Is rest day important?

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mariamwhatandwhy
mariamwhatandwhy Posts: 59 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a beginner, and today is gonna be my fifth day of going to the gym.
I was wondering, if it's absolutely necessary to take a rest day?
And if so, just one or should I take two?
Also, would a cheat meal completely ruin what I'm doing? And should it be on the rest day or...?
Completely helpless

Replies

  • kahicky
    kahicky Posts: 11 Member
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    I take rest days depending on how my body is feeling but on those rest days i still will do some light cardio like 30 min on a eliptical or go for a walk, but i dont push myself hard, it helps me mentallly more then anything
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    You should take a rest day, yes. If not your body won't have enough time for recovery and healing and you will leave yourself open to injury, which is NOT what you want. I personally would take 2 rest days, but you should have at least 1.

    A cheat meal can only ruin things if you let it. Even if it's a cheat, you should still track your calories. You can have it whenever you like though, that's purely up to you.
  • BlessedOne2019
    BlessedOne2019 Posts: 41 Member
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    In my own experience and everything I have read, it is very necessary to schedule those rest days. And sometimes even unscheduled ones. Like Ninkyou said, you need time to recover and muscles to heal before pushing again. Injury will only slow you down, and if you are anything like I am, you are not exercising so hard because it is just the funnest thing in the world, but because you need to. Since I started working out regularly this year, I have been taking 2 days for every 7. Sometimes not together, other times in a row. It just depends on how hard you've been working out. If I do a HIIT workout, I wait 2 days before working out again, because I just worked all the muscles in my body so hard. I hope that helps!
  • IzzyBooNZ1
    IzzyBooNZ1 Posts: 1,289 Member
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    for me, yes a rest day is important not just to let my body recover but also mentally as well. I just need a day where I just chill at home and at the most take my dogs for a short walk.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
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    yes. you need rest days. at least one. It can always be "Active" rest - you don't need to sit on your *kitten* at home just because you're "resting" - do your normal stuff go for a nice walk (not a power walk) and just you know - normal stuff... rest does not equal do nothing. But if you want to do nothing too - then that's fine also. Some days I am so buggered from going beastmode at the gym that even a 'nice walk' doesn't sound appealing!
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    edited November 2015
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    mariamwhatandwhy wrote: »
    I'm a beginner, and today is gonna be my fifth day of going to the gym.
    I was wondering, if it's absolutely necessary to take a rest day?

    You didn't tell us what you're doing at the gym.

    If you're seriously lifting with a full-body routine, then yes, you do. You lift to tear the muscle fibers and then they grow back, and stronger, on rest days & sleep time.

    If you're using endurance machines or something, eh, it doesn't really matter. Skip a day if you're tired/sickly, it's fine.
    Also, would a cheat meal completely ruin what I'm doing?

    Nothing completely anything, there's just more effective and less effective for whatever your goal is. There are no absolutes here. If you're trying to cut bodyfat, and your TDEE is 1500, and then you eat 3000 calories in one day - yes, that will mess up your progress. It will take you longer to make it.

    If you're trying to put on muscle, and your TDEE is 1500, and you eat 3000 calories in one day - good job! (ok, exaggerated to make my point).


    SUPER BONUS EDIT - OK, I just looked at your profile and you're wanting to cut 7 pounds. Yeah, cheat meals will slow you down. Might I suggest looking up the calorie banking method, as well as calorie cycling? There are a bunch of threads here about them. It means you're more flexible in your eating, where some days you eat more, and sometimes less. But the average calorie intake is downward, and thus you still lose fat. This is a better solution than throwing your hands up, and going "Cheat meal!" and hoping for the best.
  • Lynzdee18
    Lynzdee18 Posts: 500 Member
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    Yes. A rest day is important for me. I play pickleball most days, for at least an hour. I get up at 5:15 and walk 30 min to the gym and back, four days a week, to do 30 min of elliptical and about 20 minutes of circuit training. I take Wednesday off, and try to walk an hour both Saturday and Sunday. I don't believe a walk constitutes exercise, really.... I sleep in Wednesday, usually to 7 am. If I don't take that break, after two weeks, of everyday workouts, I am exhausted and uninspired to continue.... But you need to figure out your own rhythm....
  • tiffanyaiv
    tiffanyaiv Posts: 107 Member
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    I haven't taken a rest day in years and I feel great :) depends on your body and how quickly you recover and well your nutrition is I suppose :)
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    Most of my life (the active portions of it), I didn't take rest days and no harm was done. In recent years I have strains and sprains galore. Just in the last few months i have finally started taking rest days. I'd say that you should listen to your body.
  • Al48feelingreat
    Al48feelingreat Posts: 36 Member
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    Lol

    Depends on intensity

    If you go 100% then yes if your training at anything up to say 60-70% intensity daily training is fine
    Best regards
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    yes, it gives your body time to recover. but a rest day doesn't have to mean sitting on the couch. it could be a gentle hike, yoga, pilates, or other low key activities
  • _Bropollo_
    _Bropollo_ Posts: 168 Member
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    Why you need rest day, summed up in one picture:

    11288094_361510304047240_857999338_n.jpg
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,476 Member
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    feisty_bucket wrote: »
    mariamwhatandwhy wrote: »
    I'm a beginner, and today is gonna be my fifth day of going to the gym.
    I was wondering, if it's absolutely necessary to take a rest day?

    You didn't tell us what you're doing at the gym.

    If you're seriously lifting with a full-body routine, then yes, you do. You lift to tear the muscle fibers and then they grow back, and stronger, on rest days & sleep time.

    If you're using endurance machines or something, eh, it doesn't really matter. Skip a day if you're tired/sickly, it's fine.
    This.
    If you're doing heavy lifting then a few rest days a week are probably needed.
    If it's just endurance work then it might be beneficial to take off 1 day/week

    Also don't do 'cheat meals' or 'cheat days'. Make what you want to eat fit into your daily calorie allotment.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    In general, yes...but it also depends on what exactly you're doing and what level of fitness you are at. For example, someone who is very unfit may need to take rest days from things as light as walking because their body's simply aren't used to it while someone who is fit may very well use their rest day(s) to walk or do some recovery yoga, etc.

    You also have to consider the intensity of the work you're doing as well as the kind of work you're doing. Weight training for example should include plenty of rest...you don't want to train the same muscles day in and day out and you don't want to train them on consecutive days because you'd be negating recovery. As a matter of general fitness, most people can lift on lifting days and do some cardio on non-lifting days, but many people who are deliberately training for the purpose of gaining mass or strength training for an event or something will inevitably reduce cardio to almost nill to optimize recovery.

    As a matter of general fitness, I think it's equally important to stagger your days where workout intensity is concerned...meaning you're not going full tilt every single day...this also aids in recovery. As an example, I'll illustrate a typical week for myself:

    Sunday: Long ride (moderate intensity)
    Monday: easy flat ride (light intensity)
    Tuesday: climbing (hill) rides AM/lifting PM (high intensity day)
    Wednesday: easy flat ride (light intensity)
    Thursday: tempo ride AM/lifting PM (moderate - high intensity day)
    Friday: rest (walk the dog, do some recovery yoga, etc)
    Saturday: Lifting (moderate to high intensity depending on whether I'm working with coach or not)

    If I'm feeling that my body needs some extra rest, I will usually drop my Wednesday ride for a rest day as well. Sometimes I even take a rest week...like this week, I've been fighting a pretty nasty upper respiratory infection...time for a week of to recover and get well so I can go kick some more *kitten* sooner rather than later.

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