Fitness is a definite give and take. Put your time and effort into training, and take home a healthier physique. It’s a simple equation, but it’s easy to get a little greedy. You have so much to give!
Overtraining may seem like a bona fide tactic to pack on more muscle and increase performance, but this syndrome… yes, it is a syndrome — can have more negative than positive effects. Your body is not an unlimited container; you can only do so much before your body starts to slow down progress. Injuries, weakened lifts, less impressive times and more can result from not listening to the signs. The solution? You need to rest!
Recovery days are not a sign of weakness, but rather a healthy tool to use in your wellness routine. Sure, there are many devices like massage guns Y supplements to help your body between workouts, but when you’re draining your batteries day in and day out, you’re not allowing for a full charge. Think about it, what’s easier, working on a Macbook with a full battery or stressfully navigating your tasks while watching the indicator drop to zero?
But how much rest do you need between training sessions, and what does “rest” really mean? Here are some general guidelines to help you hit the pause button on your workouts, so you can reap the full benefits of your focused dedication to the gym.
How many rest days do I need?
Now, it’s easy to sit here and say your body needs a break, but what exactly does that mean? To begin with, the American Council on Exercise recommends one recovery day for every seven to 10 days of high-intensity training. This may be a good number to start with, especially if you like to plan your training or follow a particular routine. The most logical and easiest way to tell when rest is needed is to simply listen to your body and measure yourself.
Are you tired and exhausted? Do your muscles ache and you feel less motivated? Are you less focused and have that all-too-common brain fog? These are all signs that your body is reaching its limits, and everyone feels them from time to time. There is no weakness here. Do you think your car is weak? when you turn on the gas light? Your personal rest needs may vary depending on factors such as your fitness level, age, and type of exercise and intensity of your workouts.
The benefits of scheduling make-up days
Just as there are benefits to training, there are also benefits to not training (at the right dose). When you exercise, your muscle fibers accumulate small tears due to the stress you are putting on them. Once you have completed a workout, satellite cells enter the muscle, replicate, mature into mature cells and fuse with muscle fibers to form new protein strands to better cope with similar physical activity in the future . This is how muscle growth works and, as with any tear or cut, they need time to heal and get the final results.
Additionally, your body uses its glycogen stores as energy sources to fuel your progress in the gym or in your specific physical discipline. These tanks need time to replenish after an intense session, so taking a day off between workouts allows your body to replenish itself for continued performance.
Another advantage of proper recovery? Better sleep. You know that surge of energy and excitement you feel when you work out? That’s your body producing cortisol and adrenalin to boost your physical progress. However, if you overtrain, you can overbuild these hormones, which can lead to more difficult sleep schedules and an inability to fall asleep at night. Recovery days can allow your body to return your hormones to a level and balanced state, which means you are more inclined to reach your REM cycles easier than if you were constantly hitting the weight room.
What should I do on rest days?
Alright, so you’re listening to your body and have decided to forego the gym for the day. Now what?
Recovery days are just for that: recovery. You can structure your days however you want, just avoid activities that are as intense as yesterday. deadlift session. Make use of the myriad of recovery tools available, such as the aforementioned massage gun (we recommend Lifepro Sonic X). Have more coins to throw at recovery tools and just want to kick back while your computer gets the job done? Look at recovery boots that offer compression therapy in an optimized profile, such as the new Hyperice Normatec 3s.
Still, taking a day off from physical activity and simply waiting for your body to replenish isn’t the most pleasant experience for most busy bodies. This is where “active recovery” can be used. You can still allow yourself adequate rest and recharge your body while participating in less strenuous disciplines. Play an impromptu game of basketball with friends. go for a walk or short walk. Take the puppies for a walk around the block.. Recovery doesn’t have to be a stagnant day off. Tailor your break to your liking, just be sure to take it easy with those tense muscles.
Remember Retrieve of your workouts, no Decline To them
We’ve talked a lot about the benefits of rest days and why they’re important, but they’re just part of the pie. After all, the goal of any fitness regimen is to fuel progress for a healthier bottom line. If recovery was always the answer, we’d never exercise, right?
Take as many days as you need to let your body heal, but always remember to get back into your training routine once you’re ready to start. To wrap this up with a final analogy, recovery days are like a pit stop during a race: they’re vital to getting you to the finish line, but it’s very hard to set a proper time if you never race again.
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