I haven't fully gauged the answer to that question, but I definitely have been doing some thinking on the topic. Some musicians (myself included) feel compelled to practice because there is a creeping sense of guilt about not practicing every day. After all, perhaps someone across the country is putting in 6 hours every day on their solid 14k gold flute while I take a day off of my sterling silver one. Maybe if I take a day off, that will be the "edge" someone else needs to "become better" than me.
It is easy to fall into flawed thinking about this topic, when really, everyone's body and mental stamina are different. When I think about the internal pressure I feel to constantly practice, part of me wants to go to the practice room, no matter the time of day or how my body feels. Lately, some running memories have trickled across my mind, and these have put me a bit at ease about taking a day of rest:
I was a freshman in college. It was my first year of doing the year-round, long distance training thing. In high school, I never ran cross country, so it was volleyball and basketball until track rolled around. I adored track (and still love the concept). In college, coach would email the team weekly spreadsheets of workouts. I noticed that my mileage was a lot lower than others on the team. Every Sunday, he has the 5k-type runners doing 3-5 mile "easy" days, while my training plan said "0". In my head, I wasn't doing enough work, so I started going on 3 mile runs every Sunday, no matter what my training plan said. It seemed innocent enough - 3 miles was a drop in the bucket compared to the week of workouts and 8-10 mile long runs.
However, what I didn't take into account was my running background and body type. In high school, my longest training run at once was 2 miles. My high school coach trained me like a sprinter, with 200s and 400s being key workouts. I was built as a middle distance runner - someone who can run decently fast for between 800-1600 meters. Anytime I pushed my mileage too high, I would end up with my trademark injury: tendonitis. Tendonitis wasn't anything too serious, but always put me out of commission for a couple days.
The truth is, I would have been a lot better off by taking the day of rest. Eventually, I did learn that my body was designed to train hard during the week - as long as I let it recover. I wasn't made to run 70 mile weeks. When I finally learned this, my workouts and races became more successful, because I gave my body time to heal and be prepared for those sharp bursts of energy on the track or cross country course.
It is easy to look at those around us and say, "They practice X amount of hours X amount of days, so I should, too." But I am learning that my body isn't someone else's. It is designed to give me the energy it needs to learn if I allow it to do so. Pushing my body and mind past this point will lead to deteriorating practice sessions in terms of focus and quality.
Yesterday, I took a day off. All kinds of thoughts jumped through my mind, like "You're a graduate student - you should be practicing way more!" I ended up feeling a twinge of guilt inside for most of the day. Yet, when I woke up today, I noticed my body felt different. The pain I have been having in my shoulders, neck, and arms is gone. It turns out my body really did need that rest.
I believe I have learned the difference between taking time off practice simply because I am frustrated with a perceived lack of progress and taking time off because my body is legitimately tired. I encourage my readership to pay attention to your own body and mind. Learn to monitor your own energy levels and find the amount of practice that works for you. Consider your practice time not in hours, but in quality of work accomplished. For me, this leads to a greater sense of achievement than comparing t practice time to someone else and pushing myself beyond my limits. Be a good coach to yourself!
Happy practicing! :)
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