The human body was not designed to handle the constant demands of physical activity. So we need time to rest and recover.
When we’re young, we tend to see our rest days as a chance to rest up, but our bodies tend to be more prone to injury as we age. As a result, you have to be careful when you’re resting to ensure that you’re not training your body to be able to get through the day but still, be able to function the next day.
What do we mean by rest days?
Rest days are a critical part of developing any level of fitness. They allow the body to recover from the overload of training and allow it to grow stronger. When a workout routine is followed consistently, the body adapts to the stresses of a particular workout. The body gets stronger, and the muscles and the joints get stronger, which means the body is more able to endure the stresses of exercise and injury.
So, why are rest days important?
- It helps our body to repair and rebuild.
Part of the reason why rest days are important for fitness enthusiasts is that we sometimes push ourselves too far to reach a goal. Sometimes we need to let our bodies take a little break after working out to recover from the damage done during our workouts. We let our bodies repair and rebuild from our workouts through rest days.
- It allows the body to reset.
Rest days are important not only because they allow our bodies to recover after the physical exertion of the week, but they also have a positive effect on our mental health. Taking a break from the daily grind, whether it be from work, your home life, or even your gym routine, allows our mind and body to reset.
- It allows the body to recover and build new muscle tissue.
If you are following a strict (and proven) diet, exercise schedule, and supplementation protocol, rest days are important to allow your body to recover and build new muscle tissue.
- It helps muscles to grow stronger.
So, why are rest days so important? Well, resting your muscles allows them to grow stronger and work more efficiently. This means that your workouts will be more effective, and you will burn more fat and calories.
- It helps to maintain a healthy weight and avoid injury.
We recover more from physical activity than we do from sitting still on most days. Whether you are running a mile or skiing a mountain, the body repairs muscles and gets rid of damaged cells on the days when it rests. This is called “micro-exercise” and is why you feel better after a workout, not just because you exercise.
- It allows muscles the time needed to recover and be reinvigorated for the next workout. (If you’re working out regularly.)
When working out, we often think of rest days as a time in which we aren’t exercising. Wrong. This is time to give your body the time it needs to recover and be reinvigorated for the next workout. If you’re working out regularly, rest days become even more important.
- It lets you take a mental break.
A rest day is like a mental break. You step away from work (or school or whatever) for a day and reconnect with yourself. Often, that means taking a day off from your routine, doing something you wouldn’t normally do. In that way, it’s kind of like a vacation. It can also be a change of scene or to see something new and different. It gives you time to recuperate and refocus on your goals.
If you don’t rest on your rest days, you’ll plateau and won’t lose much weight. To make sure you’re pushing your body beyond its limits, you need to take at least one rest day per week.
At some point in our lives, many of us have been in a situation where we have been busy and had little time to take a day off. Whether you’re a student or a professional, having a day to rest can help tremendously. The truth is that rest days are important, but to sustain success and avoid burnout, you need to know how to balance rest days with working out.