Importance of Recovery
How many times have we heard “progress happens in the kitchen?” Or “you get better during your rest days.” Well, that is true. I have no arguments for that. So why should you be resting? When you have an off-day planned, just take the off-day. A rest day can show itself in a few different forms. No, it doesn’t mean binge Grey’s Anatomy and sit around all day.
Is that a rest day though? Absolutely. I am afraid we may have over-corrected and taken the term ‘rest day’ literally. Every once in a while, sure. Take the day to just do nothing. Especially if you made your three training days that week and hit some serious new milestones, or even just exercises for 3 hours that week. But, that is not a ‘rest day’ every time.
There are multiple rest days. The example above would be considered a full off-day. No activity, no stretching, and regular day to day movements. If you are so inclined, move from the couch to the kitchen, make some popcorn, and then back to the couch. Now, Cardiologists/Pulmonologists may be pissed to hear me say ‘don’t move.’ Yes, the heart and the lungs would need some activity. I am not saying spend the rest of your life sedentary, but one complete off-day once in a long while could show some recovery benefits. Plus, Grey’s Anatomy takes a very long time to get through.
Active recovery days mean to move. It may not look like a training session, but some activity is included. So instead of heavy lifting, or long distance running, an active recovery day would consist of smaller activities. Going for a walk, foam rolling, stretching, just overall moving your body in a low-impact setting. This is a great way to increase blood flow and oxygen in and out of your system.
Ok, so the original question - Why rest days?
Injury prevention! Weight training, resistance training, even some forms of cardio activity can cause micro tears within the muscles themselves. If not given adequate time to repair those small damages, over-training and tearing could possibly occur. Taking time to recover decreases the chances of injury to localized muscles based on training.
Reduced muscle soreness. By recovering, our body is able to expel metabolic wastes, and allow for the flushing of the toxins to promote healing and reduce muscle soreness. On a few occasions would you want to train the same muscle(s) multiple days in a row.
Mental recovery. Getting up and going to the gym or seeing a trainer can always be mentally exhausting. Even the act of doing new exercises or repeating the same 8-12 exercises can be taxing on the brain. By providing different or less stimulus once in a while, we allow our brain time to catch up and recover as well.
So when your coach says take a rest day, take a rest day. There are numerous studies validating the importance of recovery in performance and exercise progression.
If you are interested in getting more out of your workouts and incorporating recovery days into your routine, reach out to our staff for a consultation.
