Rest day 101 - the importance of rest

Do you ever feel that pang of guilt during a rest day? Do you even have rest days? Or do you end up going out on a late afternoon run as the fear of reversing all your hard work at the gym may vanish into thin air because you dared take a day off? 

I think this is a common feeling, regardless of whether your goal is to lose fat or gain yourself some lean muscle. As much as that dedication, drive and commitment is applaudable, a healthy attitude to health and fitness trumps most things if you want long term success. It is important to understand, accept and appreciate that rest days should form part of your plan. They shouldn’t be a guilt-ridden fear, or an accident because you really can’t be bothered training today, or worse, you’ve overtrained and burned yourself out. As well as regular rest days, you should also know how to spot the signs that your body and your mind need a break – although a good plan and efficient rest days should ensure that you don’t ever reach a training breaking point. For this and many other reasons, rest days are as important as training days.

Benefits of rest days

Recovery

When we rest, we recover. Many physiological changes occur during a rest period, including repairing the damaged muscles post resistance training, this repair is when our muscles grow – gains phase 2, I like to call this ;). Recovery is also essential to prevent muscle fatigue; Glycogen stores in the body are replenished during this time too, giving you the energy you need to hit your next session with vigour. If you don’t recover, ready for further training, you can’t progressively overload ergo you can’t get bigger and stronger.

Reduced risk of injury

It’s not of much use to anyone to train like a beast, not have planned rest days, but then be plagued with injuries and have prolonged periods of rest forced upon them. Or worse still, to train through an injury caused by lack of rest and create a long term injury that is hard to shake off. Honestly, it’s just daft. Overtraining takes its toll on your body and your mind, it can result in reduced performance and poor agility plus mental exhaustion. Rest, on the flip side, increases energy levels, prevents mental and physical fatigue and prepares your body for your next training session.

How often should we rest?

It’s different strokes for different folks and depends on what type of activity you are including in your training plan and the intensity.

My rest days consist of a continued healthy diet (balanced, with protein kept at the appropriate level to encourage muscle repair, complemented with sufficient water) and some light, family orientated exercise as it’s generally the weekends where I take a full rest day (or two) so I can use that extra free time with my children. I still ensure I keep moving and will likely have a walk or two with the little people and the hound or catch up with a friend on a longer, still relatively leisurely, walk.

Cardio type activities

Although I do not advocate a wholly Cardio based plan (resistance training has so many more rewards that you could reap), if it makes you happy, and gives you control over your weight, or helps keep your mind balanced, then all power to you. For those of you who’s training consists of mostly light cardio, you don’t necessarily need to have a rest day. The stress being leveraged onto the body is very minimal, so you should feel free to walk or cycle daily with no risk to your body.

If you are following an intense cardio programme, rest days are absolutely essential. The recommended rest cycle is 3-5 days but if you are undertaking very vigorous training, I would suggest you take more, every 2-3 days is a sensible frequency. You can of course follow my lead on rest days, indulging in a leisurely stroll (to the nearest coffee shop, in my case!).

Running

There is no getting away from the fact that running takes its toll on our joints, especially road running. I get that it's invigorating and can be addictive (I am a runner, so I hear you), but it must be done in a sensible manner if you want running longevity. I want to be running up hills when I’m 50, so I know that I must take care of myself now, to enable that to be possible.

If you are new to running, start by running 3 days per week, so you always have at least one rest day in-between runs. As you get more experienced and can understand the signals your body gives you regarding what is a sensible rest level for you, then you can increase this. Again, light walks etc are totally fine for your rest days. 

Strength Training

I suggest to my clients that they should train 3-5 times per week, depending on their goals, the time they have for each session, their training experience, current body composition etc. 3-5 times per week is a good base to start from.

Again, with strength training, you can carry out light exercise on your rest days. Maybe incorporate a nice walk (is it really obvious just how much I love a walk?), yoga or a casual bike ride. I wouldn’t recommend intense cardio on rest days, but you could include this in your plan alongside strength training if that’s your bag.

Knowing the signs of fatigue

It’s important you understand the signs of fatigue and give your body the respect it deserves – listen to it. 

Pain

Muscle soreness is a normal result of training, the muscle has been put under stress and it’s normal to see signs of this. However, if pain is prolonged, severe, at a joint or only felt on one side of the body this is a sign of potential overuse and your cue for a rest. 

Reduced performance

If you stop seeing progress, or you are struggling with a weight that is usually doable, maybe it’s time for a rest day and a reset.

Exhaustion

Feeling very tired, if you are sleeping and eating normally, may also be a sign you need to chill out for the day and take it a little easier.

Mood changes

Feeling unusually grumpy, emotional or sad could be a sign you are burning out. Maybe a rest day is what you need to switch off and come back online refreshed.

Sleep issues

If you are having problems dropping off, when you are usually out like a light, then it could be your cortisol levels messing with you. Perhaps have a couple of days off, a warm bath and a hot drink before bed – avoid the phone for at least a couple of hours before your head hits the pillow too.

Summary

In summary, rest days should still be active, healthy days. It’s not an excuse to sit on the couch eating all day. Although, we all have those days too (well I did before children came along), those days are ok, if that’s what you feel you need and it’s in moderation. 

I relish rest days, it’s a day to slow down a little, having a rest on the weekends is good for that reason, you can free your mind from both work and training, entering the following week refreshed and invigorated and use that little bit of extra free time you have, to do something you love. Enjoy rest days, they are a fundamental and necessary part of a healthy, balanced training plan.