How many rest days do you usually take?

LUHAN27
LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
edited July 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Normally, how many rest days do you take per week? I take 1 rest day, but is that too little? Do you generally take more rest days? I'm asking because I want to know a healthy amount of rest days.

Replies

  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Rest from exercise?
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    I workout pretty hard and I only take one active rest day per week, which means I still walk my usual 10K+ steps, but don't do anything high impact. I never have a rest day where I stay completely sedentary. Rest days are important, but they're contingent upon both your fitness level and how difficult your exercise routine actually is.
  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
    i lift every day and do cardio most days, for the month of june i only missed one day. I've lifted at nearly this consistency for almost 6 years now.
  • mysticatgal1
    mysticatgal1 Posts: 106 Member
    I have been working hard. I also do 10k steps everyday but do yoga one day and another day where all I do are stretches or just steps.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    From lifting? 2 a week. But I'm usually still fairly active on those days. Running around, playing with my girls, doing prehab/correctives. Maybe once a month I'll be able to have a super lazy do nothing day.
  • danibabii11
    danibabii11 Posts: 72 Member
    You need to rest according to what your body is telling you.... for me i tend to take 2 or 3 rest days a week. Not always because i cant handle another gym session but therr are days that i just have to stay home and do laundry! Lol my ankle was screaming at me this week so i did take an extra day fornit to calm down. Dont push it if your body cant take it.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Lift 4 days, don't lift 3. No cardio and I try to keep moving/walking no matter what.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Technically I take 2 rest days a week. But I'm a dance teacher so I'm still dancing on those rest days.
  • VividVegan
    VividVegan Posts: 200 Member
    2 rest days per week, which are mainly the days I'm doing my homework and studying. I personally can't study while lifting weights or running an elliptical. Single tasker
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    It depends on what type of exercise you're doing.. My only exercise is walking, I walk a lot! I don't have any rest days.
    Whereas someone doing weight lifting would class my exercise days as their rest day lol
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Lift 4 days, don't lift 3 days. Sometimes I do cardio and sometimes I don't.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    I have one true rest day a week. Lift 4x a week and have active rest/cardio the other 2 days.
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
    I don't really take "rest" days so to speak. Then again, my only form of exercise is walking. I might have a day or two where I don't walk as much (I'll still get over 10k steps), but I don't sit around all day and not do anything.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    If by rest day, you mean only going for a walk of a few kilometres in length ... I try to do that about once a week.
  • heatherheyns
    heatherheyns Posts: 144 Member
    It depends on what I am doing. If I am very sore, I will take more days off. If I am not that sore, I'll work out. I always try to walk, however, so I only avoid more strenuous exercise.
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    It depends on your goals and what you're doing. If you are new to training, it's a good idea to start with more rest and recovery time and to gradually build endurance.
  • Alarae21
    Alarae21 Posts: 171 Member
    I take one lazy day where I don't do anything. One other day is 'active' rest as I do a Pilates class that day.
  • jessiethe3rd
    jessiethe3rd Posts: 239 Member
    I lift
    Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
    Cardio or some type of exercise between
    Monday I rest. (Foam roller & stretch)
  • 1shedev
    1shedev Posts: 144 Member
    Lift tues, thurs, sat
    cardio mon, weds,fri
    rest sun
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I only take one when my legs are too sore, so I'd say maybe twice a month.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited July 2016
    Generally 1...but it depends on what's going on in my life and also depends on how I'm feeling. I've been nursing a bit of a nagging injury as of late so I've had a lot more rest than usual...which sucks because I have an event coming in a month that I need to prep for. I think I've gotten this thing straightened out though now and I think I know what to do to keep it at bay...but I've lost a few weeks of good training and I'm not where I should be at the moment.

    You also have to consider what kind of training you're doing...more intensive training is going to require more rest and recovery time...if your exercise is pretty light you really don't need anything.
  • ChelzFit
    ChelzFit Posts: 292 Member
    Lift weights plus cardio 4 days a week, one day cardio and two days active rest (taking my kids out for a walk). I find I get burned out if I don't get my rest days in.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    This is very individual. As others have suggested,
    • A light exercise routine causes less need for rest day(s), while an intense daily routine may require more rest.
    • An already-fit person will require fewer rest day(s) at a given level of exercise intensity than a less-fit person doing the same routine.
    • If you do multiple very-different types of exercise, then the days you do one type may constitute rest days from the other.
    • You may require more rest while in calorie deficit than you would at maintenance calories.
    And how you feel will be a decent guide. If you start feeling fatigued (especially that bone-tired kind of thing), take a rest day, whether it's on your schedule or not. If the next day gives you a renewed sense of energy, then you've gotten feedback that that was a good decision.

    Consider making some notes in your MFP exercise diary about how you feel daily, then review at the end of the week to see how that correlates with your workouts & rest days, and try sensible adjustments.

    Personally, I don't have a defined schedule of rest days. I've been quite active for a dozen years, even before losing weight. I have the occasional lighter or no-exercise day at random, such as when weather cancels a planned outdoor activity. I'll take an intentional lighter day if I feel tired (for any reason: workouts, less sleep, illness, injury, whatever). I leave at least one full day between weight workouts of the same muscle groups (mostly an issue in my rowing off-season).

    Current (summer) routine is M-W-F-Sa on-water rowing (with occasional extra rows), Tu-Th spin classes, random heavier or lighter yard/garden work through the week, occasional walks or bike rides. But I'm old (60).
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    I've been known to take months of rest days in a row.... lol
    Which is why I keep ending up back on this site! Haha - seriously though, when I am actively calorie counting and exercising, usually just 1 or 2 a week - depends on the rest of my life's schedule.
  • optfitness
    optfitness Posts: 25 Member
    I weight train 6 days a week (I hit the body parts twice a week) and Saturday is my "active" rest day. I typically do 500 jumping jacks. Lol
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I don't have a specific amount of rest days, as my exercise is from walking or work around the house, so I do that pretty much every day.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    I am usually active every day. At least 10,000 steps outside of exercise (more if I have to work late and can't work out). But I can usually make a yoga class or go running. One day per week I lift heavy for several hours.

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