In a world where our social media feeds are filled with gym hustle culture telling us to “never skip a day”, we are neglecting the number one rule to health and wellness: listening to your body and investing in rest days.
We are constantly told that resting is considered “lazy”, “unproductive”, and “weak”. When not resting enough could be the reason you’re seeing a plateau in your progress. Let’s dive into the benefits of rest days and how to maximize recovery to reach your health and wellness goals.
Rest Days Are Important
Benefits of Rest Days
- See Fitness Results Faster
- Reduce Risk of Injury
- Avoiding Burnout
- Mental and Health Strains
See Fitness Results Faster
Contrary to popular belief, your muscles grow stronger during rest days. We need time to repair and regrow our muscles, especially after an intense workout. While you’re working out your muscles are experiencing microscopic tears, and without proper recovery your muscles become fatigue and cannot rebuild the fibers that are necessary to help increase strength and create more muscle definition. Rest days allow your muscles to rebuild and help you see results faster.
Reduce Risk of Injury
Like stated prior, overtraining fatigues your muscles, making them more prone to strains, sprains, and other injuries. Give your body those days to restore, recharge, and refuel to prevent both minor and major injuries. Signs your muscles are fatigue include feeling unusually weak or struggling to complete a regular workout.
Avoiding Burnout
Consistency is key, but not when it starts to negatively affect other areas of your life. If your workout routine starts to interfere with your job, personal relationships, and/or your social life, it may be time to prioritize rest days. Skipping recovery days can lead to both physical exhaustion and mental burnout , leading to frustration, irritability, and fatigue.
Mental and Heath Strains
When exercising, our bodies produce cortisol, “the stress hormone”. While cortisol is important for us to reach our goals, too much of cortisol can negatively impact your mental and physical health, if you are not having enough time to recover. When too much cortisol is being produced by our bodies, the body will become in a state of high stress leading to anxiety, stress, burnout, and possible stubborn belly fat.
You will know when your body needs a rest day when your mood is unstable, injuries occur, you have intense body fatigue after a workout, it’s hard for you to finish a workout, it becomes an excessive obsession, and more.
How to Maximize Your Rest Days
- Active Recovery
- Hydration and Nutrition
- Sleep
Active Recovery
When you are taking a rest day, it is ideal to be in active recovery to get the blood flowing through gentle movement. This can be taking a walk with your dog, playing with your children in the park, mobility exercises, or even participating in a light yoga or a stretching class. Again, these days are not meant for high intensity exercises or heavy weightlifting, but rather to feel refreshed.
Hydration and Nutrition
Hydration is key to recovery and rest days. The amount of water each individual needs is based on a wide variety of aspects, but everyone should be getting enough water intake, especially if you exercise regularly. The best way to make sure you are staying hydrated is always having a large water bottle with you and adding electrolytes to your everyday routine. I am currently loving the 78oz Titan Bottle , but if you prefer something a bit smaller I would go for the 40 oz Atlas Tumbler to keep track of your water intake.
Sleep
You’ve heard it since you were a kid, but getting a good night’s rest is one of the most essential parts to recovery. Getting around 8 hours of sleep promotes muscle repair, energy restoration, and overall body maintenance. Deep sleep allows our body to produce growth hormones, which allows our muscles to grow.
Smart training is knowing when to push and when to pause. Rest days are the key to success for your physical, mental, and emotional health. By listening to your body, you set yourself up for long-term success in your wellness journey.
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