When to take rest days

luvsubrooke
luvsubrooke Posts: 85 Member
edited November 27 in Fitness and Exercise
I usually run 4-6 miles per day, but today my hip/inner thigh is killing me. I stretch properly and my balance during running is well maintained. Is this my body telling me I need to take a day to rest? How often should I be taking rest days?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I usually take 1-2 rest days per week.

    keep in mind that a rest day doesn't mean you have to be sitting around doing nothing. i'm still pretty active on my rest days. I walk the dog and usually do some yoga on my rest days. I will also go out on a family recreational bike ride...hang out and walk around the zoo with my kids...play in the park...do yard work, etc.

    it's important to let your body recover...I don't think of them so much as rest days as I do recovery days and they are just as integral to my fitness regimen as the work.
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
    I hit the gym 4-5 days a week. I take at least a couple of days off each week, but I do also walk the dog on those days also and she really likes to go fast for a walk.

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  • KatyP86
    KatyP86 Posts: 164 Member
    Most weeks I workout 5 days and rest 2 days. I don't think you should or that you need to workout 7 days a week. Just stay active the days you don't run but give your body some rest too.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited December 2015
    If you're not just exercising but training, don't do it more than every other day; you don't build up your strength during the training, you build up strength between training sessions.

    If you're not training but exercising, you can do it more often once your body is used to that level of exertion.

    In either case, soreness is fine, pain is bad. If you're really in pain, you should take it easy until you recover, as otherwise you're likely to exacerbate the injury.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    edited December 2015
    luvsubrooke wrote: »
    I usually run 4-6 miles per day, but today my hip/inner thigh is killing me. I stretch properly and my balance during running is well maintained. Is this my body telling me I need to take a day to rest? How often should I be taking rest days?

    Hard to tell if you are just doing base miles, or if some days you increase intensity. Regardless, read up on the "training effect". It's hard to imagine any running (or cycling) program that doesn't include at least one day per week of no running (or no cycling).

    Most importantly is to take care of your hip/thigh pain. Figure out what the injury is and allow it to heal. Then work on preventing it from happening again.

  • Heatherthecyclist
    Heatherthecyclist Posts: 41 Member
    Rest days aren't essential every week. I train twice a day (duathlete) and don't generally ever take rest days.

    However, if you are injured or feeling really ill there is no point training through it, sit on the sofa for a bit!!!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    How long have you been running for?

    Lots of seasoned marathon runners will run every day (sometimes twice) leading up to a race. On the other had, if you're fairly new to running (and asking this question makes me think this may be the case) running every day is an invitation to an overuse injury.

    Recovery days, especially when fairly new to running or significantly increasing your distances, are important but they can be active recovery days (walking, swimming, cycling etc etc)
  • luvsubrooke
    luvsubrooke Posts: 85 Member
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    How long have you been running for?

    Lots of seasoned marathon runners will run every day (sometimes twice) leading up to a race. On the other had, if you're fairly new to running (and asking this question makes me think this may be the case) running every day is an invitation to an overuse injury.

    Recovery days, especially when fairly new to running or significantly increasing your distances, are important but they can be active recovery days (walking, swimming, cycling etc etc)

    I was running 10-12 miles per day in April, and then I started traveling a lot and completely stopped running. I'm building my endurance back up but I run at least 6 days a week. Some days I will run 7-8 miles at no incline and other days it'll be 3-5 at a 10% incline, and let me tell you, that's so much harder on me than running the 7-8 miles! I'm constantly changing it up bc I want both endurance and performance. I've noticed that my inner thigh on my right side feels like it has a pinched nerve, but it goes away when I run. If I try walking up hill it kills me. I took a rest day yesterday which helped immensely but that pain is still there even after numerous stretches. Idk what's up.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Stretching might not how to fix it. Could be an overuse injury, could be an imbalance that needs adjusting. Hard to say really.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    If its killing you more than typical muscle soreness from working out, then its probably injured and needs rest.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    Muscle fibers are torn during intense exercise (mostly weightlifting). And repaired outside of the gym! Doesn't mean you have to sit around, but rest days will improve growth, recovery, and repair.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I'd probably dial it back to running every other day to give your body time to adapt and recover, on your non-running days do something low impact (walk, cycle etc)....it sounds like you've got the beginnings of an overuse injury. Take care of it now rather than waiting for it to get more serious.

    Also....while you're still at the base building stage don't worry too much about performance, focus on building you endurance first. Easy slow runs....
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