How often do you have a rest day?

SkiMummy

I have been doing almost daily exercise for a month now, and it has become quite a strong habit.
Obviously I am thrilled about this, but I was mentioning to my DH how much my legs hurt right now, and he pointed out that I never take a day off.
And this got me thinking - how often should I take a day off from 'proper' exercise.
I am trying to move more on a daily basis anyway, but I am talking about time off from a specific workout?

FitPhillygirl

I've learned to listen to my body. I used to take one day off a week, however, now I'm finding that I can go 9 days of exercising before I need a rest day.

earlnabby

I try to set aside one day a week where I do no purposeful exercise. I may not necessarily sit on my butt all day (but I have, especially if it is a cold rainy day perfect for a book, a blanket, and pot of tea) but any activity is casual fun stuff, not workout stuff.

rrcoffey

I take 2 rest days. I still get some activity in on those days (talking a walk, playing basketball with my kids, etc...), but not a dedicated exercise session.

scottb81

What kind of workouts are you doing? It makes a difference. For running I rarely take a day off but I do run one day a week really easy and short (3 mi with my heart rate below 120) and another day a week shorter and easier than normal (2 x 3 mi runs). If I begin feeling really under recovered I will take a complete day off from running, so far about one day a month.

shetripsalot

When I started taking 2-3 rest days, I started performing better & seeing better results.

boxfish100

Really depends on intensity, whether you are doing strength or endurance type work and of course age as well - I notice that in my 20s and 30s I didn't need as much recovery time as I do in my 40s.

rybo

I don't have any scheduled rest days. I just take them as needed or when life gets in the way. Usually it's been 1-2 days a week off. But sometimes I've worked out 10 days straight.

kristinegift

I take at least one day off per week, sometimes two. Right now, I'm resting on Fridays and running Sat-Thurs, but I get a 36 hour break between morning Wed runs and evening Thurs runs (I run with a group on Thursdays), so it's sort of like adding in a 2nd rest day because I go more than 24 hours without running. Rest is as important as workouts -- gotta let your body recover!

demoiselle2014

Rest is important, but rest days don't have to be completely sedentary. When I made my exercise calendar I gave myself Wednesdays off. On Wednesday, I will go for a walk and do some gentle yoga. If I have dance class, I'll attend that, too. But no running or weight training.

Willbenchforcupcakes

I normally have one rest day a week. Some weeks it's two, occasionally even three.

mbaker566

I don't schedule them. I take them as needed. I've got some sort of ick going on inside of me so I didn't run Tuesday or today. there would have been a trail of barf. but I still made sure that I got out and walked a mile.
yesterday, I only did an hour of yoga instead of 2.
but otherwise, no rest days. my being fat does not take a day off so I won't either

kellyship17

I aim for once week. Sometimes life gets in the way and it's twice a week. I do listen to my body, so if it needs a rest day (like it sure does today!) I give it one.

professionalHobbyist

Normally one a week.

When I do more HIIT, twice a week.

martyqueen52

I rest on Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday.

Then again I power-lift. So my body gets beat to hell, hence why I take more breaks.

DeterminedFee201426

2 days of the week

Neversettle78

I take 1-2 per week. When you train hard they are essential! Please incorporate some into your routine.

3AAnn3

I take one a week.

urloved33

1-2 days per week.

pmm3437

As others have said, depends on type(s) and intensity of workouts.

Best advice I can give is that after you have been training a while, and your body has adapted to regular exercise, you shouldn't be showing up for your next workout with significant aches/pains or lack of energy. If you are, you need to rest/recover more.

rumijs

I guess it depends on what you define as "rest" and the reason for resting. Technically I don't take any days off from exercising. I strength train 3 days a week, do HIIT 3 times a week, and have a "slower" active rest day with yoga, 3 mile run (below race pace), or something similar. I do listen to my body. If I absolutely need a day off because of tweaked muscles or something, then I'll take a full rest day. But that's actually pretty few and far between because I watch form and intensity throughout the week.

Unknown

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earlnabby

Seems to be a consensus that a rest day is a good thing. How often and how you interpret "rest" depends on the individual. Trust your body and your brain to tell you.

yusaku02

Sunday - Lift
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Lift
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Lift
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest

So 4 rest days a week for me.
Though when I was doing marathon training I would only take 1 or at most 2 rest days per week.

jaydude4

I do heavy lifting and a little bit of cardio every now and then, I usually just take a day off out of the week (preferably Saturdays because that's when I tend to go out). I also listen to my body and try not to force going to the gym if the mood is not completely there, because I've learned that not a lot of outcome will come out of it.

feisty_bucket

scottb81 wrote: »

What kind of workouts are you doing? It makes a difference.

Yeah, definitely. My lifting routine is full-body and I'd never do that two days in a row. Muscle grows while you sleep; beating them up while in recovery is counter-productive. On off days, I just do easy stuff like walking.

rmitchell239

SkiMummy wrote: »

I have been doing almost daily exercise for a month now, and it has become quite a strong habit.
Obviously I am thrilled about this, but I was mentioning to my DH how much my legs hurt right now, and he pointed out that I never take a day off.
And this got me thinking - how often should I take a day off from 'proper' exercise.
I am trying to move more on a daily basis anyway, but I am talking about time off from a specific workout?

Your body will tell you. If you are sore in that area you probably do not need to work it. Your muscles need rest to recover properly. The more in shape you get the less recovery time youll need. Im currently dont ng about every 5 days or so. At minimum once every 7~10 days.

juliewatkin

I train Monday, Wednesday & Friday. I've tried going four days a week and found it counter productive and my strength gains lag and I feel beat up.

Like others have said, it's really dependent upon what you're doing. Age is also a factor. I'm 50 and even in the past couple of years I've noticed my recovery isn't what it was before.

QueenKristine77

rumijs wrote: »

I guess it depends on what you define as "rest" and the reason for resting. Technically I don't take any days off from exercising. I strength train 3 days a week, do HIIT 3 times a week, and have a "slower" active rest day with yoga, 3 mile run (below race pace), or something similar. I do listen to my body. If I absolutely need a day off because of tweaked muscles or something, then I'll take a full rest day. But that's actually pretty few and far between because I watch form and intensity throughout the week.

This pretty much sums it up for me as well. I take a day if needed but it doesn't happen often.

SkiMummy

Wow - thanks for all the great advice.
I vary my workouts, as I am slowly settling into a rhythm that works for me.
I rotate between the elliptical, bike riding (outside) and Pilates.
I also aim for 20,000+ steps a day and 30 flights of stairs.

But tomorrow has now been declared a rest day!
I will still aim to do the steps and the stairs, but give the 'proper' exercise a miss.

DennyB1964

I go Tuesdays, Thursdays and either Saturday or Sunday (lifting and walking/running). I'm thinking about training both weekend days instead of just one, but I'm still on the fence about it.

On my off days, I'm still walking about 3 miles for work as well as going up and down stairs all day, so it's not really a full rest other than the fact that I'm kind of used to it. If I know I haven't done much of anything all day, I'll sometimes throw in some cardio or yoga.