Rest days!

Ajocal18
Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I am NOT someone who enjoys working out. Most days I have to trick myself into putting on my workout clothes.

That being said I'm finding it hard to take rest days when I exercise regularly. I enjoy the increased calories so much that I work out almost everyday exhausted or not.

This week for example

Tuesday : 3 mile run

Wednesday : trainer workout including deadlifts, bench presses , burpees, etc . I then went home and ran a few miles and did additional core workout.

Thursday : HIT workout with some running integrated lasting about two hours

Friday : Hit workout For 1 1/2 to 2 hours

Saturday : trainer workout including squats , push-ups, weighted lunges , etc . I also ran a mile before the workout and 4 miles after.

My body is a little sore today but mostly my legs are exhausted. I'd love to take the day off but I know I'm likely to overeat if I don't workout.

My boyfriend suggested swimming but I can't track that on my Fitbit HR which I'm a little anal about.

Are there any low impact exercises I can do to burn 300-500 calories ?

I am a 5'1 129lb female if that's helpful.

Replies

  • Panda8ach
    Panda8ach Posts: 518 Member
    Yoga :)
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Rest days give your body time to recover and work properly. If you don't want to fully rest, maybe take a walk?

    And truthfully the HR part of your Fitbit isn't great for calculating most of those exercises, just steady state cardio.
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Rest days give your body time to recover and work properly. If you don't want to fully rest, maybe take a walk?

    And truthfully the HR part of your Fitbit isn't great for calculating most of those exercises, just steady state cardio.

    Yes I know the HR isn't incredibly accurate but it seems more accurate than entering exercises into MFP.
    Maybe I'll do a walk around the mall
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    walking gives alot of calories for low impact :p Love walking
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    My days off from the gym involve lots of walking. For example today I'm taking several laps around the local mall and then I'm going to shop for new clothes for my significantly smaller body. Win win!
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
    ladyhusker39 wrote: »
    My days off from the gym involve lots of walking. For example today I'm taking several laps around the local mall and then I'm going to shop for new clothes for my significantly smaller body. Win win!

    My thoughts exactly ! A walk through the mall, maybe a grocery shopping trip lol
  • SeikoMonster
    SeikoMonster Posts: 105 Member
    Get a bike. I've been finding it enjoyable to work up to an 8 mile ride daily. Good burn double the burn or more of walking the same time period. And now that it is hot even 110 at 9pm here, I still get the wind in my face to help keep it cooler than walking.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    For someone who doesn't enjoy working out, you certainly do a lot of it. Rest days are ok, especially after reading how much you do
  • ludds
    ludds Posts: 40 Member
    I'm intrigued what it is you call hiit tbh... I do it for about 20 minutes and nearly die and I'm pretty fit Lol!
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    Do active recovery days instead. I do yoga or hike on my off days.

    My workouts are boxing 2-3 days a week and weight training 2-3 days a week. Hiking and yoga are a great way for me to stay active but still let the muscles used in my workouts time to rest
  • LotusCass
    LotusCass Posts: 145 Member
    Yoga and walking
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
    ludds wrote: »
    I'm intrigued what it is you call hiit tbh... I do it for about 20 minutes and nearly die and I'm pretty fit Lol!

    lol I'll do about 45 minutes of HIIT workouts 30 seconds on 30 seconds off and then break it up with some steady state cardio or body weight strength training for 30 minutes followed by more HIIT.

  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    Rest days are important if you're doing any kind of HIIT or resistance exercises. That's when your body actually rebuilds itself. If you were to give yourself a true rest day or two, I think you'll be amazed how much stronger you actually feel afterwards.

    Walking and yoga are great rest day activities. As is lying on the couch.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    Yoga, Pilates, biking, walking, reading a good book.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Ajocal18 wrote: »
    ludds wrote: »
    I'm intrigued what it is you call hiit tbh... I do it for about 20 minutes and nearly die and I'm pretty fit Lol!

    lol I'll do about 45 minutes of HIIT workouts 30 seconds on 30 seconds off and then break it up with some steady state cardio or body weight strength training for 30 minutes followed by more HIIT.

    What you are describing is not HIIT. It may be interval training but not HIIT. First, you could not sustain HIIT for 45 minutes. 2nd, you would have nothing left to do the other things you describe with true HIIT. A relevant thread.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10568908/your-definition-of-hiit/p1
  • InkAndApples
    InkAndApples Posts: 201 Member
    My rest days are serious rest days, as in move under 1000 steps, barely move off the sofa, have a little nap because it's exhausting being me rest days.

    I also enjoy the increased calories so I eat slightly less than my allocation on my super active week days (I run around like a mad thing at work, and work out during the week) and bank the calories for use when slobbing on the sofa.

    Win win!

    If I did as much exercise as you do I'd collapse without some serious downtime. I have found that my training sessions seriously suffer when I go overboard. I'd rather do fewer, high quality sessions than loads of half-assed ones.
  • WendyLeigh1119
    WendyLeigh1119 Posts: 495 Member
    edited June 2017
    I prefer 5 days straight of hard workouts (strength everyday, cardio 3x per week, and Pilates/Yoga/Stability type stuff 2x weekly). I save a few exercise calories on weekdays... (eat them back at about 50 to 75%) and then take Saturday & Sunday off entirely. Since 1200 calories on those days rarely works out, I have some extras to not worry if I go over. But I stick to weekends off because I really feel 2 full days of recovery will give me best results. It's worth it. And then family time is more relaxed, too.

    *Though we did play Petanque/Boules this weekend, so I got an extra 150 calories or so from a relaxing yard game* :)
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