The idea of rest days during the week often get confused with the usual weekend schedule of no work often associated with the average Joe, but truth be told, especially for those wanting to have a healthy and physically fit life why rest days are important and how it affects the body’s response to your physical well-being.
Have you ever wondered by rest days are deliberately incorporated into workout and exercise programs? Or wonder if you should do light exercises during your workout rest days?
The answer is simple and straightforward. Rest! It is essential for your body’s development and progress as it is needed to realize the effects of your physical conditioning and exercises.
When you do physical activities like weight lifting or exercising, the muscles produce micro tears or mini damage to the fibers that is responsible for muscle soreness that you feel after your workouts.
This process makes way for the body to rest and recover in order to allow the body to heal, grow and develop- which cannot happen unless the body is in rest mode.
The American Council on Exercise strongly recommends that a rest day should be a non-training day where the body is not subjected to any physical challenge.
Failure to provide your body that much needed rest after a training or workout program can hurt you in the long run. Because it lets you see little to no effects of your gruelling week-long workout.
The ideal fitness cycle should be a cycle of workout, recover, gain, repeat and the elements are non-negotiable in order to see the desired results in the long run.
But make sure to also keep in mind that as you resolve to consistently do your workouts for your health benefit, the determination and will to follow-through on the cycle is very important to your fitness quest.
The process can also be mental, as behavioural changes also affect the way you deal with workouts like how to stay motivated and determined to travel your course. Stressors like work-related pressure, deadlines and other factors could affect the way you deal with your workout programs.
Coming to the gym with an angry mood can cause you to let off more steam and in the process, causes you to lose energy very soon and end up spent after your workout.
Motivation levels begin to hit on you and sometimes even cause you to burn out and lose interest in your workouts as you start to seek solace in bingeing just to seek comfort, but could end up walking home instead of working out.
It also does not mean that you just do nothing while at rest, just make sure you continue the momentum, it may not be strenuous or high intensity, just something to keep the vibe going.
- Mobility. Don’t just sit on the couch the whole day, try to move around to let your joints continue to have some activity like improving your posture, doing some short walks around the park without exerting a lot of effort.
- Practice technique. You don’t have to lift a full set of weights, just try practicing your posture or movement with a broomstick or an unweighted bar just so you can have a range of movements for your torso, hips and legs.
- Optional cardio. Not because you need it, but it could somehow help you feel relaxed and on top of your mental conditioning to prepare for your net workout days. A couple of minutes of treadmill running, jogging or some jump rope exercise just to allow your heart to pump a bit.
- Moderate outdoor activities. Try to swim, dance or play with frisbee with your dog, this could help give you some fun activities to keep your mind tuned to your programs.
Remember that too much exercise can be counterproductive and don’t train your body too much, lest it may backfire and cause you to lose interest which is why rest days are important and one that should not be ignored.
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