What constitutes as a "rest day" for you?

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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,931 Member
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    I have 2 kinds of rest days ...

    1) Complete rest ... when I've come down with the flu

    2) Usual rest ... when I walk at least 1-2 km. :)
  • makkimakki2018
    makkimakki2018 Posts: 414 Member
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    My rest day is basically short 5 minute HIIT training with my body weight targeting abs and obliques and another 5 minute HIIT targeting traps.
    Most of my days consist of hard cardio so anything non cardio is a rest day.
  • ArmouredMuscle
    ArmouredMuscle Posts: 64 Member
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    Every 6 weeks (if its uninterrupted) I take a week out to do Yoga. Weekends are also rest days but I'll stay active, walk the dog longer, play squash. Walk a lot probably.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    oat_bran wrote: »

    So how often do you have rest days and what constitutes as a rest day for you?

    I rarely have a complete rest day but I do have recovery days which pretty much means not running, eight lifting or riding my bike up hills. I'll go for an easy bike ride, or row or swim but I tend to do something 7 days a week most weeks. Having said that I should also say that I've been running for more than a decade and riding my bike (with a few breaks) since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

    The key is that your exercise regimen should be based on your goals. If you're not training for anything in particular other than improved fitness you want to mix up intensity / impact to minimize the risk of overuse injury and to keep boredom at bay.

  • oat_bran
    oat_bran Posts: 370 Member
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    swimmchick87 wrote: »
    I consider a rest day to be a day off from formal workouts. I do an "official workout" 5 days per week. To me, walking doesn't feel like exercise. I aim for at least 10,000 steps on my fitbit 7 days per week. On lazy weekend days, this often means I end up pacing in front of the TV to get the steps in. Like you said OP, I don't want there to be a drastic difference in my TDEE on rest days, especially since I'm prone to eating more AND moving less on weekends if I'm not careful.

    In fact, having the fitbit showed me just what a big difference those "lazy days" can make. I know a lot of people that have fitbits but will only where theirs on days they know they'll be doing a lot of walking and/or won't wear them on weekends so they can "take a break." IMO that defeats the entire purpose of having the fitbit.

    Yeah, when I got my first fitbit I was shocked how much a difference there can be between a sedentary day and a fairly active day, even if there's no "formal" exercise involved. It could be as much as a 1000 calorie difference. Which is an important thing to keep in mind for everybody trying to get or stay fit. But there's also a danger of getting obsessed with the number for some of us who are susceptible to it. I became so fixated on it that I feel anxious if I imagine that I'd have to take my firtbit off. I actually sounds sort of scary to not know how much I have burned, and so not knowing how much is it ok for me to eat that day. The downside for me is also in feeling guilty and anxious in eating over my TDEE on any given day. Even though I know that when your activity level varies you can be over your TDEE one day and then below it the next and it'll even out in the end. But somehow I became fixated on burning the calories the same day I eat them and it I don't, it's as if I can actually "feel" myself gaining fat. So overall, fitbit has definitely encouraged me to have some activity every day to burn at least the minumum amount that I'm comfortable with.
  • ArmouredMuscle
    ArmouredMuscle Posts: 64 Member
    edited August 2018
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    oat_bran wrote: »
    ...But there's also a danger of getting obsessed with the number for some of us who are susceptible to it. I became so fixated on it that I feel anxious if I imagine that I'd have to take my firtbit off. I actually sounds sort of scary to not know how much I have burned, and so not knowing how much is it ok for me to eat that day. ...

    I'm starting to get like that too. I didn't want to walk my dog yesterday as it would add yet more calories burned (I'm gaining not loosing). Plus it was the end of the day so I had no time or patience to make yet another meal.
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
    edited August 2018
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    rest days for me are "active recovery" days ... so I'll do cardio for fun, ie run 7-10km with out looking at the watch, just cruise along beathing nice and enjoying the view ... or go cruise around on the bike for an hour on the trails .. dont push hard, just ride for enjoyment
  • Scottgriesser
    Scottgriesser Posts: 172 Member
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    I sit my *kitten* down on the couch, a chair, in bed, on a pool lounger, on a floaty...anything. The extent of my exercise is from walking to the next place I'm going to sit/lie.

    I also get to consume less calories that day due to not burning any extra, but that is part of my process. I just work better planning day to day rather than week to week.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    edited August 2018
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    I used to have active rest days but recently came to the conclusion that I did enough weekly activity that there was no need to seek out ways to be active on my off days. If it happens, great. If not, doesn't make much difference.

    I'll generally do 3 days on, rest, 2 days on, rest. The first day in the three day stretch is speedwork (I'm a runner). The first day of the 2 day stretch is my long run day.
  • oat_bran
    oat_bran Posts: 370 Member
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    Scottgriesser wrote: »
    I sit my *kitten* down on the couch, a chair, in bed, on a pool lounger, on a floaty...anything. The extent of my exercise is from walking to the next place I'm going to sit/lie.

    I also get to consume less calories that day due to not burning any extra, but that is part of my process. I just work better planning day to day rather than week to week.

    The problem for me is that I also feel so much hungrier on days that I am less active as counterintuitively as it sounds. I guess, part of it is due to me having more time to notice that I'm hungry when I'm.doing nothing but most importantly exercise, especially cardio blunds hunger while I exercise and for a while afterwards. So it's actually often easier for me to eat less on days that I have a higher TDEE. Which is why having complete rest days is really hard for me.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    oat_bran wrote: »
    Scottgriesser wrote: »
    I sit my *kitten* down on the couch, a chair, in bed, on a pool lounger, on a floaty...anything. The extent of my exercise is from walking to the next place I'm going to sit/lie.

    I also get to consume less calories that day due to not burning any extra, but that is part of my process. I just work better planning day to day rather than week to week.

    The problem for me is that I also feel so much hungrier on days that I am less active as counterintuitively as it sounds. I guess, part of it is due to me having more time to notice that I'm hungry when I'm.doing nothing but most importantly exercise, especially cardio blunds hunger while I exercise and for a while afterwards. So it's actually often easier for me to eat less on days that I have a higher TDEE. Which is why having complete rest days is really hard for me.

    So look at your weekly goal not daily?
  • Steff46
    Steff46 Posts: 516 Member
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    I usually take one rest day a week and it always involves working 9 hours that day and then doing laundry or household chores. I have found I eat more on a rest day since during the other days I usually have two workouts to get in. Rest days sound wonderful but I feel like (for me anyway) they don't live up to their expectations.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,369 Member
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    In summer, which is my more active season, I make it a point to take one rest day a week. I might walk recreationally, stretch, do yoga, focus on some semi-active household or garden chores, or (if I'm feeling especially perky) take an easy-pace bike ride or something like that. In Winter, I laze around more because the river is frozen, so I don't need to worry about structured rest days.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
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    Days I'm not training, but I still may exercise some. Today's rest day included 7 - 2min rounds on the heavy bag, a 2 mile dog walk, and jamming on the bass guitar.

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