Regular exercise offers numerous benefits, including maintaining your physical fitness and supporting overall health. In fact, many health organizations worldwide recommend it. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. With that amount of exercise, including days to rest and recover, is vital.
Key Takeaways
- Rest days are crucial for muscle recovery, preventing injury, and avoiding burnout. Your body needs time to repair and get stronger.
- Light activities like walking, yoga, or easy biking are great for rest days, keeping you moving without overstressing your body.
- Always listen to your body. If you’re feeling constant pain, exhaustion, or restlessness, it’s time to take a complete break from exercise.
The Purpose Of Rest Days
Rest days allow your body to recover from the physical and mental stresses of exercise. However, the number of rest days can vary depending on your fitness level and the intensity of your workouts. Rest days give your body time to repair and rebuild muscles and tissues, making your muscles stronger and more resilient.
Overtraining can lead to illness, injury, and burnout. Rest days help reduce these risks. If you push yourself too hard all the time, you risk injuries such as strains, sprains, and stress fractures. Moreover, overtraining can lead to hormonal imbalances, which negatively affect your overall health and hinder your progress. Exercise can be mentally taxing, and taking a day off can help reduce stress and refresh your motivation.
Exercise depletes your energy, but rest gives your body time to recover. Rest can also help you maintain consistent energy levels throughout the week and improve your performance. After a day off, you may have more strength, endurance, and focus.
What About Working Out On Your Rest Days?
In most cases, you can work out on your days off. Rest day workouts are activities you do to stay healthy that aren’t as taxing on your body. On your recovery day, you replace your routine exercise with low-intensity activities. Some examples of low-intensity activities are:
There are many more low-intensity activities you can do to stay active. Low-intensity exercise is when your effort is around 50% – 60% of your maximum heart rate. Therefore, you can continue moving without the wear and tear associated with your usual workouts. Moreover, light exercise still produces hormones that can help improve your mood, making you feel happier and relaxed.
When Should You Not Do A Rest Day Workout?
Taking one or two days off without exercise will not erase all your hard work. In fact, you don’t have to exercise every day to reach your fitness goals. You exercise every day because you enjoy it.
Still, there are some cases where you should forego a rest day workout and take a day off completely:
- If you experience pain or become injured
- Your muscles always feel sore
- You’re exhausted
- You can’t sleep because you feel restless
These are some signs you may be exercising too much. It’s essential to listen to your body to take time to rest and recover properly. If you don’t listen to your body, then you’ll eventually become sick, injured, or experience burnout. As a result, you’ll likely have to stop exercising until you recover. If you stop exercising for several weeks or months, you may need to restart your fitness goals and rebuild the lost gains.
Keeping a fitness journal or using an app to track your workouts and progress would be best. Tracking your progress can help you determine whether your workouts change for the better or worse. As a result, you can adjust your routine and potentially avoid the pitfalls of overexercising.
Conclusion
Depending on your fitness level and how you feel, you can work out on your rest days instead of doing nothing. Rest day workouts typically involve low-intensity exercises, such as walking or yoga. Furthermore, low-intensity exercises also produce hormones that can help improve your mood, making you feel happy and relaxed while keeping your body active.
However, it’s important to listen to your body. If you show signs of overtraining or injury, then take a break to rest and recover properly. One way to watch for signs of trouble is to keep a fitness journal and track your progress. Your journal can help you spot signs of overtraining, allowing you to adjust your workouts and get back on track.
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Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
