Should a track athlete train hard everyday or take regular rest days?

One of the most overlooked ways to improve performance and reduce injuries and burnout is regularly scheduled rest. The body cannot be pushed to the limit day after day without being allowed to recover and re-build. Neglecting to rest on a regular basis is one of the major reasons athletes get injured. Rest actually will allow the body to properly repair itself and increases the mental and physical performance of the athlete in practice and competition. After resting, the body will be able to handle greater training loads and intensities that would not have been possible without rest. Some signs that more rest may be needed in an athletes program would be chronic aching and soreness in the body, weight loss, irritability, poor concentration, extreme tiredness, poor performance, and frequent bouts of sickness.