You may be able to power through for a few weeks, but this is not sustainable in the long-term,” Wickham said.When it comes to expressing your sympathy to a friend or relative grieving the loss of someone special, you might not know what to say. “If you have no rest days, eventually it will catch up to you. Think of a rest day as recharging your batteries. That can result in a lack of motivation or burnout, as well as a risk of injury. Due to this protective mechanism, not getting enough rest days can cause the CNS to go into overdrive trying to maintain this balance. Scientists have proposed that the central nervous system, or CNS, protects the body from overdoing it during exercise by sending signals to the muscles that it’s experiencing fatigue, in an effort to maintain homeostasis. “Eventually, you can overwork your central nervous system and go down the path of overtraining.” “If you’re in a constant state of breaking down your body and don’t give your body sufficient tools to repair what you’ve done in training, you will not make any progress,” Wickham said.Įxercise not only works your muscles and cardiorespiratory system, but it’s also a stressor on your central nervous system, he said. Just as rest helps recovery, skipping it hinders this crucial process. (Related: Can’t Sleep? Here’s What Experts Say To Do) Eating enough calories, protein, and carbohydrates also helps to aid muscle growth and replenish glycogen (stored carbohydrates) stores. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends seven-plus hours of sleep per night. Promoting recovery also involves getting good sleep and nutrition, said Olenick. Connecting with a certified personal trainer or strength coach can help you accomplish this in a safe and effective way. Therefore, it’s imperative to sprinkle in easier workouts or active recovery between those tougher days. Research has shown that you can experience muscle soreness within 24 to 48 hours after intense exercise. The key is to be mindful of how you spread out volume and intensity throughout the week, as it’s an important part of your recovery. Some runs will be short and easy while others will focus on speedwork or on longer distances. For example, if you’re a runner, you won’t be pushing yourself to go as hard and far as you can for every run. She also stressed how important it is to not go “all out” each workout. “Do a walk, easy cardio, or a fun hike or another healthy activity that’s not super stressful, but keeps you moving for your health,” Olenick said. “You don’t want to spend your day sitting on the couch, especially if you have a sedentary job, but you also don’t want to do anything that pushes you or elevates your heart rate too much,” he said.ĭoing light activity is called active rest, Wickham said, as this movement increases blood flow, boosts the delivery of nutrients to muscles, and encourages lymph flow to ferry out waste from your body. (Related: The Best Workout Mat From Nike to Shop Now) If you go the yoga route, aim for a more relaxing session, suggested Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S. It can also be mobility work such as foam rolling or dynamic stretches, or a yoga class. Over time, these physiological changes will help to improve your performance.ĭepending on the volume and intensity of your weekly workouts, you don’t have to completely avoid activity.įor example, rest might look like a gentle 15- to 20-minute walk or an easy bike ride around the neighborhood with your kids. These types of workouts also improve the body’s ability to deliver oxygen-rich blood to muscles and pull from fat stores to fuel a workout. Olenick said that cardio workouts stimulate new or more mitochondria ( cells that generate energy) and small blood vessels. Then, there’s cardiovascular adaptations that happen during recovery. Immune cells, blood flow and nutrients are transported to muscle cells, which helps to increase muscle growth and strength when resistance training is a focal part of training. “Our muscles are having an acute inflammatory response that helps facilitate the muscle repair process,” she said. If you’re not sure how many rest days to take each week to build muscle, consider what’s happening in your body during those recovery periods. “We make our gains while training, but we need rest and recovery for our body to heal from that training and make adaptations.” “Taking one or two days off can help you recover more and make more progress,” Olenick said. It can be strange to think that resting is your ticket to getting faster and stronger - and reaching your fitness goals.
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