If health professionals have made you feel guilty about taking a day off, take a deep breath because recovery is part of the plan. Health experts agree: the results you’re after don’t just happen during exercise. Most of those strength gains, performance improvements, and muscle repair take place while you are resting.
There is no one-size-fits-all rule, but research suggests building a full day of rest about once every seven days of training and avoiding back to back training sessions within a six window (1). No, a day off doesn’t mean being one in your bed (unless that’s what you want). Gentle movement such as stretching or light walking can support recovery and still give your body proper rehabilitation.
Keep reading to learn 5 reasons why rest and recovery are important to improving your health.
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1. Rest days allow muscles to repair and grow
Every time your feet hit the pavement or you do a bicep curl with the dumbbell, you’re putting more stress on your muscles, allowing a small tear to occur (2). This is a good thing! It is the kind of inflammation we need that causes the influx of temporary insult compounds in the area to signal to your body that it is time to repair and rest the body (3). When this happens, you become stronger, build more lean muscles and allow your body to adapt and reset from the damage caused by exercise.
But, this does not happen without proper nutrition. Getting the right mix of protein and carbohydrates in your diet after a workout is key to recovery and rest. Although protein needs vary, a good rule of thumb for active people is to aim for 1.4 to 2.0 grams/kilogram of body weight (4). Logging your food and nutrition in MyFitnessPal is a great way to monitor your current macronutrient intake and how they’re helping (or hindering) your recovery.
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2. Makes work better
Another benefit of taking time to rest and recover? Improvements you will see in your performance. Rest days can help improve energy, endurance and overall exercise performance over time (5). On the flip side, when you don’t allow enough time to recover, that’s where training and injury can enter the picture (1).
When this happens, you may find that your performance level is flat or even poor, and you cannot give everything in the next session. That’s why it’s recommended that you get enough rest at least once a week, and make sure that your exercises have at least 6 hours of rest between them (1).
3. Supports quick recovery
Do you know that pain-onset-muscle pain, or DOMS as it is often called (6)? That’s your body’s way of telling you that it needs to be in order to tone it up before you take it through another workout. Two main players in this process: nutrition and sleep (7).
Nutrients come from many foods that work together to help replenish glycogen stores (the energy that sustains your muscles during exercise) while reducing inflammation by impact (7,8). At the same time, making time for good sleep is key to keeping your muscles and tissues working together to repair, restore, and recover properly (9).
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4. Post Training Recovery Reduces the Risk of Injury
Overdoing it in the gym or on the road can lead to injury, especially when your body is screaming for a break and you ignore it (1). Some signs that it’s time to pause? Feeling unusually tired, needing more sleep, struggling to recover between sessions, feeling very tired, lack of motivation, frequent colds, or even feeling anxious or depressed (1).
To reduce the risk of injury, it is important to listen to your body when it tells you to stop and take it easy. If you are an active person who has taken some time off, in some cases, it may be a week or two that your body needs to fully rest and recover before you are ready to give it another go (1).
5. Delivers mental focus and motivation
Burns can affect even the most active people, so taking time to rest and recover is important; not only for your body, but also for your mind. And yes, exercise is good for mental health (10). But when it starts to feel bad, when nutrition is neglected, or when you feel stress or a low mood in your workout, it is a clear sign that it is necessary to take a break (1).
This is also the perfect opportunity to try active recovery, gentle movements that keep your body moving without a full workout (11). Consider walking, stretching, or jogging, swimming, or even massage or immersion therapy (11). Research is still investigating exactly when a recovery person works best, so fitting in your body and your needs is key to making the most effective recovery decisions (11).
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More tips to make the weekend count
Make the most of your rest day and recovery by taking care of the essentials that will make your muscles recover, faster, and improve your next session. Keep these tips in mind:
- Give Protein a priority.
Protein helps repair torn muscles, giving your body the amino acids it needs to boost muscle strength on those rest days (4). Use the MyFitnessPal Protein Calculator to help determine your protein needs, then enter your food intake in the app to see how you can meet them.
- Don’t stop at Omega-3 Fatty Acids.
Omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce inflammation and keep your body running in top form (12). If you haven’t already, include fatty fish, such as salmon, in your weekly routine at least twice a week. Or, take omega-3 supplements with DHA and EPA (the two fatty acids we can’t make enough of) to get these anti-inflammatory benefits (12).
- Stay warm.
Fuel up with your hydration, logging your water into MyFitnessPal to see how close you are to meeting your needs.
- Enter the perfect Zzz.
If you don’t prioritize sleep, this is your invitation. Sleep is critical to recovery and can make or break the gains you hope to see (9).
- Take time to declutter.
If your workout is often your therapy hour, it’s time to find one more hobby! Maybe it’s a walk outside, reading, or cooking something delicious for dinner. Find something outside of your regular routine that you enjoy and it helps to get rid of it.
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Under the ground
Rest and recovery are not just “breaks” from your workout, they are an important part of the fitness journey. Giving your body and mind time to recharge helps with muscle repair, better performance, injury prevention, and higher motivation. By engaging with your body, making it better, and prioritizing the recovery process, you are setting yourself up for strong, smart and sustainable results.
MyFitnessPal Registered Dietitian Joanna Gregg encourages users to use MyFitnessPal to help them on their journey, leading to rest days and fueling up with the latest meal planning features. He shares, “This tool has been redesigned to give users flexibility and choice in meal plans that work for them, and is specifically designed to help you achieve your goals both in and out of the gym.”
The post Top 5 Reasons Why Rest and Recovery Days Are Important appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.
