What do you do on your rest days?

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miratps
miratps Posts: 141 Member
edited January 2017 in Fitness and Exercise
So I do a lot of cardio but want/need a rest day (not had for a long long time as I eat and then feel guilty) but am forcing myself to today. Question is, as I don't have one and its a weekend so I'm not even 'walking around doing normal stuff' not sure what I should do. Can I sit all day in front of a TV?

What do you all do on rest days? Do you take complete rest days where you are lucky to move 5 inches or do you still deliberately try and be active? Also do you not fear your cardio/exercise performance etc. will suffer the following day or whenever you workout next?

Edit: In addition, do you eat less on rest days? Does it make your appetite seem manageable?
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Replies

  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    Well I rest on rest days...that doesn't necessarily mean be a slug. It often means I'm not able to take a walk or do yoga because I have to take my kid to Scouts and this appointment and get milk at the store and so on.

    I don't fear that my performance will be less the next day. Typically it's better because I've given my muscles a chance to recover.

    I do eat less on rest days. It kinda sucks. :/
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    edited January 2017
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    I train!
  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
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    i go out and be social normally, it just means i've made other plans that don't involve working out.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Clean! Laundry/vacuuming etc.
    As to eating less, I eventually upped my overall activity level setting and then ate back fewer of my exercise calories because I was starving on rest days.
  • patslitzker
    patslitzker Posts: 127 Member
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    Active rest
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,946 Member
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    miratps wrote: »
    What do you all do on rest days?

    Walk at least 2 km.

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I may walk or I may do nothing other than work, family stuff, etc.
  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
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    I do whatever I normally would, minus planned physical activity that makes me sweat or feels difficult. I might end up sweating doing something random like taking the stairs somewhere, or plan on doing yoga or something mellow. mfp did a blog on rest days once, and pointed out that if your routine activity is not vigorous, such as walking, it's best to not take rest days. However, if you are seriously working out, such as training for a competition, then rest days are vital to success.
  • Aetheldreda
    Aetheldreda Posts: 241 Member
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    I do housework or food shopping, maybe just do a gentle walk, sometimes I do absolutely nothing and barely get 2000 steps in! For me, purposeful exercise is something I do not really enjoy, so I am happy to do nothing on a rest day, but that's just me.
  • OSUbuckeye906
    OSUbuckeye906 Posts: 315 Member
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    I typically plan one or two rest days a week and I usually plan them for days in which my schedule is the busiest and would make getting a workout in hard anyway. Usually, these are days when I have an appointment scheduled before/after work, have something social planned, or need to take the time to run a few errands or clean. Basically, I take these days as a "life maintenance" day. As someone else mentioned, these rest days allow your muscles to repair themselves to become stronger, so some extra rest usually helps you make gains in your fitness. In regards to food, I don't necessarily specifically cut calories on days that I don't work out but try to be mindful of how much and what I'm eating, as I normally do. I may not allow myself to have dessert or a treat, but that's about it. Usually, the extra calories that I'm eating from working out are more of the good foods that fuel my workouts and if I skimp on these on my rest days, I may see my workout the next day affected. So, I may see myself go over my calories a bit on my rest days but as long as I'm not completely maxing out on my calories the other days of the week, I don't worry too much.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited January 2017
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    I have a 4 & 6 year old at home...there's no such thing as sitting on my *kitten* watching t.v. all day.

    A rest day (i.e. recovery day) allows you to recover from more vigorous training...it's just rest from more vigorous/strenuous training. It doesn't mean do nothing or that you can't do anything.

    I don't usually reserve weekend days for rest days because weekends are when I actually have time to go for longer rides, etc. Weekends are prime time training time. As of now, I'm taking my rest days on Thursdays...I usually go for a 3 mile walk at lunch...if I'm not too pressed for time, I do some yoga when I get home, but that's tough sometimes because Thursdays are also my days to cook dinner.

    ETA: fitness performance is enhanced with rest...rest is part of the equation...rest is where recovery happens which is where fitness development happens. The work is only one side of the equation...by not resting, you're ignoring and equally important part of the equation.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    miratps wrote: »
    What do you all do on rest days? Do you take complete rest days where you are lucky to move 5 inches or do you still deliberately try and be active? Also do you not fear your cardio/exercise performance etc. will suffer the following day or whenever you workout next?

    God no, to all of that.

    Performance is better following a day off because you lose fatigue more quickly that you lose fitness. That's why people taper before a race.

    I'll walk a bit and do a recovery ride (heart rate and power to stay below 100) on my rest days.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I want to say I sit on my fat a&& and do nothing.
    But the reality is even on my none lifting days- I usually have dance class- there is one single day a week where I don't dance. for sure.

    I'm lucky if I get a full day off to do nothing- I work 5 jobs. So. if by change I get a day to do nothing- guess what- I do nothing.

    I sew- do house chores- but I absolutely do not go out of my way to do any sort of "active" rest- nope nope nope nope.

    I dance Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed and I gig Friday/Saturday- so nope. I do nothing on my days off.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,579 Member
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    On non lifting days, I just do cardio. But I do cardio everyday and it's not that intense at all.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    I only sit around and hardly move when I'm sick - I'm recovering from a cold right now and being up and moving is exhausting.

    When I'm in good health, I make sure I get up and move around at least every hour on the weekends and usually go for a long walk or two or go downstairs and ride my bike. I usually do some yoga also.

    ~Lyssa
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I walk. Rest day means active rest.
  • __TMac__
    __TMac__ Posts: 1,665 Member
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    I chose Sunday as my rest day because it's my busiest day. I have a moderately active hobby that requires almost a full day of practice every week. So I do that. And because cooking is hard that day, I also bank a few calories and call it take-out night.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Depends. Sometimes it's just a core/mobility/stretching kind of day. Other times its a rest because of life, which sometimes includes fun active type things, or sometimes it's marathon binge watch a show and not get off my couch. I have stopped taking planned rest days.
  • Reaverie
    Reaverie Posts: 405 Member
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    I walk.. just not twice a day!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,680 Member
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    I'm a runner, and I know that I will get stronger as a runner by taking rest days. At the moment, I run 5 days a week. We have a large dog, so walking happens every day, regardless. We have a 2 and a 3 mile loop in our neighborhood that we alternate. I'll sometimes go for an additional short hike on my rest days or I'll do 10-20 miles on the stationary bike. Yoga or Pilates if I feel like I need stretching or just don't have a lot of energy.

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