Active Rest- just as important as the HIIT

Its the Friday of a long weekend....So i guess for a lot of people, its Saturday. Not for me....its still Friday, which is a good day non the less:)
I woke up feeling pretty achy and pretty tired. Achy in a good way mind you, my muscles have been well worked this week, and so I decided on an easy morning workout today before my clients started coming in.

I did a skipping / core combo of 100 skips and 10-20 reps of random core exercises, and I just repeated through until it was time to work. This took me 32 minutes.
I will admit that even though I CHOSE this as I am already sore..... I feel a bit ripped off, like I should really be doing something more.
So here's how I look at it.

I work my body relatively hard for 5-6 days in a row on a regular basis. I am hiking Mt Finlayson tomorrow morning, followed by a 3 hour pilates workshop, so its important that i am rested for the day.
Today was an active rest day!!

* This brings up a valid discussion of rest days and when to take them.

Our bodies are incredibly complex machines that have so much more awareness that sometimes, WE do.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or tired, pay attention to WHY you may be feeling this way.
Have you been training hard all week? Have you been up all night with the kids? Have you been under fuelling yourself ( not eating enough calories to supply you with the needed energy)
The first 2 reasons may be reason enough to allow for an active rest day. When I say active rest, I mean no resistance training, avoid what you HAVE been doing, and go for a walk, a light job, swim, bike ride etc..... something light and enjoyable- not strenuous.

Rest is when our bodies gain the most benefits from the strain of our workouts. (This is why it is CRUCIAL to get at least 6-7 hours sleep every night)

So bottom line, work HARD in your workouts and take the rest days as a welcome reward!!!!
You deserve it :)
~KY