Guest article: The importance of rest days in a workout routine
Today’s article is a guest contribution written by Thomas Nemel.
When it comes to exercise, more isn’t always better, and structuring in rest days won’t impede your progress but instead are an essential part of a well-structured exercise program. Today we’ll take a look at why rest days are so important, as well as giving you some actionable tips on maximising your rest.
Don’t be a Sisyphus
It can be all too easy to get caught into progression mindset with exercise, constantly feeling the need to do more, it can sometimes be hard to hit the brakes and rest, this is especially true for those of us who identify as physically fit and healthy people. Regardless of whether you are a novice or a seasoned athlete, having rest days between workouts is vital. While it can be hard for some to rest when needed, there is very good evidence supporting adequate rest, with rest days allowing your body to recover from your workout and muscle tissue to recover to above and beyond their baseline (which is the basis of progressive overload)
Those getting inadequate rest can be structure into three broad categories:
- Those who feel the need to constantly be doing exercise
- Those who don’t realise how important rest days can be, and how to structure them into a program
- Those who realise the importance of rest and may be structuring them appropriately, but are training excessively/ their nutrition isn’t matching their activity level
It can be easy to brush off resting short term, pushing through the fatigue, however over the long-term inadequate rest can cause a variety of negative effect:
● Burnout
● Sore and heavy legs
● Muscle strains
● Stress fractures
● Joint pain
● Excessive weight loss
● Increased susceptibility to colds and infections
● Disrupted sleep patterns
● Hormonal changes
● Mood swings.
● Constant fatigue
● A decrease in performance that is persistent over multiple sessions
The list is impressive, isn’t it? If you’ve noticed any of these signs, it means that it’s time to have rest day.
The Benefits Of Rest Days
Now when we know rest days are necessary, let’s take a closer look at their advantages.
● Rest days prevent fatigue
Rest days are essential to avoid workout-induced fatigue. Note that workouts drain muscles’ glycogen levels; if you don’t replace these stores, you may experience muscle soreness and fatigue. To function well, your muscles need glycogen. When you get enough rest, your glycogen stores are replenished, and thus you prevent fatigue.
● They provide recovery time
Rest days are the time when the beneficial effects of your workouts take place. Workouts create tiny tears in the muscle tissue; however, an adequate rest cures muscles and lets them grow. Eventually, it results in stronger muscles. Also, as we mentioned above, rest replenishes your energy stores before the next training. To sum up, rest days are vital for muscle growth.
● They boost your performance
Chronic lack of rest results in a continual build-up of fatigue, which makes it harder and harder to challenge yourself during a workout, let alone stick to your normal routine. Psychological burnout is also a risk as you may be less motivated to run another mile or do an extra rep. Overtraining often leads to decreased performance, even if you push yourself - you’ll experience poor agility, slow reaction time, and reduced endurance. On the contrary adequate rest allows you to buffer and dissipate fatigue, letting you perform at your best.
● They reduce the risk of injury
Rest days in bodybuilding are important for staying safe during exercise. If you are overworked, the chances are high that you drop weight or take a wrong step, which is quite dangerous. Besides, overtraining exposes muscles to repetitious stress and strain. You’ll end up with more rest days than you’ve planned due to overuse injuries.
● They support healthy sleep
While it is well known that regular exercise can improve your sleep, rest days can also support healthy sleep. Physical activity increases the levels of adrenaline and cortisol - energy-boosting hormones, however intense and frequent workouts overproduce these hormones, which may lead to poor sleep which will worsen your overall exhaustion. Rest days will return your hormones to a normal state, and as a result you’ll get better sleep.
Rest Days Tips
Perfect rest days look different for every person. They depend on the frequency and intensity of the workout routine and lifestyle outside of the workout. However, there are general tips on how to incorporate rest days in different workouts.
● Running
If you are new to running, get the best, comfortable sports shoes and run up to 3 days a week and make sure to slowly add volume to your runs (a good rule of thumb is not to exceed a 10% increase in volume per week). On the other days, just rest or practice different, low-intense activities that involve muscles you don’t use while running.
If you are going to take part in a marathon, rest days are even more important. It’s recommended to rest more often during the last 3 weeks before the event. But in any case, you should consult your personal coach on how to rest based on your goals.
● Cardio
If you practice light cardio, e.g., leisurely walking or slow dancing, typically, rest days aren’t necessary. Unless your doctor says otherwise, it’s safe to do it every day.
But if you do vigorous activities, it’s recommended to take a rest day every 3-5 days. If you don’t like passive rest, you can perform a light workout, e.g., gentle stretching.
● Weight loss
If your goal is to lose weight, rest days are still important as being in an energy deficit is already a stressful state, which means you need to take your rest more seriously than if you were in a surplus. Your muscles will rebuild and grow during the rest, which is important for effective weight loss since muscle burns more energy than fat. Therefore, if you have more muscle, you’ll burn more calories. On top of that, when you feel well-rested, you’ll stick to your exercise routine and will be more productive.
● Bodybuilding
As we touched on above, rest days are crucial to building muscles. Incorporate rest days by rotating the group of muscles worked. After you exercise a particular muscle group, let it rest for 1-2 days, this way your muscles will recover. Ensure to work opposing groups of muscles to keep your body well-balanced. One of the great ways to do rest days is to assign a particular day for every body part. For example, Monday is a chest day, Tuesday is a leg day, and so on.
Final Recommendations
● Get enough sleep - an adequate amount of quality sleep is a key element to muscle recovery and growth. During sleep, the body produces more growth hormone, hence, not getting enough shuteye thwarts the production of growth hormone and affects your overall performance.
● Stay well-hydrated - drink plenty of water before, during, and after exercise. Dehydration leads to overheating, muscle fatigue, and headaches.
● Be attentive to your body - never workout through pain and fatigue. Learn to read your body signs. For instance, if you feel heaviness to movements or your muscles don’t respond appropriately to the stress you are trying to provide, take a rest.
Remember, without rest days, you’re less likely to achieve your fitness goals. Allowing your body enough rest is the best thing you can do for fitness success.
Author's bio: The article was written by Thomas Nemel. He loves to write articles, ride a motorbike and build his dream body. His passion for writing leads him through his whole life to motivate others to live a healthy and meaningful life.