Rest Days to Improve Fitness

Rest days have a critical role for anyone’s fitness journey. They are essential to help the body restore its energy levels in the muscle tissue and energy systems. When the body experiences physical exertion, it uses up glycogen (solidified version of glucose) in the muscle tissue and energy system. If an individual is training with weights (resistance), it will tear muscle fibers that will allow room for more muscle mass to grow that can store more glycogen. The glycogen is the first thing the body burns for energy. It’s important to have enough of it in the muscles and energy systems to protect the body from consuming protein that is also found in muscle tissue.

Recovery restores glycogen levels (energy) and rebuilds the muscle fibers that were torn apart from exercise. The body requires a minimum of 48 hours of recovery before training the same muscle group again as it requires time to rebuild the broken-down muscle fibers and restore the body’s energy levels. If the body does not receive 48 hours of recovery before that muscle group is trained again, the muscle fibers have become weakened rather than restored and energized. This can lead to injury like: pulling, tearing, or straining that muscle group. 48 hours is the minimum for healthy muscle recovery.

Rest days are invaluable for an increase in physical performance, but they are also a staple for a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. They offer the opportunity to create a healthy workout routine that works around regular daily and weekly activities. This can be crucial to help an individual stay motivated and provides the body with the proper amount of rest it requires that will help with both physical and mental energy levels. Rest days offer the time to accomplish other activities of daily living outside of work while also healing the body.

Another benefit is that there is a two-week window before the body experiences atrophy (losing muscle mass) from not training or working out. A regular fitness goer can experience the luxury of taking time off from their fitness routine and still maintain their muscle mass for at least two weeks. If two weeks of rest is exceeded, the muscle mass previously gained will begin to lessen. This can, however, provide an individual the opportunity to relax and allow the body time to recover knowing that their physical performance will not be impacted for at least two weeks. This is helpful to assist an individual to reach their fitness goals and is beneficial for mental and physical health.