Rest days (not cheat days)

7Liana7

Those who have added exercises into their regimen, what do you do on your rest days? Currently, I do cardio with a 10-inch step for 25 minutes a day. If I were to have to skip a day of my exercise I will put in at least an hour or 2 of walking (I am not a runner) so I can still keep healthy and fit on my days off. For those of you that do cardio, is there anyone you follow for videos, tips, and advice?

Sand_TIger

Right now I have a bunch of weight to lose so on partial rest days (days between weight training) I walk, and do stretches/mobility exercises. Sometimes some time on my mini stair stepper as well. On Sunday, which has evolved into a more intense rest day, I still try to get in a walk but kind of slack on other things for the most part.

hereinmissouri

During the week, I do (4) 15 minute walks during work and try to do 30 minutes of Zumba 3 nights. On Saturdays, I do Zumba and maybe get 3-4k additional steps. Sundays are my real lazy days and am good to get 3k in steps.

braves3134

It all depends on how I feel. Sometimes I’ll do an active rest day where I’ll take a leisurely walk (45 minutes at 2-2.5 mph, 0-2 incline if it’s on a treadmill). Other days I’ll do nothing if I feel run down. I had trained hard (lifting and intense cardio sessions for 6 days straight leading up to the end of last week) so I did an active rest day on Thursday and took Friday, Saturday, Sunday completely off. I had maybe 4000-5000 steps total each day but I stuck to a well balanced diet and on Monday, I had one of the best upper body workouts I’ve had in months. I’m a big believer in listening to your body. I’ve had days where I was planning to have a full work out and took a rest day instead because I felt run down. I’ve had days where I was going to take a complete day off and ended up working out because I felt good and was restless lol. Good luck

bfuller873

I save my big chores (vaccumming, laundry, dusting/window washing, washing floors/shampooing carpets, deep cleaning, lawn care/gardening, detailing my Jeep, shopping, etc) for my “rest” days. It Usually yields atleast 12,000 steps for me and I often don’t have a chance to sit down the whole day. I find I can always come up with a bunch of tasks. There is always something to deep clean or yard work to do and it makes me feel good because I accomplished something while staying somewhat active (and keeps me busy so I’m not sitting around thinking about food lol).

Chef_Barbell

I do chores around the house and chase around a toddler for my rest days.

katsheare

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

I do chores around the house and chase around a toddler for my rest days.

Very similar. Sunday - Friday are my workout-days, alternating bodyweight and running, so Saturday is my 'have a lie-in, long breakfast with the family, gentle walks with my 9 year old before he starts chewing the wallpaper, do some meal-prep or more involved cooking' day.

@7Liana7 You seem to think that you have to be doing intentional exercise to keep healthy and fit. Rest days are there to allow your body to recover. Consider something non-cardio, like stretching or maybe pilates (I wouldn't consider that rest-day stuff, but I've known others who do) if you feel you need to be doing something. If you're looking for ways to keep your activity up without exercising per se, check out this very useful thread: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

Totally unrelated to rest days, though, I like a lot of the Fitness Blender videos. They do low-impact ones that are still intense and are really good about modifications if you need them (because that one time I woke my household up doing burpees is one I shan't be living down like ever...)

Spencerport

Normally do 30-45 minutes of yoga on my rest days. The stretches from yoga definitely help any muscle tightness I a may be experiencing.

spiriteagle99

It depends. I always walk, since I have a large dog who needs to get out every day. We do 2-3 miles. If DH is agreeable, we'll go for a short hike later in the day. If I am in serious race training mode, most of the time I don't do anything else on my rest days. My legs are tired and need recovery time. The rest of the year, I'll do exercise bike, yoga, pilates, calisthenics, etc. on days I don't run. As others have stated, I usually clean house on my rest days as well.

rainbow198

On my active rest days I'll get in a moderate walk for a couple miles, do chair workouts on Youtube, deep stretching or get in my Pilates Reformer.

I do enough to get in a bit of movement, but I don't stress my body or sweat.

I also walk my puppy several times a day, but I don't include that as part of my exercise. Just a bonus.

Kotuliak

I do not schedule rest days - I do rest days when I don't have time or motivation to do my cardio workout. On those days, I walk, aiming for 10,000 steps, and I do stairs, aiming for 12-16 flights. If I achieve my goals, I can feel it in my muscles. I log it as, e.g., 10,000 / 100 + 16 * 2 = 132 calorie exercise. Works well both for my weight loss and for my mental state.

MelanieCN77

I run three times a week and lift three times, my rest day is minimal activity usually light things and stuff like chores or DIY at home and outside, maybe walking a mall to have a nose around.

H_Ock12

One rest day is for napping and chores. One rest day is for hanging out with my husband.

helen_goldthorpe

I used to be really bad at taking proper rest days, but I've started using them to do food prep which really sets me up nicely for the rest of the week and probably has more benefit than a bit of extra activity.

cwolfman13

Depending on what you're doing and your fitness level, you may or may not need rest days from a physical standpoint. There was a period of a few months last year when I wasn't hitting the weight room or doing anything really other than road cycling for about 30-45 minutes daily. For me, that wasn't physically stressful enough on my body to warrant a rest day from a physical standpoint...there wasn't really anything I needed to recover from physically as I wasn't really doing any strenuous exercise. That's not to say I didn't take days off...sometimes I had to because of life and sometimes I just wanted to do something else.

Right now I'm back in the weight room 3x per week with two on my own and one with a trainer and I'm doing 2 spin classes per week. I would count the two spin classes and the trainer workout as strenuous and my other two sessions moderate. I do need recovery days or I start feeling fatigued and unwell...I stagger them on Mondays and Thursdays. As physical activity goes, I pretty much just walk my dog in the morning as per usual. I often go to the gym as well, but all I do is go sit in the sauna for 20-30 minutes and then get a hydro massage for 10 minutes and just relax.

Joanna2012B

I only take rest days when I am tired or can't get my workout in. I think I have balanced it nicely between running, cycling, now swimming and weights. I won't feel bad if I wake up and really don't want to run...that is when I know I need a rest!

Motorsheen

thenewkayla

I rest on Sundays.. Wednesdays and Thursdays.
I have 2 kids that keep me busy. I like to binge on Netflix and play games.
Deep clean and laundry.
Sometimes go out and drink

rheddmobile

I bank calories for my rest days, which come once a week. Then I mostly rest during them. Sometimes I might dance, take a walk, or other light activity, but I don’t do purposeful exercise except for the 10 minutes of calisthenics which I do every morning.