You have started an exercise program and may even be training for an event like a 5K, cycling tour, charity event, or a tournament. You’ve worked really hard to get ready but are scared and anxious about skipping even one day of workouts. Most people think they must keep pushing, pushing, pushing to gain as much fitness and experience as possible before the event.

The belief that you must work out every day to get and stay fit, is a misnomer. It is false. Rest is an important part of any exercise program. I would venture to say that it is the MOST important part. Want to know why? Well, read on friend.

Rest Helps You Get Stronger And Faster

Bottom Line, muscle is grown when you are in recovery mode. Every time you work out, you create micro-tears in your muscles and as they repair, they get stronger. And when you are stronger, you can go further, faster. If you continue working out at the same pace every day, over time, you will plateau and perhaps even “overtrain”.

Being overtrained leaves you tired and feeling like you can’t do as much as you have done before. Workouts will be harder and leave you frustrated, leading to you push yourself even harder. When all the time is rest that you need. 

It Keeps Injury At Bay

If you are grinding every day and pushing your body without rest, you could push yourself to the point of injury. Your body and muscles need that time to recover and build back up, but if you deny it rest, you are setting yourself up for an overuse injury.

In that same vein, if you are working out or training while too tired, you are much more likely to use bad form. And bad form leads to a whole host of other injuries and issues.

Rest Keeps You From Burning Out

Working out every single day is hard to do mentally. And this goes for the professional down to the recreational athlete. Having a break each week to chill out, do other things, and pamper yourself is needed to keep your mental state in good form.

If you are pushing yourself too hard mentally and physically, you could suffer burnout, lose your mojo, and perhaps even walk away from the thing that you have been enjoying doing. And nobody wants that.

It Helps Make A Workout Habit Sustainable

If you have rest days worked into your routine, it will help make this routine sustainable for you. If you know that you have a rest day coming up, you might be able to push through a hard workout. Or if you have other things you need to take care of one day, you can swap out a rest day and get those tasks done. 

Rest days help make your schedule more flexible. And it makes it easier to build your workouts around your life, instead of the other way around.

The Best Ways To Get Recovery

Rest & Recovery are exactly what you think they are. You can take a day completely off or you can do an “active recovery” type activity. Go get a massage or do some stretching or rolling on your own. Or sit back and do nothing at all. It’s your rest day. Use it how you need.

How many rest days do you need? That’s your call. If you are starting an exercise program, you may need 3 or 4 days a week. As you work into any activity or routine, start taking note of how you feel and your performance. You will soon see patterns that will tell you how many rest days you need. Listen to your body.

Look Forward To It

It is okay to rest. Besides the benefits listed above, know that you will not lose any fitness if you give your body and mind what it needs with a recovery day or two. Look forward to them. Reward yourself with them. Watch as they take your performance to the next level.

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