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Just as important as it is to be working out frequently in order to strengthen your body and improve your overall health, it’s also vital to be pencilling in days of rest each week to allow your muscles to recover. Oftentimes it can become far too easy to over exert your body and get into a routine of working out everyday if you have a goal in mind that you’re hoping to achieve, but skipping out on rest days can have a slew of negative implications on the body, even stalling weight loss and putting your muscles at risk.
How many rest days should you actually be taking though? We checked in with Motion Fit CPT Lionel Araya to get the run down on the importance of rest days and the ideal number you should be taking per week, and this is what he had to say.
Before we get to rest days, it’s important to make sure that your exercise routine and eating habits are tailored to helping you reach your goals. Research shows that a combination of weight training and cardio is the best way to build up your muscles while decreasing body fat, ultimately achieving a lean and strong frame.
Weight training is essential for boosting your metabolism as the more muscle your body is made up of, the more fat it will burn at rest. Meanwhile, cardio is ideal for torching calories and optimizing your overall health, strengthening your lungs and your heart. However, intensity is required for these workouts to be efficient, and constantly beating your body down with high energy output workouts is an almost surefire way to burn out or even injure your body, halting weight loss progress.
On average, Araya suggests taking 1-2 rest days a week in order to allow your body ample time to recover from the stress you place it under every time you workout. That being said, it’s also vital to listen to your body and take cues if you’re feeling particularly depleted or run down as this could ultimately slow your progress. “If a person develops the habit of not giving their body enough time to recover, then they run the risk of injury and burnout which equals lack of motivation and the desire to stay on a plan,” he explains.
The key to successful weight loss is consistency, and if you push your body to extremes it’s unlikely you’ll be able to maintain that intensity over a long period of time. Allowing yourself time to rest and recover is essential to reaching your goals, even if it’s as simple as an active rest day.
When you exercise you’re creating microscopic tears in your muscles which, once healed, allow you to grow stronger. However, in order for your muscles to heal you need to provide them with the down time to do so. That doesn’t necessarily mean cutting out all movement throughout your day though, and an active rest may be useful if you find yourself unable to stay fully sedentary.
“Going for a walk, stretching, light intensity type movements are examples of active recovery aka active rest days,” explains Araya. “Rest is the key, it is just as important as nutrition and exercise, one does not work without the other.” Regardless of your energy expenditure, Aryas says that 1-2 rest days each week is plenty of time to rebuild your muscles and safely continue to workout.
Exercise is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, but so too is resting to allow your body to reap the benefits of your hard work. If you never allocate rest days into your schedule, you may become more prone to injury and illness, burn out, or even damage your metabolism as your body is forced to the brink each day.
Instead, carving out even one single rest period each week will build up your muscles and allow for maximum performance on the days that you are working out so that you can achieve great results without sacrificing your health and well being. Working out is great for the body and the mind, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and rest is key to success.
