Rest Days.. Do you need them?
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Rest days are an integral part of my fitness regimen...they are just as important as the actual work I put in...rest days allow me to recover and repair which in turn allows me to make fitness gains and become even more bad *kitten*...0
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Thank you! I work a different muscle group every day, and run about 5k. If a particular muscle feels overworked, I try to avoid training it until it feels better. I am not new to this, I have be regularly working out and training for 4+ years.
I "feel guilty" because I don't want to take rest days just because people are telling me I should. But, I was being told that not taking at least one total rest day every couple weeks would cause my body to release stress hormones that would make my body hold onto fat. However, I would rather save these rest days in case I become sick or something happens in my life that prevents me from being able to workout. It's a little annoying that people are trying to diagnose me with a disorder. You hardly know enough about me to make such statements, and that's not something you should throw around so lightly.
It doesn't work like that... You can't 'save' rest days. As someone has said, your muscles repair when you rest. A good exercise routine includes adequate rest days.0 -
I have a true rest day 1 day a week. However, I didn't start doing this from doing no exercise at all. Also, I've adjusted my macros accordingly to ensure I'm getting enough fuel for my body.0
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qn4bx9pzg8aifd wrote: »In addition to noticing improvement and fitness gains when incorporating one rest day per week, I've been surprised by how much an occasional 2-3 days of rest results in my being stronger and having more stamina afterwards, when resuming workout-based physical activity.
To an extent, I suppose it could be considered somewhat obvious that rest (in addition to sleep) would end up being a kind of 'refresher' of sorts, when it comes to muscle... and I'm definitely familiar with what happens (heart rate -wise, perceived exertion -wise, and stamina-wise) if/when I don't have enough rest (or sleep).
As much as various aspects of what-rest-can-do-for-any-given-individual would undoubtedly be a function of many specifics associated with their body, as well as the nature of how, and to what extent, they engage in physical activity (among so much else)... my reality happens to involve an as-per-online-calculator 'fitness age' of someone half my age, along with physical activity that includes a good dose of cardio+strength combination activity on a stepmill as well as a stepper/climber, and those sporadic 2-3 days-in-a-row of rest that happen now and then seem to allow my body to engage in some kind of additional anabolic 'housekeeping' of sorts, given the nature of what I notice when resuming my workouts.
And the 'difference' always surprises me, as I anticipate the opposite -- I expect to have potentially deconditioned a bit, etc., but end up having 'gained'/'improved', and in ways that can seem counterintuitive -- but when I think about it, I can also see the logic in why such multiple days of rest could plausibly result in improvement. It feels as though my 'understanding' of this is stuck in a kind of logical quicksand, given that one could fashion an argument for 'what would happen if' that involves either of two seemingly conflicting outcomes (my mind feels as though it's about to implode, just pondering the myriad possibilities
).
Regardless, I will absolutely allow my body rest days (and even if the 'majority' of any such day ends up feeling more like a day of mental rest). Additionally, I track enough aspects, and notice how my body 'feels', and performs, to know that I actually improve, physically, strength-wise, and stamina-wise, in conjunction with sporadic spans of 2-3 sequential rest days -- and even if I don't ever end up knowing various specifics as to why, the empirical 'evidence' has provided consistent enough 'proof' for me to 'go with it', and to 'not sweat it' (no pun intended ).
Really useful answer. Thanks!0 -
Thank you! I work a different muscle group every day, and run about 5k. If a particular muscle feels overworked, I try to avoid training it until it feels better. I am not new to this, I have be regularly working out and training for 4+ years.
Unless you are training for a marathon/triathlon, doing cardio everyday isn't going to lead to overtraining. Overtraining is from extreme exertion day after day without recovery. So unless you're doing an all out sprint 5k every day, you're likely okay!
Sounds like you have a good plan for the strength training. Maybe consider switching up your program every 4-6weeks and do 45-60mins weight training and 15-30mins of cardio. Another method that may work for you is adding cardio (like jump rope) between your sets/workouts while you're strength training.I "feel guilty" because I don't want to take rest days just because people are telling me I should.
Your body will tell you when you should. If you start noticing that you can't lift as heavy, or as many reps, and it's not just an off day, that's one sign you need rest.But, I was being told that not taking at least one total rest day every couple weeks would cause my body to release stress hormones that would make my body hold onto fat.
That sounds to me like somebody taking a generalized observation and applying it to every situation without proper examination of the variables.
The hormone you are speaking of is cortisol. There's a lot of biochemistry about cortisol's influence on the body, way more than most people care about. Cortisol is a necessary hormone to regulate your body's functions. Yes, if your cortisol levels are too high, your body will be more catabolic (breakdown muscle tissue/store fats). However, there have been no studies that have confirmed that high levels of cortisol turn carbohydrates into fats more than normal levels of cortisol. People just tend to eat more when they are stressed, and when you're stressed, your body has elevated cortisol levels (it's an adrenal hormone) - but correlation does not equal causation.
If you're truly concerned about your cortisol levels and over training, go get blood work and have your cortisol levels checked. There are many factors that influence cortisol levels outside of training.However, I would rather save these rest days in case I become sick or something happens in my life that prevents me from being able to workout.
Unfortunately, you can't "save" rest days. Your muscles can't just exhaust themselves and wait to repair until you're sick or unable to workout. It's just best to work different muscle groups and let your muscles recover/rest while you're doing some other workout (see my chest/back example above).It's a little annoying that people are trying to diagnose me with a disorder. You hardly know enough about me to make such statements, and that's not something you should throw around so lightly.
Just ignore it.0 -
It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.0
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Rest days are bulk days in more ways than one... I have a physical job and active hobbies. I normally spend 6-8 hours a day on me feet, minimum, and will typically burn 1500-2000 calories over my BMR.
When I don't get much activity, say I'm on a roadtrip or get sucked into a video game, my appetite doesn't decrease at all. In fact, it can increase. And just eating the same amount as usual would be gaining half a pound of fat every day.0 -
contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
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motorsportcfd wrote: »contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?
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motorsportcfd wrote: »contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
Feelings of actual guilt for taking a rest day or missing a workout or whatever doesn't exactly scream healthy relationship with fitness...0 -
brianpperkins wrote: »motorsportcfd wrote: »contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?
I concede that could be a valid point.0 -
I workout 6 days a week and don't feel guilty at all about my rest day.0
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brianpperkins wrote: »motorsportcfd wrote: »contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?
I say "guilty" lightly. It's not extreme nor is it self hate based. I don't feel the need to restrict my calories or work extra hard the following day. It's like... the way I feel if I should clean my room and I decide to watch netflix instead. Like, "Oh crap, probably should have done more today" guilt.. not "I am a pathetic failure of a human" guilt.
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brianpperkins wrote: »motorsportcfd wrote: »contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?
I say "guilty" lightly. It's not extreme nor is it self hate based. I don't feel the need to restrict my calories or work extra hard the following day. It's like... the way I feel if I should clean my room and I decide to watch netflix instead. Like, "Oh crap, probably should have done more today" guilt.. not "I am a pathetic failure of a human" guilt.
Words mean things. The fact you find a need to backtrack from your word choice is revealing.0 -
Today was my rest day. Not sure if it was needed, but damn that felt good! Mentally feel recharged that's for sure.
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brianpperkins wrote: »brianpperkins wrote: »motorsportcfd wrote: »contingencyplan wrote: »It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.
What evidence are you basing this on?
Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?
I say "guilty" lightly. It's not extreme nor is it self hate based. I don't feel the need to restrict my calories or work extra hard the following day. It's like... the way I feel if I should clean my room and I decide to watch netflix instead. Like, "Oh crap, probably should have done more today" guilt.. not "I am a pathetic failure of a human" guilt.
Words mean things. The fact you find a need to backtrack from your word choice is revealing.
I am not backtracking, I'm clarifying. I do feel guilty, but the guilt is not so intense that I feel my relationship with exercising is disordered in any way. I like to feel like I have accomplished all I can in a day, so if at the end of the day I feel I could have or should have done more, I feel a bit of guilt. This extends to all areas of my life. I don't think about exercising and burning calories every moment of my day. If I felt like I needed to rest or if something came up that needed my complete attention, I would not feel bad about skipping the gym. I just don't want to take a rest day if it's not beneficial or necessary. I enjoy working out, and it's something I look forward to.0 -
Do whatever you want.
You say one thing, when numerous people highlight what you say, you try to rationalize it away. You're not getting the results you hope for ... you feel guilt (no matter how much you try to dismiss what that really means) ... I would wish you good luck, but your choices make that impossible.
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Thank you.
After everything I have read.. I think I will shift my workouts to be more strength focused, rather than mostly cardio, and keep alternating which muscle I train each day so that I don't train the same one two days in a row. Hopefully I will see more muscle gains with this method.
Thanks again to everyone who helped with my questions!
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Thank you.
After everything I have read.. I think I will shift my workouts to be more strength focused, rather than mostly cardio, and keep alternating which muscle I train each day so that I don't train the same one two days in a row. Hopefully I will see more muscle gains with this method.
Thanks again to everyone who helped with my questions!
One guy mentioned earlier in the thread that he has more rest days than training days. That's really not a bad way to go because the added recovery is good and if your nutrition is on-point then your weight will be fine. One of the best things I did was take my training down from 5-days, to 4-days, and now just 3-days which I'm finding to be an optimal amount of volume and recovery for me. One other day usually for some cardio and that's it, enjoy life. 0
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