Rest Days: Do We Really A Break From Exercise?
September 17th, 2010 | 
Author: Why are rest days important to your workout program?
Just like you need a day or two off from your job every week, your body needs a break from exercising.
This is especially important when it comes to strength training. When you perform resistance exercise, you cause tiny tears in your muscle tissue. In order to heal - and grow – your muscles need recovery time between workouts. If you are doing fairly light resistance training, a day between workouts is probably enough. In the case of full out weight training or body building, two, three, or even more recovery days will be needed.
Taking rest days is also good for you mentally. Think of it as a reward for all your hard work during the rest of the week. Just looking forward to your rest days can motivate you to keep going!
So, do I just veg out on my rest days?
You can do whatever you like on your rest days, even if that means watching TV from the couch potato position! However, I suggest that you incorporate some type of leisurely activity purely for pleasure, such as a stroll through a beautiful park. Just make sure you enjoy your day off!
Please share your thoughts about rest days in the comments below. Thanks!
Hi, Patricia. Welcome and thanks for your insightful comments. It’s so interesting to hear the southern hemisphere point of view, especially since, here in Texas, we’re looking forward to cooler days!
My regular exercise is walking for at least 30 minutes a day; so if I have one day off as you suggested I don’t get too stressed. Like you say, sometimes it’s good to give the body a rest. Especially if you are doing quite strenuous exercise.
In the summer, when I was swimming regularly, I would visit the pool a couple of times a week so would mix up my aquaroebic exercises.
I hope to start cycling more often now that it is spring in the southern hemisphere. Used to borrow a bicycle so will now have to look at purchasing one if I want to include this in my exercise regime.
So much easier to get motivated when the time comes to get into the summer gear.
Patricia Perth Australia
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