The Benefits of Rest Days

When you’re working towards a goal, it may seem counterintuitive to consider rest days as a necessary part of your fitness plan. After all, you want to work as hard as you can, as quickly as you can to get to the goal you’ve set, right? Wrong.

Rest days are crucial to your success. They allow the body to repair and recover and help to prevent injury. To make sure you stay healthy and free of injury, try to incorporate a complete rest day once every 7-10 days.

Not convinced yet? See below for a few more reasons why you should add rest days to your routine.

1. They’re good for your mental health – Tough workouts require both physical and mental exertion to push through, and just as much as your muscles need the break, so does your brain. Take the time to unwind with meditation, reading a book and getting some much-needed mental rest.

2. Repair, repair and repair – Exercise creates microscopic tears in your muscle tissue and during rest periods, there are cells called fibroblasts that repair your muscles. This helps the tissue heal and grow, resulting in stronger muscles. It is so important to rest to repair muscle fibres and muscle mass, otherwise, you may face fatigue and chronic pain or become more prone to injury.

3. Replenish energy stores – Glycogen is a form of energy stored in muscles that get depleted when you exercise. Rest days allow the muscles to replenish their glycogen stores, reducing muscle fatigue and preparing the muscles for their next workout.

If you’re working out and finding yourself dealing with persistent muscle pain, sluggishness, irritability and insomnia, then those are some telltale signs you need a rest day. And if you still don’t have a workout plan, what are you waiting for? Contact House of Trainers today to get a free assessment and get started on your own personalized fitness journey – complete with rest days!