Rest Days

reggie2run

Do you think taking a rest day...no exercise....say once a week is important...for the body for recovery time?
Does the body need it, especially if you're doing a lot of cardio?
Or is this just a myth; and the body can take what you throw at it and it learns to adapt?
What do you think?

SteveTries

I think there are many dimensions to consider before you could answer that.

You could be doing many different types of exercise that stress the body in a different way (e.g. a weight training split programme or a cardio programme based around alternating running, cycling, swimming etc) and so there is ample time for recovery for each bodypart before it is stressed again. In that case I see no need at all to have a day where you just sit on the couch. The food dimension is important too of course. Even if you were challenging different parts of the body, if you're in a calorie defecit because you are trying to lose weight then I think there's probably an overall fatigue involved so yeah you should rest - just an opinion, I've not researched the science.

My current exercise regime is based around running and thai boxing solely. I alternate slow runs with faster runs and sprint intervals accross the week. This puts quite a stress on my legs as can the thai boxing depending on what we are working in a given session so for me, I need to rest my legs a couple days a week. Even then I'm probably overtraining them.

BazAbroad

I think rotating the body parts exercised is the way to go, I sometimes force myself to have a rest day and normally that rest day gives me better results in the gym the next day.
I think its up to the individual.
Being active on your rest day may just be enough to keep you happy.