How much rest on rest day?

NadNight

Sounds daft but I always took a ‘rest day’ very literally to mean no exercise but today is my rest day and I really fancy going for a jog. Is doing light cardio okay on rest days or am I better letting my body fully recover?

DancingMoosie

I only take a full rest day if I'm sick or injured. What are you recovering from?

sijomial

There seems to be a pervasive myth that recovery only happens at rest whereas in fact it's happening 24 x 7.

Rest is only one form of recovery, it's not compulsory for everyone to take days off - depends on their capabilities and their programming and their training stress.

For an extreme example guess what pro cyclists do on a rest day during the three week Tour de France.....
They go for a cycle ride.

Without knowing anything about your schedule it's impossible to say if you need a rest day or just some form of active recovery.

nighthawk584

I used to take Sunday off, but now I workout 7 days a week. Keeps me committed and get to eat more food.

firef1y72

Sunday is my rest day. But I do active rest. As I'm doing a running streak I run at least a mile (usually 15min which is 1.5 miles on a Sunday), plus I do an hour of PiYo.

deannalfisher

most of my rest days don't have purposeful exercise, but i did tend to walk 6-10k on those days anyways

Shortgirlrunning

I do active recovery rest days - yoga and Pilates. Occasionally depending on how my schedule works out those rest days include an easy 2 mile run.

Joanna2012B

I only take rest days when my body needs it or when I don't physically have time to workout. If you want to run, then I say run.

SnifterPug

If you fancy taking some exercise, then do. I am sure that if your body needed you to lie down all day it would not be suggesting you take a jog.

BrianSharpe

NadNight wrote: »

Sounds daft but I always took a ‘rest day’ very literally to mean no exercise but today is my rest day and I really fancy going for a jog. Is doing light cardio okay on rest days or am I better letting my body fully recover?

Rather than "rest" think in terms of recovery. A short, slow run can be a recovery run. As to full rest days I'll take one every now and then if I'm feeling unduly fatigued, especially in the later stages of a training plan.

cwolfman13

NadNight wrote: »

Sounds daft but I always took a ‘rest day’ very literally to mean no exercise but today is my rest day and I really fancy going for a jog. Is doing light cardio okay on rest days or am I better letting my body fully recover?

Rest/recovery days are just recovery from more vigorous/strenuous exercise. No, it doesn't mean you have to full stop do nothing and depending on what you're doing for workouts a rest/recovery day may or may not be necessary.

My only strenuous workout is on Friday afternoons with my trainer. I lift on my own on Tuesday evenings, but it's not nearly as strenuous as when I workout with my trainer. Other than that, I mostly cycle and I'm not really training for anything, so it's mostly a moderate effort. I like to do some mountain biking on Saturdays and Sunday is technically my "rest day"...but we're usually doing something as a family like going for a hike or a family bike ride or something. I'm active most days most of the time. Every once in awhile I do the couch potato thing, but I tend to get restless and I'm not very good at just sitting still and doing nothing all day.

Inspirationalwaterjug

My rest days are over dramatic stints of laziness. Why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lay down.

Chieflrg

Depends.

How are you measuring your fatigue?

Fully recover from what?

What is your primary goal short and long term?

ironhajee

Yes good for you! Contrary to popular belief, active recovery is much more effective at keeping the body supple and ready for your next big session! Even a simple walk/yoga(Hatha) can be considered a good recovery day!

allother94

I do nothing on my rest days except lay in bed and watch tv. I try to stay warm and get plenty of sleep. Of course, I probably over do it on my workout days...

kshama2001

I only lift two days a week max, but I am active every day.

mrsjar5311

I do at least a 2 hour walk on my rest days. Usually a gentle stroll but basically I work out everyday in one form or the other.

surfbug808

If I do an upper body workout today, I rest those muscles tomorrow, but may do a lower body workout instead. If I'm tired in general, I may just walk, because I enjoy it. Or, if it's a non weight-lifting day (full rest from strength training), I may stretch or do some restorative yoga. I still just do other things I enjoy, like swimming, surfing, playing soccer... they happen to be exercise, but I do these things for fun on my non-gym days anyway. Yesterday was a deep resting day for me, so I stretched and then got a massage.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

I don’t take a day off generally. But my training is split up throughout the week so I do uppper body one day and lower the next. So different parts do get a rest. I lift 5 days and do cardio for an hour the other 2. A lot of people might say that was too much but I’ve totally adapted to it. No injuries, sleep fine, no aches and pains. And I’m in a slight calorie deficit.

jhanleybrown

Another two thumbs up for active recovery. Can speed up recovery in my experience...flushes out lactic acid etc.. I do a little bit of yoga and will often walk 4-5 miles on an active recovery day.

I try to do 7 days/week with 1 active recovery or 2 if I am trying to cycle a recovery week. My do nothing days are usually related to work/family constraints.

Recommend active recovery days *and* active recovery weeks (every 3-5 weeks) where you back off volume and intensity.

riffraff2112

my rest days are from weight training. Sometimes I do not much, other times I'll do cardio...I just don't lift and let my muscles recover.
Funny enough if my cardio is too intense, I will take a rest day the next day anyway as after a long run I find my muscles are sore for a different reason.

emsmiley12

Unless you have a formal training plan for something, allow yourself to actual rest. Yoga or Pilates and then just rest your body.