Rest days - Are they important??

bfbooty
bfbooty Posts: 189 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Well as the title says, are rest days important if you are not doing very heavy workouts?

I do a mix of Insanity workouts, aerobics, combat, zumba, toning all from home i usually do about 60 mins up to sometimes 70-80 mins if i feel good enough to continue on, sometimes i only do though maybe 45 mins if i am very tired that day

I plan a rest weekend this weekend as in to take today and Sunday off as i haven't taken a rest day in 12 days, is it important that i do for weight loss?

I am already itching to get dressed and do something, i workout for more reasons than weight loss, it clears my head and gives me that bit more energy for the day and just helps me cope better with my kids e.t.c i know when my body really needs a rest and i will take a rest if my body tells me to, but i feel fine today surely it's ok to do some exercise even if it's just moderate maybe some zumba or a fast walk even?

what do you all think of rest days and the importance of them for weight loss e.t.c?

Replies

  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Depends on the person. I'm 415 days in & not one rest day. I'm not dead, still losing weight even though I'm on maintain & I'm healthy, have heaps of energy & still going great.

    But for me it's not a choice of no rest days, if I take a day off say tomorrow....then the following day I'll make an excuse not to workout. I'll then continue to make excuses till I finally stop. I break habits easily. So I have to stick to it no matter what. I've done it while ill with food poisoning..... just because I'd make an excuse. It's not a choice for me.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    If it's mostly aerobic and not high impact you don't really need a rest day, but you should listen to your body. I can't run every day because it'll **** my knees up. I probably lift too many days without a REAL rest day. I sometimes count cardio days as a rest day...
  • paulperryman
    paulperryman Posts: 839 Member
    Listen to your body, if you are always aching your body is trying to heal and or build muscles, or may not be upto the task yet and needs a rest to recoup it's not gonna stop the weight loss process if you do, you don't "have" to exercise to lose weight its mostly for building muscle and or increasing stamina, personally i do 6 days a week 60mins a day and rest atleast 1 day a week but i get really sore with my weight and level of exercise i'm pushing onto it.

    on the flipside there's no reason you have to stop if you are able to keep going, as you've probably already discovered even if you are sore, once you get going the pain goes away until you stop again so either way you're probably gonna be sore :).

    Now if a rest day means you get to have some fun doing something else then thats a bonus to the mind and spirit.
    On my rest day i still do some core training and stretching and have still gone for 40min-60min walks so not no exercise at all. Just not going to the gym and working like a maniac
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    That's all cardio so I wouldn't worry too much about it but it would still be nice to have a rest day. It depends on what the rest of your day is like. If the rest of the day is fairly low key then you're probably fine
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    If you are lifting heavy then YES rest days are so important.... active rest is good too.... just because it's a rest day does not mean you can not go for a walk or snowshoeing or swimming etc.... just something low key and enjoyable but you are still moving.

    If your exercise is mainly cardio than a rest day is not needed if you feel your body can handle it.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    I need one now and then. If I don't get one my joints start acting up and I feel too fatigued or irritable to really get a good workout. However, from what I can tell, a nice long, slow walk on a 'rest day' is fine, at least for me.
  • Pete_Mann
    Pete_Mann Posts: 94
    I actually have a rest week. I still work out that week, but I just do low impact walking. I found its a good way to reset my system and gets me back on track.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    i think it's completely subjective honestly. some people swear by rest days, and say they are absolutely necessary. i don't find that to be true at all for myself. i don't take rest days, unless i'm uber hungover or some such thing. however, mostly i just run and focus on cardio. not sure if that makes a difference. for me, though, the endorphins produced by my daily exercising are absolutely priceless and i crave the feeling on a daily basis.

    do what feels right for your body. if you find yourself itching to do something, like you mentioned, then do something. don't let some silly notion that it's necessary to rest for an entire day hold you back if you're physically and mentally jonesing for some movement.
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  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    essential regardless of training type.... theres no good reason not to give your body a chance to bounce back.... you could easily develop long term injuries that take months to manifest


    2000 calories of cardio over 2 days (very generous number) does not outweight the benefits of a 2 day rest period.


    more is not better.. more does not = faster loss...... the answer to is to work out moderately and eat moderately... extremism= failure


    if you need to workout everyday make some of it just walking... then again walking is all some people can do and they may be so outta shape that they dont have the capacity to do much damage... who knows... there is no universal answer besides, yes, rest is important
  • AA1ex
    AA1ex Posts: 223 Member
    essential regardless of training type.... theres no good reason not to give your body a chance to bounce back.... you could easily develop long term injuries that take months to manifest


    2000 calories of cardio over 2 days (very generous number) does not outweight the benefits of a 2 day rest period.


    more is not better.. more does not = faster loss...... the answer to is to work out moderately and eat moderately... extremism= failure


    if you need to workout everyday make some of it just walking... then again walking is all some people can do and they may be so outta shape that they dont have the capacity to do much damage... who knows... there is no universal answer besides, yes, rest is important

    Completely agree! This doesn't mean sit in front of a tv and eat ice cream. The rest days can be when you decide to go shopping all day or something else like that.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    ^^^ Then give your wallet a rest and get back in the gym :P
  • FindingMyself24
    FindingMyself24 Posts: 613 Member
    For me rest was very important. I do turbo fire 6 days a week. I also started doing weight lifting three of those days. At one point I was so on edge about losing this weight I did not let my body rest. I was good on my diet and everything. I just wasnt losing any weight. I was just so tired all the time. One day I just decided to do nothing but spend time with my kids. The next day I some how lost 3 pounds. Weird. Sometimes rest can be a good thing. It really depends on you and your body though.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    If you train correctly, a rest day is as important as a training day no matter what sort of exercise you do.
  • Markguns
    Markguns Posts: 554 Member
    If you train correctly, a rest day is as important as a training day no matter what sort of exercise you do.

    Bump ... Yes you need to take a break form training, no matter what the training is. So Rest.
  • April_Christine
    April_Christine Posts: 66 Member
    Great topic! Since I have tennis elbow and cannot lift heavier weights I rely on circuit videos. I usually get 4-5 days in M-F (not this past week tho) and take the weekends off. I often wondered if I *needed* more rest during the week. Weeekend workouts are usually out for me...so I must do them M-F.

    Thanks for posting this!
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
    I personally don't care what exercise anybody does, rest IS important.
    For your joints, for recovery, to "reset"
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    When I quit smoking I took up running as my new addiction. I found that once I was able to run more that 1/4 mile with out passing out :wink: I felt like a big, fat boss! I couldn't stop running. I ran every single day with out fail rain or shine. I began getting some stress fractures from never resting (according to the podiatrist). I finally had to force myself to take a day off now and then. As time went on I did eventually go back to running rain or shine again. But it didn't seem to bother me for some reason. I think it depends on what you are doing and how you are doing it. I think I was able to get back to running everyday because I would have a day or two of light running. I would run maybe just 2 miles then walk the rest.
  • rocket_ace
    rocket_ace Posts: 380 Member
    i think you need to just listen to your body - sometimes my legs or another part are just screaming for rest...other days I'm mentally fatigued...in such cases it helps to change it up or rest. its a long term thing, so don't be afraid of it, but if you don't feel you need it I see no necessity.
  • AA1ex
    AA1ex Posts: 223 Member
    ^^^ Then give your wallet a rest and get back in the gym :P

    Window shopping doesn't cost a dime! Also it is a great way to inspire some on their days off for what they want to wear/ do once they reach a goal. I guess it isn't the same for guys..... :P
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    I mainly cardio train as I am a runner, but i make sure to smatter my week with some strength stuff. Some spells I go 10-12 with no rest day and usually feel pretty pooped. When I am specifically training for a race I make sure that I have rest days...one or two a week depending on what the week's workouts looked like. Yesterday was a rest day but we took the kids to a museum and walked all day. It did not feel like rest. If I had gotten home earlier I may have gone for a short 2 mile slow run but I didn't. I walked for hours...at kid pace but I walked. I seldom take a rest day unless sick where I actually do nothing. I even consider that my job as a teacher in a huge school in which I walk over 2 miles a day just in the hallways (a few of us teachers logged it once) to be active rest if I am really feeling the need.

    Not everyone needs the same kind of rest. On a 20 mile run day I take a nap at some point and look forward to the Monday rest day...when I am not running 20 milers sometimes I skip the Monday rest day all together in favor of yoga, walk, and some dancing with the kids.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    Active rest is a perfect description of my plan (thank you!). I don't exercise one day a week, but then I do gardening which is still a nice workout.
  • bfbooty
    bfbooty Posts: 189 Member
    thanks everyone for the input :-)

    when i do take a rest day it's not a day of nothing, that is never possible with 3 smallies to look after 24/7 lol i usually end up blitzing the bedrooms or something so i'm generally always busy

    My body rarely aches anymore, i think i need to try add some kind of strength training in just not sure exactly how to do that from home?? i have a small set of dunbells and i do a bit with them but they are not much the heaviest being 1.5kg i was thinking of getting some kettlebells and adding them into my workouts

    anyway decided to take today off i was feeling fine this morning initially but as the morning went on felt more and more tired could easily go to sleep right now am shattered so rest day it is today :-)

    thanks again

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