I probably dropped 5 lbs, but I feel completely rejuvenated and ready to get back to training tomorrow.

So a rest day doesn't necessarily mean coach potato day, unless that's what you want it to be. Enjoy the yoga and do a couple of extra crunches for me. :)

My rest day is usually a day when I don't schedule any tri-specific training. But it's often a day I do karate, yoga, stretching, or take a tandem ride or long walk with the kids or do gardening and such. If I can, I'll swim as active recovery, nothing hardcore like sets or anything, just a nice stretching kind of swim at a medium pace.

Today however, I got a black eye on my "rest day" (karate). Glad my husband is out of town so he can't laugh too hard at me.

When I was in perfect shape last year that would be my day to eat chinese 3 times a day and go out and watch a movie with the wife. Well now I try not to do anything too strenious on rest days but I still have to eat health to get back down to my race weight :(

Monday is my rest day -- it involves chasing my twin toddlers around the house

Good luck to you man...