How important is a rest day? I need answers please!

Cassi_Eats_Apples

How important is a rest day? I have worked out everyday this week and today will be day 8, I feel like a total shlub if I don't work out, but I don't want not having a rest day work against me. Can someone explain this to me please?

Smiler40

Hi

I know what you mean, as I have worked out constantly for the last month in the gym and I can definately see the results - but I was wondering the same thing, should I have one day off, but again like yourself, would feel I had cheated if I did not go to the gym (just my personal opinion) as I am very dedicated

2fit4fat

Bump

ironanimal

Cardio is fine every day. Weight training requires you cycle your muscle groups daily so the same ones aren't worked twice in a row as they grow and repair for up to 72(I think..?) hours after being worked. If you're too sore, take a break. Otherwise, do as you see fit.

AZackery

Rest days are very important. Just like we need rest to function properly, our body needs rest too. I believe in taking rest days. Saturday and Sunday are my rest days. You don't want to overwork your body. If you don't take rest days, your body will eventually let you know it needs to rest.

indianjones

A body in motion tends to stay in motion It is a good thing.

Mind you, I am no expert...Take a half hour walk, practice yoga, play with kids, clean house or something that doesn't feel like exercise, but is still activity. That will help you in every aspect.

kammy92

That's how I feel,if I don't work out I feel kinda guilty for not doing it. My rest days are usually on Thursdays but this past one I exercised .. I try to take 1 day off,especially if I'm feeling it!

Pollyfleming

I haven't been doing a 'rest day' every week but I do a 'different day' instead. I usually do a gym workout but once a week I change it up. Today, my dh and I are going on a long hike!

fiberartist219

I think it depends on how demanding your workouts are. If you lift weights or if you do a lot of high impact stuff, the rest days are essential.

If you're just working out for ten minutes a day, going for a walk, or doing yoga, you could probably keep it up every day and not worry so much about resting.

fiberartist219

I haven't been doing a 'rest day' every week but I do a 'different day' instead. I usually do a gym workout but once a week I change it up. Today, my dh and I are going on a long hike!

This is probably a good idea too. You can let some muscle groups repair themselves while you work out others. We went sledding yesterday, and it was a blast.

HolleeERL

Well, I have a friend (and I've experienced this, too) who would work out every single day. That was her lifestyle. She ended up having issues (not serious ones) with her heart. At night, her heart would beat really, really hard and it caused her to lose sleep. She did a lot of cardio and so do I. I think a rest every once in a while is good. Your heart is a muscle, too, so rest is good. I would say that at least one rest day a week is good - just my opinion. Some would say more.

mamatoboys6219

I am just like you, working out everyday since Ive started a week ago. Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day, but the guilt ate me up enough to do some cardio. I just did 20 min on the elliptical. Easy enough, maybe if you are feeling tired or run down, take a rest day. If not, and you are feeling good, cardio is good for any day!

yesthistime

I agree that it depends on what type of work out you are doing. If it's cardio, doing some every day should be fine. Consider people who walk or bike each day as their primary mode of transportation. They're just fine, so us cardio folks will be too

DaniellePF

I'm not an expert, but I will share my recent findings.

I have never been able to take rest days. I understand what you mean 100%. I don't feel right/have a good day if I haven't gotten a good workout in. So I worked out every day.

Beginning of this week, my body shut down on me. I had "Over training Syndrome" which included not being able to move my back, my knees in horrible pain, sore throat, irritable, crying....really weird. That tapered off into laryngitis. Instead of one day off I was out of the gym for a sucky 5 days :-(.

Now I was really pushing hard as I am training to become a group exercise instructor so my situation may be a little extreme, but its an example of what can happen when you ignore your body's signals for too long--so just listen to your body.

themedalist

I have always struggled with rest days believing that since I eat everyday I should exercise everyday as well. But, particularly if you are exercising intensely or are older (such as me) rest days are really important. I now take one day a week off and sometimes two and it doesn't seem to have impacted my weight loss one bit. In fact, weighing in after a rest day is sometimes recommended, since the effects of daily exercise (the body getting stronger) can result in temporary water retention that can mask your progress.

Best wishes everyone!!

MzFury

Yeah - it is not critical to "do nothing" one day - it's not unhealthy to be active every day - people in other countries often walk one to two miles a day just getting to errands and work. What is unhealthy is overtraining, and if you are tired or run down, you should definitely allow yourself to rest. Furthermore, if you're doing a lot of interval or more intense cardio, as with resistance training, you need a rest from that. There is no reason why your "rest" or "other" day can't just have some gentle yoga, a low-training-zone steady-state cardio for even 15 minutes, or a long walk outside. Any of those sorts of things should leave you with a BIT of post-workout glow and good endorphins but without the full-throttle drive. I often have weeks where I miss it badly when I don't workout, and some where I do not take a rest day - then this past week, I've had so much craziness I only worked out once. I'm not happy about it but can cut myself a break and know I'll be back to 5 - 6 days a week next week. Anyway, in an intense week, I like to definitely do some walking and stretching and stuff on my "off" day - I just want to feel my body move and breathe.

If you feel GUILTY for not exercising, well, that's something else all together and you might want to look at that closer.

FuzzieJelly

I am no expert. I just think it is up to that individual. Everyone has different body signals and we all should pay attention to it. I rest on Sundays usually. I would say, having a rest day is very important to me. If you feel better when you work out, do it, if you feel bad about it, then go right ahead and work out. BUT if not .....then dont have any activity once in a while. ITS UP TO YOU!

Just my 2 cents.

Tara4boys

Take it from a permanently injured person... rest days are important!

Quasita

There is no rule that says have a rest day. Sure, it's important for weightlifting but the reality of it is, if you are doing that properly, as in 2-3 days a week, then you won't have to work in rest days for that.
I do 80 minutes or more of cardio 5days a week, or it's equivalent at least, so I take the other two days as "rest" days, but those days I usually do some yoga or calisthenics instead of full on working out.

It really is, to each their own, and if you feel fine doing it, great! just listen to your body and make sure you aren't ignoring the cues it gives you when you need to take a break.

Hmrjmr1

Rest day are helpful as even with cardio centric programs your body uses the rest to heal and build muscle fibers. That having been said, psychologically one or two days in seven of a good 20 min stretch (to tension not to pain) can help the mind. Consider maybe some tai chi or qigong on those days. I base this on principles learned during my time as an Army Master fitness trainer.

ctinajoy

I've been taking Sat & Sun days as rest days just because working out doesn't really fit into my schedule well those days. I DON'T feel GUILTY about it at all, but I do feel CRAPPY mood-wise and realize just how much the regular exercise has been improving my general mood during the week. I'm going to try and do some family-friendly exercise on the weekends (playing Wii or Xbox Kinect with the kids or something) and see if that helps. I also miss having those extra calories to eat-- I find that I end up eating about the same each day whether I exercise or not, so it's better to have the extra calories earned through exercise so I can stay under my calorie goal.

LauraSmyth28

I only do 40 mins of cardio a day, and this is my 22nd consecutive day (started on 1st of Jan).

It's not that I'd feel guiltly if I had a rest day, it's that working out puts me in good mood and makes me feel more energetic.
If I end up having a day where I can't work out (such as if I have a christening, wedding etc...) then that will be fine. But when I can work out, I will.

Everyone is different.

Jess5825

I usually take a rest day once per week. I had been taking Tuesday to rest, because I worked morning shifts on that day and I was always to tired after work to do anything anyways. Problem is, now I was switched to night shifts on Tuesday and I feel like I am going to feel crappy all day if I don't work out (as I've found I have been if I had taken a second day off). So maybe I'll try to do something simple like take a walk instead of my usual kick boxing. Just so I don't feel like I'm being lazy.

acasey0123

its important for a rest day your muscles need to repair themselves so they can become stronger

aippolito1

It's very important. If you're sore, you should definitely rest. If you're not working out hard enough to get sore, you should be. If you're not sore, I would say work out.

gp79

Rest days are just as important as is getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and eating balanced nutrition. Work to find a balance in these 4 areas for the best success.

pwittek10

If you workout every day your body accepts it as normal and will you will stop having results.
It is a balance of metabolism, best results, is give your body a break.
The guilty feeling doesn't go away however.
Keep up your progress, it does pay off!

thelovelyLIZ

Keep in mind your muscles grow and repair themselves while you rest, not while you work out. You need to give them that rest to repair. That's why people who lift a lot won't lift the same muscle groups every day.

MB_Positif

I don't have a technical answer, but I am just going to throw in my two cents. For most of the first 11 months I was on MFP I had (GASP) 4 rest days per week...I only had time to work out 3 days a week. By eating well and sticking to my calorie goals I still lost weight during that time. I recently became unemployed so I have a lot more time to workout now...but I still have 2 rest days. I think they are necessary so we don't become obsessive. I think that it is perfectly ok to be active on a rest day. Go for a leisurely walk, bike ride, hike, whatever. Rest day doesn't mean loaf around on the couch eating ice cream and cookies all day. Take them, and enjoy them!

Matt_Wild

Have at least 1 day off a week. You need it for muscular repair and central nervous system recovery. In a dieted state, recovery is limited and over doing it will tire you out, slow you down, make the weights you lift lighter, the cardio you do slower than optimum and increases the chance of muscular/tendon damage. It also allows a day for the body to recharge its glycogen stores which will charge the metabolism and get it releasing leptin so your metabolism doesn't get too slow.

In short, have a day off!

Loves418

I rest for two reasons the first is my body tells me too because I can't get my heart rate up to where it should be no matter how hard I push. Plus I have a bad heel spur and I need to let it rest. I try to keep my errands or the rest day so I am not just sitting all day. This way I am out and about still moving but not workout level.