Rest Days?

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twocsmom
twocsmom Posts: 120 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How often do you take a rest day? And what do you consider a "rest day"-complete break from workouts? A different workout? I'm guilty of not taking rest days and am going to try to force myself to take rest days this time around...but because I've always just plowed through my week and worked out every day I'm curious as to what others have done...

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    What type of workout we talkin?
  • scottacular
    scottacular Posts: 597 Member
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    Rest days are good, they help you recover properly so when you are exercising you can give it everything you've got rather than going into it depleted.
  • ameliajane90
    ameliajane90 Posts: 24 Member
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    I lift 3 days a week + Cardio, 2 days of just pure cardio and then 2 days are 'rest days'. Even on my rest days though I try and get my steps in (11,000 /5 miles:I have short legs!) with my FitBit.
  • DaneanP
    DaneanP Posts: 433 Member
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    I LOVE rest days! This is because I am old and my body gets very sore and cranky with my workouts. I take 2 rest days a week. I run and do circuit training on the 5 days that I do work out.
  • twocsmom
    twocsmom Posts: 120 Member
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    scottacular wrote: »
    Rest days are good, they help you recover properly so when you are exercising you can give it everything you've got rather than going into it depleted.

    From a logical standpoint I know and understand this...I've got some fixin to do in the way my mind operates when it comes to this concept :\
  • twocsmom
    twocsmom Posts: 120 Member
    edited March 2015
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    DavPul wrote: »
    What type of workout we talkin?

    Right now mostly cardio (elliptical) and walking/jogging around the neighborhood. I try to get in 5-10 miles between the two combined. I want to start doing some weights as well...but can't afford the gym and not sure where to begin at home...

    I know I need some diversity in my workouts, but I'm somewhat limitted due to back problems.

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Elliptical and walking don't need rest days unless you're going crazy hard or long. Your jogging description is vague, but doesn't sound too intense. Don't try to jog/run everyday, even if it's relatively light.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
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    One day either Sunday or Monday.
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
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    Two rest days a week for me!
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 599 Member
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    I do HIIT (high intensity interval training....you should look into this as they are easy to do at home and very "modify-able for your level or back issues), treadmill and elliptical (also using an HIIT approach). I don't take rest days - BUT, I have a big old dog and take him for hikes in the woods several times per week for at least 45 min. These walks are good "rests", especially if I am feeling a bit of soreness.

    Personally, I am of the mindset that I need to do something every day, otherwise I feel crappy. Even a 10 min jog or 30 min yoga is better than nothing. My goal is to do 40 min of something every day but I do not beat myself up if I only manage 30 min.

    Everyone is different. I am 50 and relatively fit. I have a busy and stressful job, so I only have time for shorter programs, so they must be effective. I also have quite a bit of joint pain and I feel that working out and the hikes keep me limber.

    Finally, I border on obsessive with logging my food intake using MFP to control my weight. A major reason that I exercise every day is so that I can eat a bit more within my calorie range. I have to eat less on a Rest Day and I don't like that!
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    My rest days are really walk-4 -or-5 miles days (which I also do on weight training days). Maybe every couple of weeks I will have a really inactive day but it's not planned - just happens due to obligations for the day. Mostly I train with weights for full body workouts M-W-F but if I have really hit it hard, I allow an extra recovery day (this 64 year old body doesn't bounce back so fast sometimes lol) - so last week for example, it was two grueling weight sessions and 5 days of walking - 33 miles for the week.
  • twocsmom
    twocsmom Posts: 120 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    Elliptical and walking don't need rest days unless you're going crazy hard or long. Your jogging description is vague, but doesn't sound too intense. Don't try to jog/run everyday, even if it's relatively light.

    Jogging description is vague because my jogging is vague! LOL...it's definitely not intense but it's a goal I have, though something I struggle with because of my back so it's usually short stretches with walking in between A couple years ago I got to where I could run 5 miles, and then my feet starting going numb. Turns out all that pounding does not bode well for two herniated discs. :/ So I do what I can when I can.

    I usually stay on the elliptical for 60+ minutes on a good day. My walks are fast paced, but not exhaustingly so...


  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I schedule one rest day on my longest/most pain in the butt day of work. So I come home and do nothing. And a second day of nothing as well. It's awesome.

    When I first started I felt guilty on rest days. So naive then.
  • twocsmom
    twocsmom Posts: 120 Member
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    spzjlb wrote: »
    I do HIIT (high intensity interval training....you should look into this as they are easy to do at home and very "modify-able for your level or back issues), treadmill and elliptical (also using an HIIT approach). I don't take rest days - BUT, I have a big old dog and take him for hikes in the woods several times per week for at least 45 min. These walks are good "rests", especially if I am feeling a bit of soreness.

    Personally, I am of the mindset that I need to do something every day, otherwise I feel crappy. Even a 10 min jog or 30 min yoga is better than nothing. My goal is to do 40 min of something every day but I do not beat myself up if I only manage 30 min.

    Everyone is different. I am 50 and relatively fit. I have a busy and stressful job, so I only have time for shorter programs, so they must be effective. I also have quite a bit of joint pain and I feel that working out and the hikes keep me limber.

    Finally, I border on obsessive with logging my food intake using MFP to control my weight. A major reason that I exercise every day is so that I can eat a bit more within my calorie range. I have to eat less on a Rest Day and I don't like that!

    This is my mindset as well. When I first lost all of my weight I was working out daily, and many people chastised me for never taking a rest day but I felt awful if I didn't exercise in some way, shape, or form. And I do love food...and want to be able to enjoy it so the daily workouts allowed me to do so. I take my big dog for a walk daily, but we are in the city. Would love to be able to walk her for 45 minutes daily in the mountains-that'd be heaven on Earth! I know that my lack of rest days the previous time around isn't the only reason that I gave up and gained back the weight (there was a lot going on during that year and a half...) but I just wondered if it was a part of it.
  • loconnor466
    loconnor466 Posts: 215 Member
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    Im not sure light jogging and elliptical need rest days. You definitely need rest days if you are lifting heavy. I do a progressive lifting program 3x per week and need those rest days where I only do walking.
  • krissyreminisce
    krissyreminisce Posts: 284 Member
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    I have one rest day a week. Five days a week I'm running (2 half marathons are creeping up on me!), one day I crosstrain on the elliptical, and all six days I strength train. One day a week, I don't do any exercise.
  • alathIN
    alathIN Posts: 142 Member
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    In my fitness group, we have recovery periods built into every workout. We also have "recovery week" every third week, where we reduce volume by about 30% and it is mostly low intensity. (We also have "medium week" and "big week.)

    It is during recovery that you actually build fitness. Stress - adapt. If you never get any rest, you never adapt. It's a great recipe for frustration and injury.
  • water_coloured
    water_coloured Posts: 81 Member
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    I lift 3-4 days a week, and I rest the other days. Sometimes I'll do light cardio, but normally it's just a full rest.
  • SonofNorthernDarkness
    SonofNorthernDarkness Posts: 64 Member
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    I wish i took rest days
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited March 2015
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    60+ minutes a day on the elliptical? Yeah, you should be taking a rest day. Your heart is a muscle, too. Increases in cardio fitness ALSO come during recovery time. :) It will also help prevent overuse injuries from the repetitive motion of the elliptical. (And to all the naysayers--I've gotten overuse injuries from 45 min/day on the elliptical. It can happen.)

    However, "rest day" doesn't have to mean sitting on your butt! I take an active rest day every week. That usually means an easy swim, but I have also done a long leisurely (3.5 mph) walk with a friend or talking to my mom on the phone, a yoga class, or something random like a go-round at the roller rink for a friend's kid's birthday party. It's a great *mental* break for me as well--a chance to reinforce that moving around is a healthy part of life and enjoyable in its own right, not just as either training for a race or a justification to eat more.

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