On Resting Well

This is an automatic translation of the Korean original.

The standard differs from person to person, but when a rest week comes, one thing I always do is train early in the morning, go straight to the sauna and then a cold plunge, come home, eat moderately, and immediately start a chapter of a book I have wanted to read. Then sleep begins to creep in, and at that moment I pull Dodo close and take a nap.

The reason I think cycling is one of the best aerobic sports is that the various concepts of "load," starting from FTP, are so clearly established. Following numbers like IF and TSS, now commonplace, you can almost touch the value of today's workout.

The most important reason for aerobic exercise is the resting heart rate. Making the heart beat less. As the number of heartbeats (the mileage) increases, it is like running a car engine continuously in the high-rev range. Adding cylinders to the engine and making it efficient even at low revs. Making it last is one of the essentials of aerobic training.

The sauna clearly boosts the results of that day's training. And the cold plunge, the moment you enter cold water, there is a feeling of the head clearing thanks to dopamine. I think delaying aging is a delicate tightrope walk among all of these. Too much, and even if the cardiovascular system gets healthier, the internal organs collapse from the amount you have to eat; too little is a bigger problem.

The right sense of balance differs for everyone, so trial and error is needed.

And the nap.
Perhaps this is the true luxury.