By Anissa Deol
Rest days. I have a hate-love relationship with them. I find it so hard to stay still when I’m at home, especially with classes online. However, taking a rest day or two after hard workouts is essential for the body.
A trainer from Barry’s Bootcamp says, “You have to let your body heal from the work you’ve been doing all week. Your muscles need a chance to desensitize and get used to the progression you’ve already made.” Your muscles and your central nervous system are connected to one another. Even though, after a hard workout, your muscles may not feel sore or you feel as if you are ready to train, your CNS may not be. Your brain can become fatigued just as your muscles can. If the CNS is not ready to train with your body, this can lead to bad patterns of body movement which can increase the chance of injury. Injury can be a major setback for people who have serious workout goals and can cause future worries as well.
Most people think that if they take a rest day, it will set back their fitness goals or stop them from being healthy. However, thinking of the bigger picture, rest days will help your fitness goals. Your body will learn to slowly “catch up” to how hard you work out and begin to set a pattern. There is progress even on the days you may take a short walk instead of running for 6 miles.
Taking breaks allows your body to repair and recover. Regardless of whether you are an athlete or a fitness instructor, any serious athlete needs to incorporate rest days period.
Your body will give you signs, indicating that you need a rest day, and you must listen to those. If you are, according to Women’s Health Magazine and other health magazines:
· Finding it hard to wake up when your alarm goes off
· Being easily irritated
· Lack of motivation and concentration
· High-Stress Levels
· Not being able to fall asleep
· Building upon injuries
· Ignoring sharp pains or tightness
With these signs, you will know that your body is serious about needing a break. However, if you chose to ignore these signs, it can lead to further injury and future pains that will affect you as you get older. The older you get, the more you need to take care of your body. Stretching and incorporating these rest days into your schedule will result in a healthier and well-rounded body and life. Fitness goals are important, and going HAM during a workout is always worth it, but rest days are just as worth it as well.
The sources used are linked in the article.