Level 1 training courses may cover about 2 months. Depending on your starting fitness level, they may or may not be physically (i.e. metabolism and muscles) tiring to you. But it is very possible that for other reasons you will need to rest a bit more somewhere along the way, and that is quite OK.
With consideration to many factors in your life and in the demands you have upon your body, it is recommend that you insert a rest period after every 4 to 6 weeks of deliberate, organized training. Some systems of your body and mind may feel just fine, but others may be more fatigued that you realize and some rest would help them recover.
A rest period does not mean ‘Do Nothing’. Rather, it means you should:
- Stay moving, but…
- Lower the total volume of training (lower the number of meters)
- Lower the average intensity of your physical activity – take it easier on the joints, tissues and metabolic system
- Use the body and mind in different but complementary ways to swimming – let the body solve different kinds of puzzles
- Make the activities of this week as enjoyable as possible
The degree to which you follow these recommendations depends on how much rest you may need. It is quite personal consideration.
One way to measure how effective your rest week has been is to notice how eager you feel all over to return to your deliberate practice of swimming. If you’ve rested well, you should feel eager. If you don’t feel eager, then consider how you might need more rest or how you might need to alter your manner of training to make it more inviting.