Taking rest days is an important part of any exercise routine. Rest days give your body time to recover and repair muscles after intense training sessions. However, a rest day doesn’t necessarily mean you have to avoid all physical activity.
What is a rest day?
A rest day refers to a day where you take a break from your normal workout routine. For example, if you strength train 5 days a week, a rest day would be a day where you don’t do any strength training. The purpose of a rest day is to allow your body to recover after intense exercise sessions. When you strength train, you are breaking down muscle fibers. Rest days give those muscle fibers time to repair and grow back stronger.
Do you have to avoid all exercise on a rest day?
While the main goals of a rest day are rest and recovery, this doesn’t mean you have to be completely sedentary. You can still do light exercises that don’t overtax your body on a rest day. Some examples of appropriate rest day activities include:
- Light cardio like walking, easy cycling or swimming
- Gentle yoga or stretching
- Low intensity bodyweight exercises
The key is to keep the intensity and duration low. About 30-45 minutes of light activity is usually fine on a rest day. Just don’t push yourself too hard.
Benefits of light exercise on rest days
Here are some benefits of incorporating light physical activity on rest days:
- Promotes blood flow: Light cardio helps increase blood circulation, which transports nutrients throughout the body and to your muscles. This aids recovery.
- Prevents stiffness: Gentle movement keeps your muscles loose and flexible, preventing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
- Supports mental health: Light exercise releases endorphins that boost your mood.
- Burns extra calories: Light activity creates a modest calorie deficit to keep your metabolism humming.
Activities to avoid on rest days
While light exercise can support your rest day goals, these higher intensity activities should be avoided:
- High intensity cardio like sprints or HIIT
- Heavy strength training
- Long or challenging runs
- Sports practices or competitive events
- High volume endurance training
These types of strenuous workouts break down muscle tissue extensively. Doing them back-to-back without rest can hinder muscle repair and growth.
How to know if you need more rest
Pay attention to your body on rest days. Signs you may need more downtime include:
- Persistent muscle soreness
- Inability to complete your normal workouts
- Elevated resting heart rate
- Increase in perceived effort during exercise
- Fatigue or sluggishness
- Trouble sleeping
- Low motivation to work out
If you experience these symptoms, consider taking an extra rest day or decreasing your training intensity for a week. Your body may be telling you it needs more recovery time.
Sample rest day schedule
Here is an example of how you could spend an active rest day:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| Morning | 30 minute walk outside or on the treadmill |
| Afternoon | Light yoga or stretching session |
| Evening | Low intensity bodyweight circuit at home |
Conclusion
In summary, rest days are vital to any fitness routine, but don’t require total inactivity. Incorporating light exercise promotes recovery while providing both physical and mental benefits. Just be sure to avoid intense training that overtaxes your body on days designed for rest. Listen to your body’s feedback and adjust your schedule if needed. With proper rest and recovery, you’ll bounce back stronger than ever.
