How many rest days do you usually take?

cwolfman13

Generally 1...but it depends on what's going on in my life and also depends on how I'm feeling. I've been nursing a bit of a nagging injury as of late so I've had a lot more rest than usual...which sucks because I have an event coming in a month that I need to prep for. I think I've gotten this thing straightened out though now and I think I know what to do to keep it at bay...but I've lost a few weeks of good training and I'm not where I should be at the moment.

You also have to consider what kind of training you're doing...more intensive training is going to require more rest and recovery time...if your exercise is pretty light you really don't need anything.

ChelzFit

Lift weights plus cardio 4 days a week, one day cardio and two days active rest (taking my kids out for a walk). I find I get burned out if I don't get my rest days in.

AnnPT77

This is very individual. As others have suggested,

• A light exercise routine causes less need for rest day(s), while an intense daily routine may require more rest.
• An already-fit person will require fewer rest day(s) at a given level of exercise intensity than a less-fit person doing the same routine.
• If you do multiple very-different types of exercise, then the days you do one type may constitute rest days from the other.
• You may require more rest while in calorie deficit than you would at maintenance calories.

And how you feel will be a decent guide. If you start feeling fatigued (especially that bone-tired kind of thing), take a rest day, whether it's on your schedule or not. If the next day gives you a renewed sense of energy, then you've gotten feedback that that was a good decision.

Consider making some notes in your MFP exercise diary about how you feel daily, then review at the end of the week to see how that correlates with your workouts & rest days, and try sensible adjustments.

Personally, I don't have a defined schedule of rest days. I've been quite active for a dozen years, even before losing weight. I have the occasional lighter or no-exercise day at random, such as when weather cancels a planned outdoor activity. I'll take an intentional lighter day if I feel tired (for any reason: workouts, less sleep, illness, injury, whatever). I leave at least one full day between weight workouts of the same muscle groups (mostly an issue in my rowing off-season).

Current (summer) routine is M-W-F-Sa on-water rowing (with occasional extra rows), Tu-Th spin classes, random heavier or lighter yard/garden work through the week, occasional walks or bike rides. But I'm old (60).

Wolfena

I've been known to take months of rest days in a row.... lol
Which is why I keep ending up back on this site! Haha - seriously though, when I am actively calorie counting and exercising, usually just 1 or 2 a week - depends on the rest of my life's schedule.

optfitness

I weight train 6 days a week (I hit the body parts twice a week) and Saturday is my "active" rest day. I typically do 500 jumping jacks. Lol

fr33sia12

I don't have a specific amount of rest days, as my exercise is from walking or work around the house, so I do that pretty much every day.

Psychgrrl

I am usually active every day. At least 10,000 steps outside of exercise (more if I have to work late and can't work out). But I can usually make a yoga class or go running. One day per week I lift heavy for several hours.