How much rest on rest day?

NadNight
NadNight Posts: 794 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Sounds daft but I always took a ‘rest day’ very literally to mean no exercise but today is my rest day and I really fancy going for a jog. Is doing light cardio okay on rest days or am I better letting my body fully recover?

Replies

  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    edited November 2019
    I used to take Sunday off, but now I workout 7 days a week. Keeps me committed and get to eat more food.
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    Sunday is my rest day. But I do active rest. As I'm doing a running streak I run at least a mile (usually 15min which is 1.5 miles on a Sunday), plus I do an hour of PiYo.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    most of my rest days don't have purposeful exercise, but i did tend to walk 6-10k on those days anyways
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    I do active recovery rest days - yoga and Pilates. Occasionally depending on how my schedule works out those rest days include an easy 2 mile run.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    I only take rest days when my body needs it or when I don't physically have time to workout. If you want to run, then I say run.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    If you fancy taking some exercise, then do. I am sure that if your body needed you to lie down all day it would not be suggesting you take a jog.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    NadNight wrote: »
    Sounds daft but I always took a ‘rest day’ very literally to mean no exercise but today is my rest day and I really fancy going for a jog. Is doing light cardio okay on rest days or am I better letting my body fully recover?

    Rather than "rest" think in terms of recovery. A short, slow run can be a recovery run. As to full rest days I'll take one every now and then if I'm feeling unduly fatigued, especially in the later stages of a training plan.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    NadNight wrote: »
    Sounds daft but I always took a ‘rest day’ very literally to mean no exercise but today is my rest day and I really fancy going for a jog. Is doing light cardio okay on rest days or am I better letting my body fully recover?

    Rest/recovery days are just recovery from more vigorous/strenuous exercise. No, it doesn't mean you have to full stop do nothing and depending on what you're doing for workouts a rest/recovery day may or may not be necessary.

    My only strenuous workout is on Friday afternoons with my trainer. I lift on my own on Tuesday evenings, but it's not nearly as strenuous as when I workout with my trainer. Other than that, I mostly cycle and I'm not really training for anything, so it's mostly a moderate effort. I like to do some mountain biking on Saturdays and Sunday is technically my "rest day"...but we're usually doing something as a family like going for a hike or a family bike ride or something. I'm active most days most of the time. Every once in awhile I do the couch potato thing, but I tend to get restless and I'm not very good at just sitting still and doing nothing all day.
  • Inspirationalwaterjug
    Inspirationalwaterjug Posts: 384 Member
    My rest days are over dramatic stints of laziness. Why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lay down.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited November 2019
    Depends.

    How are you measuring your fatigue?

    Fully recover from what?

    What is your primary goal short and long term?
  • ironhajee
    ironhajee Posts: 384 Member
    Yes good for you! Contrary to popular belief, active recovery is much more effective at keeping the body supple and ready for your next big session! Even a simple walk/yoga(Hatha) can be considered a good recovery day!
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    I do nothing on my rest days except lay in bed and watch tv. I try to stay warm and get plenty of sleep. Of course, I probably over do it on my workout days...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I only lift two days a week max, but I am active every day.
  • mrsjar5311
    mrsjar5311 Posts: 514 Member
    I do at least a 2 hour walk on my rest days. Usually a gentle stroll but basically I work out everyday in one form or the other.
  • surfbug808
    surfbug808 Posts: 251 Member
    If I do an upper body workout today, I rest those muscles tomorrow, but may do a lower body workout instead. If I'm tired in general, I may just walk, because I enjoy it. Or, if it's a non weight-lifting day (full rest from strength training), I may stretch or do some restorative yoga. I still just do other things I enjoy, like swimming, surfing, playing soccer... they happen to be exercise, but I do these things for fun on my non-gym days anyway. Yesterday was a deep resting day for me, so I stretched and then got a massage.
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,138 Member
    I don’t take a day off generally. But my training is split up throughout the week so I do uppper body one day and lower the next. So different parts do get a rest. I lift 5 days and do cardio for an hour the other 2. A lot of people might say that was too much but I’ve totally adapted to it. No injuries, sleep fine, no aches and pains. And I’m in a slight calorie deficit.
  • jhanleybrown
    jhanleybrown Posts: 240 Member
    Another two thumbs up for active recovery. Can speed up recovery in my experience...flushes out lactic acid etc.. I do a little bit of yoga and will often walk 4-5 miles on an active recovery day.

    I try to do 7 days/week with 1 active recovery or 2 if I am trying to cycle a recovery week. My do nothing days are usually related to work/family constraints.

    Recommend active recovery days *and* active recovery weeks (every 3-5 weeks) where you back off volume and intensity.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    my rest days are from weight training. Sometimes I do not much, other times I'll do cardio...I just don't lift and let my muscles recover.
    Funny enough if my cardio is too intense, I will take a rest day the next day anyway as after a long run I find my muscles are sore for a different reason.
  • emsmiley12
    emsmiley12 Posts: 22 Member
    Unless you have a formal training plan for something, allow yourself to actual rest. Yoga or Pilates and then just rest your body.

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