KICKING BACK IS KEY TO TRAINING : WHETHER YOU ARE A TOP-FLIGHT COMPETITOR OR A 10-MINUTE MILER, TAKING IT EASY PAYS OFF.

Byline: Sandra Fish Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

For Kara Jordan, it's tough to take a day off.

A member of the University of Colorado's triathlon team, Jordan, 20, works out almost every day.

``I spend about two hours a day, so about 14 or 15 hours a week.''

That's a schedule that Jordan's personal trainer, Yoli Casas, doesn't necessarily approve of. She expects Jordan to take a day away from training once every week.

``For some reason, we all think that once we start training that every time you rest, you lose something,'' Casas says. ``Rest is really when you improve.''

Trainers, coaches and academics agree that taking it easy is a key element of staying fit and ready for action, whether you're a top-flight competitor or a 10-minute miler, whether you play basketball or do endurance sports.

Of course, it isn't always easy to convince workout devotees of the importance of rest.

``It doesn't matter if it's a competitive high school athlete or an Olympian, there is that tendency ... to do too much,'' says Leo D'Aquisto, assistant professor of exercise science at Central Washington University.

Often, that tendency builds upon itself, he says.

``You'll find individuals who start to feel heavy or sluggish, they start to have problems with their workouts.''

And they often make the wrong response, increasing their workout load instead of taking a much-needed day off.

``There are some athletes out there who will say an eight-hour ordeal is minimal,'' says E.J. ``Doc'' Kreis, assistant athletic director for speed, strength and conditioning at the University of Colorado.

And some athletes may have the physical ability to keep up a more rigorous schedule than others. He notes that Al Oerter, the Olympic discus gold medalist, ``threw more discs in one workout than most of his competitors did in one week.''

Still, Kreis is a proponent of mixing it up.

The Colorado football team, for instance, does little work on the Sunday after a game. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are intense practice days.

``As you get nearer the game, Thursday and Friday, you're looking at the mental aspect, not the physical aspect,'' Kreis says.

Such methods are supported in the research.

``Over the last eight years, more and more research has been done on the value of resting, especially before competition,'' says D'Acquisto. ``It's OK to go ahead and take a day off during the week. It's not going to have an impact on your conditioning level.''

Rest does, however, give injured tissue a chance to heal, reducing the risk of injury. It can also give you a boost before the big game or race.

``The physical rest in itself puts you in a better position to perform better on competition day, especially if you are involved in a training regimen that's very rigorous,'' D'Acquisto says. ``If physically you're feeling a little bit more relaxed ... psychologically you feel better.''

So how much should you rest? That depends.

``The rest is all determined in the intensity, duration and frequency of the work,'' says Barbera Aimes, owner of Smart Moves Personal Training. ``You can walk every day. But if you're a race walker, when you're walking a lot at higher intensity, you need to factor it in.''

Aimes compares rest ratios to interval training, where you work intensely for a certain amount of time then work lightly, alternating intense work with light work.

``As intensity goes up, so does the length of rest,'' she says.

Age is also a factor.

``As you get older, you may still have the great enthusiasm, but your recovery time is longer,'' Kreis says.

The type of rest also varies. Casas defines active rest as 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic activity at 60 percent of your maximum heart rate - and never more than 30 minutes.

Many suggest breaking away from your main sport for active rest. Kreis, who has studied in the former Soviet Union, said coaches there advocated ``transition phases,'' where volleyball players might instead play soccer.

Then there's complete, or recovery, rest. ``Go read a book,'' Casas says.

That's especially difficult for athletes used to intense training.

``They're so fit that they just go crazy doing nothing,'' Casas says.

Jordan agrees: ``It's really hard for me to take a day,'' she says. ``I just listen to my body and if I need a day off, I take one.''

But eventually, they pay the price, she says. ``All of a sudden, they go flat.''

After an intense competition or workout, however, don't go for complete rest right away.

``You want to go back to your training mode, maybe not as intense, for two to three days, then you take the days off,'' Kreis says.

And if you aren't going to compete for a while, consider what Kreis calls ``down training.'' Lighten up the routine or try a different sport for a while.

``Then you rejuvenate the enthusiasm and the effort and the attitude,'' he says.

The key to getting enough rest is planning and tracking your activities.

``You have to make an effort to make a plan,'' Kreis says. ``I see more injuries occur because people have no plan.''

He suggests keeping a training log to track your plan - and build in time to take it easy.

``I always tell my clients that rest is one of the most important things that you'll do,'' says Aimes.

So go ahead, take a break from your routine.

``A lot of people do it (work out) because it's habit,'' Casas says. ``You need to appreciate days off.''

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Photo

Photo: A member of the University of Colorado's triathlon team, Kara Jordan relaxes in her hammock as part of her training program. Coaches, trainers and researchers say that rest is key to peak performance.

Knight-Ridder Tribune Photo Service