Strenuous workouts cause muscle breakdown, while rest allows our bodies to build it back up. If there are no growth days in your routine, continuous muscle breakdown may hinder your progress. Growth days also are the time when our bodies replenish glycogen levels. Glycogen is the molecule that fuels activity.
As we exercise, our glycogen gets depleted. Growth days are also vital to our mental health. However, overtraining can lead to irritability, sleeplessness, diminished performance and decreased appetite, all of which contribute to mental exhaustion and fatigue. Taking two to three days off from intense exercise each week while engaging in some form of active recovery will allow you to get your blood flowing to help facilitate muscle repair.
If physical activity is already a part of your long-term emotional health strategy, try building in active rest for your growth days—activities like yoga or a brisk walk will give your muscles time to repair and rebuild without overdoing it.
Avoid pushing your body too hard on these days and instead focus on low-intensity movements that allow you to channel energy without activating your nervous system.
Why is this? Growth days help prepare our bodies for our best performance. In this way, getting to bed an hour or two earlier can be just as beneficial if not more so for not only your overall health, but your waistline, as hitting the gym. But how sick is too sick to workout? If the pain is below the neck, skipping the gym is a good idea. If you have a fever, exercise should be off the table. He does recommend avoiding the gym and exercise for the first few days of a viral infection like the flu and the common cold — not only for your own health, but also because this is the period when you are contagious to others.
You may need to take some time off after a really intense workout, especially if you wake up the next day feeling extreme soreness or muscle fatigue. The soreness that is experienced is the body repairing the muscular fibers in order for growth to occur for the future. Rest is needed in order for the body to repair the damage however small that has occurred.
Pushing through soreness and exercising, instead of giving your body adequate rest, can be detrimental in a few ways. First, your body may take longer rest periods in order to heal, says Marcolin.
But just how much time should you give yourself? Active recovery is also recommended as it helps increase blood circulation needed for recovery. File size is larger than. Accepted formats are jpg, jpeg, gif and png.
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Sweat - sweat. Find out: What is a rest day? What to do on a rest day What you should eat on a rest day How often to include rest days.
What is a rest day? What to do on a rest day You can maintain your fitness momentum, even on a rest day. What to eat on a rest day The food that you eat on a rest day can help to speed up muscle recovery as your body adapts to your training load. How often to schedule a rest day You should always allow at least one full rest day each week.
Training style and intensity Rest days are essential for short term recovery, adaptation and your overall wellbeing in the long term. Can a fitness tracker help me to know when I need a rest day? Check-in with how you feel Ultimately, you should listen to your body.
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