Finding the right balance between exercise and rest is key to achieving fitness goals and staying healthy. While consistent training is important, rest days allow the body to recover and prevent overtraining. Many people wonder if they can still workout lightly on designated rest days or if total inactivity is required. Here is a look at the purpose of rest days and whether you can still exercise on them.
What are rest days?
Rest days are scheduled days off from exercise within a training program. They give the muscular and skeletal systems a break from strenuous activity to allow for recovery and adaptation. Without adequate rest, the body cannot fully repair strained muscles and stressed joints. Continuing to push through fatigue can lead to overtraining, burnout, and injury.
Experts recommend having 1-2 rest days per week for most exercise programs. The exact number depends on factors like your fitness level, training intensity, age, and recovery ability. Rest days are more important for high intensity activities like weightlifting, HIIT, and running compared to lower impact exercises like walking.
Why are rest days important?
Here are some of the key benefits of regular rest days:
- Allows muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones to fully recover from microtears and intense stress
- Gives the body time for tissue repair and building new muscle protein fibers
- Lets energy stores like glycogen replenish
- Prevents overtraining, fatigue, and burnout
- Reduces risk of injury from overuse
- Improves mental recovery and focus
Without adequate rest, residual fatigue accumulates and performance declines over time. You may notice decreased strength, slower paces, lack of progress, and general irritability. Rest days help clear accumulated byproducts like lactic acid and cortisol to refresh the body. Periodizing cycles of stress and recovery is important for making continual fitness and performance gains.
Can you workout on rest days?
The main purpose of a rest day is to give the body a meaningful break from strenuous exercise to recover. However, light activity that does not overly fatigue the body may be okay on some rest days depending on your training level.
Here are some guidelines for exercising on designated rest days:
- Keep workouts short, about 30 minutes or less
- Do low impact activities like walking, yoga, stretching, foam rolling
- Keep effort level very easy, about 40-60% max heart rate
- Avoid muscle groups or movements done during regular training
- Listen to your body and cut back if needed
The key is keeping the duration, intensity, and type of exercise low enough that it does not impede recovery. A brisk 30-minute walk or light yoga flow can be appropriate for some. However, a heavy deadlift session or high intensity run would negate the purpose of a rest day.
Activities to avoid on rest days
Here are examples of workouts to avoid on designated rest days:
- Heavy strength training with near maximal weights
- High intensity intervals like sprints or metabolic circuits
- Long distance endurance training over 90 minutes
- Sports practices with lots of sprinting and drills
- Repeated jumps and plyometrics
- Climbing hills or stairs
- Fast running workouts like tempo runs
These types of strenuous workouts continue to strain the muscular and skeletal systems. They can prolong recovery, hinder adaption, and increase injury risk if done too frequently without proper rest.
Sample 1-day and 2-day rest schedules
Here are two sample weekly workout schedules with one or two rest days:
| 1-Day Rest Schedule | 2-Day Rest Schedule |
|---|---|
| Monday: Lower body strength workout | Monday: Lower body strength workout |
| Tuesday: HIIT workout | Tuesday: HIIT workout |
| Wednesday: Upper body strength workout | Wednesday: Upper body strength workout |
| Thursday: Running intervals | Thursday: Rest day |
| Friday: Core workout | Friday: Core workout |
| Saturday: Long run | Saturday: Running intervals |
| Sunday: Rest day | Sunday: Rest day |
The 1-day rest schedule spaces intense training days apart with lighter activities before the rest day. The 2-day schedule builds in a full recovery block after 3 consecutive strength/cardio days. Listen to your body and take extra rest days as needed.
Active recovery activities
Here are examples of appropriate light activities for active recovery on rest days:
- Walking – Keeps blood flowing without muscle strain
- Yoga – Gentle movements and stretching
- Cycling – Low intensity with minimal resistance
- Swimming – Easy effort and focus on technique
- Hiking – Flat terrain, go slowly
Aim to keep heart rate under 120-130bpm for recovery sessions. The activity should feel easy enough to hold a conversation. Monitor signs of fatigue and cut back if needed. Some complete rest days are still important for allowing the deepest tissue repair.
Benefits of active recovery
Light activity on rest days, known as active recovery, provides both physical and mental benefits:
- Improves circulation to transport nutrients and clear byproducts
- Enhances range of motion from gentle movement
- Offsets stiffness and soreness
- Recalibrates movement patterns and muscle firing order
- Provides psychological break from heavier training
Active recovery allows you to get the benefits of physical activity without impeding overall recovery on designated rest days. Listen to your body and take complete rest when needed.
Sample active recovery workouts
Here are two sample 30-minute active recovery workouts:
Walk + Yoga Flow
- 5 minute warm up walk
- 20 minutes easy yoga flow focusing on stretching major muscle groups
- 5 minute cool down walk
Stationary Bike
- 5 minutes easy pedaling to warm up
- 20 minutes gentle cycling at 60-70rpm
- 5 minutes easy pedaling to cool down
Keep effort levels very easy and focus on control, mobility, range of motion. Stop if you feel any pain or undue muscle soreness.
Rest day dos and don’ts
Here are some dos and don’ts for rest days:
| Do | Don’t |
|---|---|
| Get plenty of sleep | Push through pain and fatigue |
| Prioritize nutrition – hydrate, eat protein | Strength train major muscle groups |
| Light walking or stretching | Run long distances |
| Take epsom salt baths | Do excessive sitting or lying around |
| Schedule sports massage | Drink alcohol |
| Practice mindfulness | Overeat inflammatory foods |
| Try cold water immersion therapy | Neglect foam rolling / mobility work |
Recovery techniques like hydration, sleep, massage, mobility work, and healthy nutrition contribute to the restoration process. Avoiding strenuous exercise prevents compounding fatigue.
Signs you need more rest days
Here are some signs that indicate your body needs more recovery time:
- Consistent muscle soreness
- Decreased motivation for exercise
- Inability to meet training paces or power output
- Plateaued fitness gains
- Increased irritability and moodiness
- Trouble sleeping and elevated resting heart rate
- Higher rate of illness and susceptibility to colds
- Decreased appetite and weight loss
These symptoms indicate an imbalance between training stress and recovery. It is better to plan pre-scheduled rest days than be forced to take time off due to burnout or overtraining injuries.
Tips for rest days
Here are some tips to help make the most of your rest days:
- Track your rest days just like training days
- Stick to light activity under an hour
- Focus on different muscle groups
- Emphasize mobility, stretching, foam rolling
- Eat nutrient rich foods to refuel
- Hydrate with electrolytes
- Take contrast showers or baths
- Get a sports massage
- Sleep at least 8-10 hours
Rest days are the secret to consistently performing at your best. Take them seriously and your body will reward you.
Conclusion
Rest days are essential recovery breaks within training programs, though some light activity may be appropriate. The keys are keeping workouts short, easy, and focused on different movements than regular training. Completely sedentary rest is not necessary but strenuous exercise that impedes overall recovery should be avoided. Listen to your body and take more complete rest days as needed. Proper periodization of stress and rest allows fitness gains to accumulate over time.