When should I take a Rest Day?

 

When should I take a Rest Day?

 

Rest days are quite a common metric which gym ‘go-ers’ use today to track their workout routines and whether they are training at the optimum level to obtain results, or are they overtraining themselves. Every time an individual works out, their body goes through stress and breaking down of tissues depending on the intensity of the work out, hence why, our body needs rests and sequential intervals. Preferably, studies show that intervals should be set, however there are also other studies which believe in interchange of rest days individuals take. The days can also vary from person to person, some may prefer longer rest days and some require shorter days.

Some individuals find it difficult to determine when a rest day should come in their routine, so, we’ve identified some common factors that one can look out for that may help in identifying when you need a break.

 

1.      Tiredness Levels

Strength training may also induce symptoms like insomnia or other usual sleep problems, so if you're feeling unwell, or struggling with sleepless nights, it could be because your central nervous system is overstimulated while trying to repair your muscles.  Your response time, immunity, cognitive functions, and endurance will all suffer as a result of not sleeping well or long enough for a few days. In such a case, studies have suggested that two rest days consecutively should be adequate to return the body to a regular sleep pattern and cycle. It's important that we hear out our bodies needs as well as imposing our needs on it. It's important to rest until our sleeping patterns are fixed and back to normal again.

2.      Muscle Soreness

Training individuals often ignore signals of exhaustion in the hopes of becoming "stronger". While some muscular stiffness is to be expected while starting a new workout regimen, it shouldn't be something that persists during your workouts.  The body requires anything from 24 to 72 hours to heal, according to studies. However, if you're still painful after 72 hours, you should rest; prolonged discomfort indicates that your muscles aren't recuperating. Think of soreness as an indicator that your body wants to give to you when it wants you to rest.

3.      Sickness

Especially in today’s time with Covid, there has been an increase in the requirement for rest days for individuals. It’s recommended that athletes take rest days even after they have recovered from Covid as the disease has profound post recovery symptoms as well. However, some individuals share the belief that regular exercising can help increase immunity but overdoing it may lead to a kind of ‘self-sabotage’. In today’s day and age further, there is a significant risk of seasonal allergies and the common cold; the surge of Omicron also suggests that individuals should be weary of such diseases and in case of sickness, rests days are a must.

4.      Not really enjoying your workouts? Take a break

Everyone would classify a “bad” workout differently. Some people classify it by determining how many reps they get through, how many sets or how many exercises they can complete during their workout session. Some people usually may feel lethargic during their workouts and may not complete their whole routine. This may be an indicator for you to maybe take a break, because if you’re not enjoying your workouts, you may not gain anything out of them either.

5.      Overtraining and General Feeling

In the case of overtraining, our bodies may hit a ‘plateau’. A plateau in workouts entails that we can’t make significant progress and that our body has essentially stagnated. Overtraining may lead to an individual dreading their future workout, which will have a domino effect in the next weeks as, the workouts won’t be productive at all. In this case, an athlete will be tearing their muscles and tearing them again without letting them repair.

 

Overall, the key is to train smartly and not to impose unnecessary and over-ambitious goals for oneself. A recovery day doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be a “cheat” day – no. That would defeat the purpose of having a rest day completely. Maintain your diet, eat healthy, and maybe if you’re feeling too “unfit”, you may opt for a light cardio session to maintain your routine. Meditation is also a great idea if one wants to just relax and make the most of their rest day.