Day of Rest?

vikingchix

Question....How important is a day or two of rest? My routine is to bike anywhere between 9-13 miles per day....I am really trying not to skip days, but wonder if I should be allowing for a day or two of rest?

julesan902

Rest day is just as important as exercising. Your muscles don't grow at the gym, they grow after the gym when you rest. Same applies to burning fat. And if your biking that much, I can assume you're building a good amount of muscle. Muscle helps in burning fat, so, rest is paramount.

Philllbis

Rest day is just as important as exercising. Your muscles don't grow at the gym, they grow after the gym when you rest. Same applies to burning fat. And if your biking that much, I can assume you're building a good amount of muscle. Muscle helps in burning fat, so, rest is paramount.

I was also working out 7 days a week. I'm now trying to drop my body fat %. I've been at 13% for what seems like forever. Due to having a cold and work responsibilities I've had to take a rest day here and there. Finally, my body fat % is in the 12% range.

samlankford

I TRY to rest for 1 day a week.. its hard to do when you KNOW you can workout, but it is best to have 1-2 days of rest when you can

josavage

I usually only take 2-3 days off a month. I have two dogs that need to be walked every day so even on my days off, I am still active. My walks are usually longer on those rest days. The important thing is that you rest from biking. There is no reason why you can't take a walk, do some yoga, swim, etc. on your rest days from biking. It also wouldn't hurt to throw in some strength training.

ZudiLo

Question....How important is a day or two of rest? My routine is to bike anywhere between 9-13 miles per day....I am really trying not to skip days, but wonder if I should be allowing for a day or two of rest?

I've read in numerous articles that rest is vital. You won't see any muscle growth if you don't give it time to rest.

katieto130

Yes, you should allow at least one rest day a week. I have been training for a marathon (my 10th). I typically run or cross-train 6 days a week. Your body needs recovery. Like the other post said, it is just as important as the exercise!

Jeneba

I have been doing 6 days of elliptical and 3 days of heavy lifting. If I don't do the elliptical, I feel HORRIBLE. But I am starting to feel all run down and have a low grade cold. My ego says IGNORE IT, but my body is far wiser and is FORCING me to rest. The problem is that I have to eat 1200 calories or less or I will gain weight.... There is no easy answer.

Ke22yB

I am a beginning runner and run 5 or 6 days a week I dont always rest on the off days I belong to a fitness class that does lite hand weights and stretch bands so every day is something but not the SAME thing

BrianSharpe

Biking is one of the few activities that you can do 7 days a week but at least one of those days should be a lower intensity. Recovery days are absolutely essential for activities where tissue damage is part of the process (lifting heavy weights, running), having said that a recovery day doesn't mean sitting on your butt watching TV - it can include walking, lower intensity running, swimming, biking etc. Here's an item in Runners World about a guy who has run a least a mile a day for over 40 years - http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--9700-0,00.html

nml2011

OP is on a calorie deficit and eating 1200 cals a day so isn't building any muscle and would need to be doing weights rather than just cardio.

If you are only doing 9 -13 miles a day then take a break when you feel like it but isn't necessarily required when only doing short distances.

Are you cycling 7 days a week or just Monday to Friday?

Tilran

Biking is one of the few activities that you can do 7 days a week but at least one of those days should be a lower intensity. Recovery days are absolutely essential for activities where tissue damage is part of the process (lifting heavy weights, running), having said that a recovery day doesn't mean sitting on your butt watching TV - it can include walking, lower intensity running, swimming, biking etc. Here's an item in Runners World about a guy who has run a least a mile a day for over 40 years - http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--9700-0,00.html

^^ This.

To add...rest days/recover days are meant as alot of people have said to let your muscles have a chance to repair themselves. That being said. Certain things wear your muscles more than others. You could easily go many more days in a row biking/elliptical/swimming than you could doing weight lifting. If you are weight lifting, you want to give the muscle group you just worked out, a minimum of 1 day rest before you engage them again.

Noone can tell you the magic number of work days before you rest, listen to your body...when it screams at you and you feel like you can only half *kitten* it at the gym...its time for rest.

jacksonpt

Personally, I think people make too big of a deal of "rest days", or at the very least run to the "you need rest days" mantra too quickly.

Long term, you need to allow your body to recover. But recovery is different for everyone, and impacted by genetics, sleep, diet, intensity of the workout, etc.

If you feel strong, go for it. When you start to feel run down (which is different than tired), take a break.

Jeneba

@Tilran - Yes, the body is screaming! Good point!
@Jackson - you are right about feeling run down!

I am going to try to do some low intensity recumbent bike tonight and HOPE to be back in the gym tomorrow morning!

Thanks to OP & everyone else for helping me to trust my common sense!

vikingchix

Thanks everyone.....I appreciate all the feedback.

I know that my journal shows that I am generally not eating all my calories each day.....but...I like to keep a little "padding" as I think that the exercise counter sometimes may overestimate the number calories burned, and since I am not weighing my foods, I may underestimate the calories I take in.

Based on my weight loss rate.....which is pretty slow....about a pound a week or so....I think I am on the right track.

I do eventually want to incorporate some strength training into my routine....but for now, I am trying to build healthy habits. I am biking nearly every day of the week.....Since I am outside, some days are tougher than others....Been windy as all heck here and that is kicking my butt....so the distance is not as far....but the time is about the same. I have missed a couple of days here and there....but....really want to not slack off.

Thanks again!
Jill