Rest Days ?

kittybeann

I get that rest days are important, but knowing myself if I take a day off, it turns into two...then three... point is I’ll fall off the wagon. Is there a way I can do something less intensive that would still count as a rest day? or no ? ):

Purplebunnysarah

Walk

SCoil123

I often do active recovery days where I practice yoga, hike, or do an extended foam rolling session

rainbow198

I rarely take a complete rest day. I do an active rest day once a week where I do activities like low impact aerobics, a moderate walk or Pilates.

My work is sedentary and I like being active everyday so this works well for me.

TavistockToad

Walking or yoga are good

ghudson92

I struggle with consistency after a rest day too, so I get my butt outside and go for a walk. I am constantly battling that voice in my head that tells me to sit down and eat ice cream

kittybeann

thanks all !

justanaverageguyxyz

I am going to second all of the above so for me I do active recovery as well to be honest with you - I generally go to the GYM and do 30 to 40 minutes Cardio, some days if I want to push the boundaries of my active recovery depending on the day it falls on I may go and do a HIIT I enjoy using the HIIT classes on a active recovery day as I am getting my heart rate up there and I am pouring blood sweat and tears.

cwolfman13

Whether or not you need a rest day is very dependent on what you're doing. If you're doing a lot of high intensity stuff, you need rest/recovery days. But even then, a recovery day doesn't necessarily mean you just do nothing...you're just taking rest from more vigorous work, so things like yoga or walking, etc are good.

I'd wager that most people going and doing a little cardio for 30-60 minutes don't really need rest days other than maybe a mental break. I only take rest days when I'm training for a cycling event because it's a lot of work and a lot of miles and I need the recovery. When I'm just riding for exercise and general fitness I'm usually only riding for 30-60 minutes at a moderate, conversational pace and I don't really need recovery from that and could do it everyday if I wanted to, but I like other things to like rock climbing and hiking.

I do some form of exercise pretty much everyday, even if it's just walking my dog. I will occasionally not do anything, but that's usually because something came up and I can't get it in.

The only thing I don't do is lift on consecutive days working the same muscles and muscle groups.

1BlueAurora

I put my gym workouts and running days on my calendar just like they are important business appointments. Because they are. That way I remember them and see that I've committed myself to staying disciplined. My "rest day" usually consists of at least taking a long walk.

hipari

I was wondering a similar question the other day. On Saturday, I did a 5K event and Sunday was supposed to be a rest day. I accidentally went on two separate one-hour walks. I decided to count the day as rest enough, and just focus my Monday workout on upper body strength. I don’t own a car, I recently started biking to the subway station (1 mile there, another mile back at night), and most days I hit my 8K steps just from getting through my day. On Sunday I was a bit worried that the extra activity was going to cost me this week’s workouts somehow, but so far so good. From your answers to OP I’m kinda gathering that low-intensity cardio (like walking or leisurely biking) counts as ”rest” for this purpose.

steveko89

It's all a sliding scale; what constitutes rest/recovery is dependent on what is your exercise of choice and general level of activity. For someone that is very inactive and walking is their normal intentional exercise, taking a walk or going for a leisurely bike ride may nullify a "rest/recovery day" where as a powerlifter or bodybuilder may schedule an intense conditioning or mobility workout for a non-lifting day but consider that "recovery" because they weren't lifting heavy.

hesn92

I think it depends what youre doing. If it’s higher intensity or lifting then I would say you need a rest day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean do nothing. You could go for a hike, walk your dog, etc. I do something most days. Well when the weather is nice. Lately it’s been like, yard work (boo)

marlanaymiller

Yoga is Perfect for a "rest day" not only is it relaxing and rejuvenating, it stretches out all those muscles that may need a break. Then take a bath and soak. This trick keeps me on track..

Vladimirnapkin

The most important aspect of rest days is to let the part you've been working recover and get stronger. It doesn't need to be a total day of lying around. If you are running/walking, then easy bicycling can be a good rest day option. As mentioned previously, yoga is a good option. If you have been running, walking is great active recovery. Many years ago, when I was in a hardcore competitive training program, the coach would tell us to play games. Go bowling, play some gentle basketball, backyard volleyball, etc. (Those can all be legit sports in their own right, but we weren't competitive in any of them.)