WHAT IS A REST DAY?
A rest day is a day (or even two) per week where you are actively recovering from all the hard work that you have been putting in while chasing your fitness goals. They are a “day off” of a normal training routine, and are much more relaxing due to an emphasis on recovery. For those who are committed to (or are just beginning) a fitness journey, rest days can be just as important as days of intense physical activity.
If you’re struggling to complete a workout — whether physically or mentally — odds are that you may need a rest day. EXOS Performance Manager Juan Martinez explains that rest days don’t have to be just sitting on the couch — it can be whatever feels best to you. “It’s like an active recovery day — it's a chance to be productive without fully burning out,” said Martinez.
Benefits of rest days include:
- Recovery time for your muscles and body: Exercise is the process of breaking things down and building them back up — if you’re not giving your muscles time to recover, it’s going to be a lot harder to become stronger.
- A mental break: Too much of a good thing applies to fitness too. Sometimes you need to diversify your activities to keep things fresh. Rest days allow you to explore different workouts and encourage you to learn more about the path that you are on.
- Sleep quality: A tired body needs rest, and that’s exactly what will happen when you hit the hay on your rest day. By giving your body the time it needs to recover, you’ll approach your next workout with renewed focus and energy.
- Counteracting muscle fatigue: Struggling to complete a set on your fourth consecutive workout this week? A rest day may be in order. Give your muscles the opportunity to recover by taking time away from your regular workout schedule to feel the difference.
During your rest day, it’s important to listen to your body. What do you need? More sleep? More hydration? Maybe you need a gentle yoga or stretching session to work on mobility and prevent injury. To make the most of your rest day, consider putting your time and energy into a different aspect of your training. EXOS Performance Trainer Thomas Richardson states, “If you’re not doing anything on a rest day, you’re not getting the blood flow necessary to aid in recovery. Movement helps you recover from those hard workout days.”
During your rest day, you can prepare fulfilling meals for the week, research alternative training circuits, or jot down a routine that you’re looking forward to tackling. You can even take things a step further by visiting a spa or sauna for a complete rest day experience. Hot springs, anyone?
SIGNS IT’S TIME TO TAKE A REST DAY
Listening to your body is key to determining when you should take a rest day. Martinez explains, “You have to check in with yourself and say, ‘yeah, I feel really bad today. Maybe today's not the day I really push.’” If you are having trouble completing your workouts, have consistent muscle or joint pain, soreness, or are even noticeably irritable or having mood swings, it is probably time to take the day off. Richardson elaborates, “Mentally, if you're dreading doing what you normally do, do something different. Or instead of a 45-minute workout, just do 15 minutes. Check it off the list and move on to the next day.”
Additionally, having cravings for junk food or overeating or having trouble sleeping may be your body’s way of telling you to take a break. Finally (and probably most difficult to hear), if you feel like you are plateauing in your fitness, it may mean it’s time to take a rest day. While this may seem counterintuitive, your body needs time to rest and recover from all of the hard work that you are putting yourself through on those days where you are really showing up in the gym. Rest days are just as important as workout days, so do everything that you can to ensure that you’re making the most of your time.
WHY WORKOUT ON A REST DAY?
Right when we thought rest days gave us the green light to chill, in slides the humble “rest day workout”. Turns out, as much as total R&R and binging the latest show can do for our soul, incorporating a routine of movement throughout each day will treat it even better.
Just like we chalk up indulging in an afternoon cookie (or three) as “balance” to our morning run, active rest days even out the scales for a holistic healthy lifestyle. Rest days sprinkled between sweat-drenched workouts are important, but as Martinez puts it, we can reframe rest days in our mind as “active recovery days” in order to approach it in a way that still encourages forward momentum and progress.
“A rest day is still productive. Making the right decisions during that rest day like doing some active recovery, being mindful of how you are fueling your body, and your sleep cycle are critical,” says Martinez. Richardson adds, “If you’re not doing anything at all during your rest day, you’re not getting the blood flow that you need to recover. A little bit of walking or a light workout can help with recovery in a big way.” Of course, this comes with a caveat; if you’re injured, you may need complete rest and recovery, so consult your physician if this is a concern.
NASAL BREATHING: THE KEY TO KEEPING IT LOW-INTENSITY
On active recovery days, low-impact activities are the target. Higher impact workouts like running, plyometrics or team sports increase your heart rate and induce stress on your joints and muscles, which is beneficial during a workout, but the opposite of what we’re trying to achieve on a rest day. During recovery workouts, Martinez advises focusing on your nasal breathing. “If you’re doing a recovery day run with a buddy, you want to be able to hold a conversation. That’s a great indicator that you’re at the proper pace. If you’re just coming off of a marathon and are doing field sprints the next day, that’s just delaying your recovery,” says Martinez.
LOW-IMPACT WORKOUTS FOR YOUR REST DAY
Walking
Make it a lunchtime walk, a walking date to catch up with a friend, walking during a meeting, or walking the dog. The possibilities are endless, and it’s one of the easiest low-impact workouts you can do. With walking, you can amp up the intensity by walking uphill or at a faster pace, but the great thing is that it remains low impact, and you’ll be able to maintain nasal breathing while increasing your blood flow.
Cycling
Cycling, or other low-impact machines like the elliptical or rowing, are also great ways to get in an active rest workout. These machines take the load off your body so you can move for recovery without inducing the stress of a more intense workout. That said, these machines can be used for a full workout, so remember to keep the speed in a range that you can breathe through your nose.
Swimming
With the water supporting your weight, swimming is extremely low impact. “If you have access to a pool, it could be the perfect recovery workout,” says Richardson. Swimming is great for mobility work with all the different strokes you can do, or even standing in the pool practicing simple plyometric moves is good too.
Your Workout: Lite
Just like warming up can be a rehearsal of the moves ahead of your workout, your rest day workouts can be similar. “If you’re a marathon runner and your legs are dead after hard run the day prior, maybe go on a slow recovery run” says Richardson. “If your body is really feeling it, it’s fine to take a rest day with some active recovery that is related to your main activity.” Rest day workouts don’t always have to be the opposite to your normal workout, but what should be opposite is the intensity or the impact so that you’re able to maintain nasal breathing.
Stretching
All too often, stretching gets skipped for the sake of time, but we all need more of this. Whether it’s standing up from your desk periodically to stretch out those hip flexors, or breathing through a restorative yoga flow filled with long, juicy pose holds, your body will thank you when you devote even a couple of minutes to some muscular TLC.
Foam Rolling
Ah yes, the other recovery activity people love to push aside. Especially if you’re sore from yesterday’s workout, foam rolling will release your fascia, and when paired with the movement of a low-impact workout, you’ll feel more limber after it’s done.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR REST DAYS
While it can be tempting to spend the day parked on the couch during your rest day, the time off is really an opportunity to rest and recover in an active way. Keep yourself feeling loose and grounded with a yoga flow or tai chi session. Keep things low impact by walking, going on a bike ride, hiking, or swimming. Whatever light activity you choose, prioritize movement that’s fun and feels good, ultimately leading to a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle. Martinez elaborates, “It’s like building a campfire. If you let it die down, and you need to cook something, you’re going to need to build it back up. If you stay steady with your movement, you can keep burning a little bit hotter, a little longer, and a little more evenly before letting it die.” By increasing blood flow to parts of your body that need recovery, you’ll recover faster and more efficiently, letting you get back to your routine feeling refreshed and ready to put in work.
FINDING YOUR FLOW
No matter where you are in your fitness journey, your best days in the gym will feel even better when you’re properly using rest days and recovery workouts. Rest days aren’t as structured as workout days — which can be great for your mind, as well as your motivation. Need a little inspo to get going at your own pace? Check out our articles about yoga styles and benefits, how to use a foam roller, and post workout recovery tips.