Rest Days

Steve_Runs
Steve_Runs Posts: 443 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have had 2 complete rest days out of the last 42 days! Do you take complete rest days? What are your thoughts on them? You need them? You don't need them? What?

Replies

  • Sp1nGoddess
    Sp1nGoddess Posts: 1,134 Member
    I always take a rest day after a strength workout, that's when you build muscle. I try to listen to my body.
  • Trail_Addict
    Trail_Addict Posts: 1,340 Member
    Yes. I take 1-2 complete rest days per week for the muscles to repair. Mind you, I run a lot and also do strength training.
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
    my trainer told me at least one a week..
  • beckylawrence70
    beckylawrence70 Posts: 752 Member
    Yes I do, about 3 full rest days a week. I workout 4 days a week. It's enough for me! Plus I work full time.....:)
  • DAM_Fine
    DAM_Fine Posts: 1,227 Member
    Sometimes Sunday if I'm completely bagged, but most of the time I have to do SOMETHING. And I always do my morning yoga, regardless of what happens the rest of the day. I'm not sure if I shoud even be counting it in my calories burned, its so much a part of my daily routine.

    Oh, and I work full-time, too.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    I rest muscle groups but not necessarily whole body. Depends on my schedule... Sometimes I take a rest day (schedule) where I get no appreciable exercise and other weeks I don't... I enjoy the work outs and it helps when I do them... However, I never do a muscle group 2 days in a row... Right now, I try... core one day, upper body , then lower body and repeat. If I know I have a work out coming where I cannot do the day before and the day after, I may do EVERYTHING... Those days are rare. I do cardio any day that I can... but it always follows my strength training. Used to do it the other way around but my strength training has improved by doing it first... and the cardio has not suffered. Most weeks I have a day or two I cannot do anything (this time of year) so I do usually have rest days...
  • DFWTT
    DFWTT Posts: 374
    One weekend day and sometimes one during the week, usually after a nasty leg workout. If not, my legs are shot and I can't run comfortably.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    Sunday's are usually my rest days. This week it was reversed though and I took my rest day on Saturday.

    Generally I do Strength Mon & Wed and Cardio Tue & Thur. Fri is my something different day (this week swimming, last week tennis) and Sat is family activity day (camping, hiking, swimming, w/e). I look forward to my Sun off!
  • Orient_Charm
    Orient_Charm Posts: 385 Member
    I don't take full rest day, I take my 2 weekend day to eat what ever I like for breakfast and lunch( Burger - KFC ) .......but then I do more exercise ....
  • Shriffee
    Shriffee Posts: 250 Member
    I seldom take a rest day. Tuesdays I walk four miles, which to me is rest. Friday I do HIT-Full Body and instead of running, I walk.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    I take a rest every 7-10 days. No gym at all--I might do 10 min of abs but that's it.
  • peachpearl1
    peachpearl1 Posts: 48
    i try to have at least one rest day a week to give my body a chance to recover, its good for you! plus its nice to have one day a week where i can sleep in :D
  • giantruss
    giantruss Posts: 100
    i dont really have days off either, i just alternate different types of activities, strength training on the days i am too sore to run, and runn whenever my legs recover usually everyday or skip a day and run again! ( & push ups everyday)

    loving it at the moment only missed probably 4 days since the beginning of january.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    I take 2 to 3 rest days a month, but I usually run about 6 doubles a month, so that makes up for it. :)

    And I work full time, have a side gig, 2 teenagers active in sports and another obligation 4 nights a week. There is always time if you want to make it work.
  • love2cycle
    love2cycle Posts: 448 Member
    I have 2 rest days a week. I feel more energy after having rested
  • Steve_Runs
    Steve_Runs Posts: 443 Member
    I seldom take a rest day. Tuesdays I walk four miles, which to me is rest. Friday I do HIT-Full Body and instead of running, I walk.
    I'm with you AJ! I rarely take one! I don't think full rest days are necessary!
  • Shriffee
    Shriffee Posts: 250 Member
    I seldom take a rest day. Tuesdays I walk four miles, which to me is rest. Friday I do HIT-Full Body and instead of running, I walk.
    I'm with you AJ! I rarely take one! I don't think full rest days are necessary!

    And that's why we're friends. :)

    I did take a full rest day after the Gate and my first half. :)
  • firstnamekaren
    firstnamekaren Posts: 274 Member
    I lift heavy Mon, Wed and Fri and try to get some extra cardio in at least one day during the week and on Sundays.
  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
    I don't take full rest days either. I thought it would help me be more focused for the other days when I was working harder, but it just made me feel like a couch potato again. Today, I'm going to take a rest lunch... where I'll be eating and just wandering around the office versus eating a few bites and walking for a few miles. I've got a bootcamp class and a zumba class back to back tonight. This is as much as I rest. I usually walk 2 miles at lunch everyday, but my knee is feeling stiff so I'm going to be giving it a little time off.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    only if you're training hard
  • Syreeta6
    Syreeta6 Posts: 377 Member
    I usually take Sunday as my rest day. Normally I don't do any work, but sometimes I feel guilty like yesterday I ended up walking my dog and doing a Yoga vid
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    If by rest day you mean a no-exercise/workout day, then I don't like them at all. But I'm a terrible sleeper and on a moderate caloric deficit so my body doesn't always recover as fast as I'd like it to. I generally push through fatigue, but I usually get a rest day every other week or so depending on the weather and my kids' schedules.
  • Chris_acc_can
    Chris_acc_can Posts: 83
    Rest days depend on your workout. You want to give your muscles atleast 72 hours to recover from a workout. Most people just spot train so that they can workout every day. IE work different muscles groups on different days.

    I usually workout 4 times a week and take 2 days of full rest (where I literally do nothing). I also have 1 active recovery day where I do cardio and some abs. The other 4 days of the week I do intense weight lifting.

    This set up works best for me. If you aren't well rested you will notice more fatigue and soreness. Your workouts will also suffer as you will notice a drop in ability. For me when I don't give my body enough rest I won't be able to hit my reps or struggle with weights I was able to lift just a couple days prior.

    If you are weight training rest is just as, if not more important as the workout. If you're doing endurance events (running and biking) I have no clue what sort of rest you need.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Rest days depend on your workout. You want to give your muscles atleast 72 hours to recover from a workout. Most people just spot train so that they can workout every day. IE work different muscles groups on different days.

    I usually workout 4 times a week and take 2 days of full rest (where I literally do nothing). I also have 1 active recovery day where I do cardio and some abs. The other 4 days of the week I do intense weight lifting.

    This set up works best for me. If you aren't well rested you will notice more fatigue and soreness. Your workouts will also suffer as you will notice a drop in ability. For me when I don't give my body enough rest I won't be able to hit my reps or struggle with weights I was able to lift just a couple days prior.

    If you are weight training rest is just as, if not more important as the workout. If you're doing endurance events (running and biking) I have no clue what sort of rest you need.

    I tend to disagree with this, though I'm by no means an expert.

    Mostly based on my experience (even though I hate the "it worked for me" logic) and a little based on what I've read, overtraining is an issue, but it takes SOOO much more than what most people do/think to actually get there. Soreness is, IME, related more to stretching and fueling your body so it can repair than it does actual rest. Fatigue is a mixed bag though, and can be largely impacted by rest (sleep, not days off), but is also affected by nutrition as well.

    IMO, the greater your caloric deficit is (or more accurately, the less adequately you are feeding your body) the more important rest days become.

    Anyone with more experience in heavy training loads care to chime in on this?
  • ATOLLIT
    ATOLLIT Posts: 149
    I think it really just comes down to what you prefer. I generally have 1-2 days of no exercise per week, but that's because if I've had a particularly long/stressful day, the last thing I want to do when I get home and I'm hungry is to put off dinner for another couple of hours and go to the gym. Also I do a lot more cardio than strength training, and if I push myself really hard one day on the treadmill (eg longer sprints with shorter jogs, more incline at faster speeds), my calf muscles feel really stiff the next day and I personally would rather rest for a day than go exercise again and risk injuring myself leading to a lot more rest days while I recover. As far as I know there is no recommended amount of rest time, just don't force yourself to do too much if it's hurting/you're really tired, because that's when you get hurt.
  • usc2626
    usc2626 Posts: 186
    I think it's different for everyone and depends on what your doing. I'm doing a full body 5 week cycle workout with mostly compound movements three days a week so I take a day off inbetween and just do abs. I'm also on a deficit and found this works better for me.
  • cowchick4_fun
    cowchick4_fun Posts: 26
    i workout monday-saturday and take sunday off to let my body rest at least 1 day a week so i dont over work my body. over working your body is not good. those muscles need to have a rest at least 1 whole day. hope this helps.:flowerforyou:
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    those muscles need to have a rest at least 1 whole day
    Why do you say that? That's a hugely general statement to make, especially given the wide range of workouts (type of, duration of, intensity of, etc) that people on this board do. Some people call walking the dog for 20 minutes a workout, others a 20 mile run, others a set of 250lb squats...
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I have had 2 complete rest days out of the last 42 days! Do you take complete rest days? What are your thoughts on them? You need them? You don't need them? What?

    Rest as in do absolutely nothing? If I take a rest day it's unintentional, meaning work or something got in the way of me doing some kind of exercise. Otherwise I have lifting days, lifting days with light cardio, and cardio only days planned, no planned rest days unless I feel I need one.

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