Why Rest Is Just as Important as Exercise

Jul 6, 2022

When adding a regular workout routine to your life, you might not think taking days off will help you to achieve your fitness goals. However, rest days are imperative to your physical and mental health as well as continuing to accomplish your fitness goals.

Regardless of your routine, exercise causes micro-injuries to tissues. Rest days allow the body to repair those injuries – usually, fibroblasts, which are cells that repair muscle proteins – allowing the new limits of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments you focused on during a workout to settle.

If you are struggling to keep working out or find yourself too sore, read on for information regarding the importance of rest days, why you might be headed for burnout, and how to utilize your rest day in the best way possible.

What Is a Rest Day?

Whether planned or unplanned, a rest day is simply a day off from your normal exercise routine. The purpose of a rest day is to allow your mind and body to recover. Don’t think you can’t do anything active on a rest day! A rest day is a pause in your routine, but that does not mean you have to stay still all day.

A rest day can be a total rest day where you go about your regular activities but with no workouts, or you can take an active rest day (ARD). How often you take a rest day is individual to you, but it also depends on the type of exercise you do regularly. If you are doing light cardio most of the time, you can usually take fewer rest days. However, if you are doing high-intensity training, intense cardio, or multiple sports, you may require more downtime in between workout sessions.

A rest day can look like anything you want it to be. You can spend the day relaxing on the couch and watching movies, enjoying time with family and friends, or working on a hobby!

If you want to take an active rest day, it will look a little different. You can rest certain areas of your body, like your legs, while exercising other parts, such as your arms and shoulders. Yoga is a good option to still keep your body active, but low impact and calming.

While you should be eating a well-balanced diet all the time, on rest days, you should prioritize protein as it helps repair muscles. You will likely feel less hungry on rest days, so listen to your body and don’t feel like you have to eat as much as you would on a day you are exercising.

How Does a Rest Day Benefit You?

why-chiropractic-can-help-you-sleep-better-after-an-accidentBy continuously prioritizing work over rest, you are putting much more on the line than your fitness goals! Over-exerting yourself puts your body at risk of both muscle and ligament injury in a multitude of ways.

The immune system can be repressed with excessive exercise, and you might see an inflammatory response across your body. Your body needs time to re-fuel, repair, and rest to approach your next workout stronger. If you don’t take a rest day, your muscles, joints, and other important structures do not have the time to repair the microscopic tears that exercising causes.

  1. Alleviate pain and soreness– Resting gives the body time to remove lactic acid from your muscles. Lactic acid is the main culprit for the burning pain after exercising, and a build-up of lactic acid can result in muscle weakness and poor endurance.
  2. Repair and rebuild muscle– During rest, cells called fibroblasts repair microscopic tears, resulting in stronger muscles.
  3. Preventing injury– too much stress on your joints and muscles can result in acute injury or even long-term chronic injuries
  4. Restore energy– Glycogen is stored energy in your muscles. Without rest, your muscles cannot replenish glycogen resulting in muscle fatigue and the dread plateau in progress.
  5. Resting your mind– Overworking your body can tire your mind as well. When you aren’t thinking clearly, you are at higher risk of injury
  6. Improves performance– Without enough rest, it can be hard to stay active, let alone challenge yourself to reach new goals. Rest gives you an energy boost and allows you to be consistent in the amount of effort during exercise
  7. Supports healthy sleep– Constant exercise will result in an overproduction of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. In smaller or shorter increases, this is perfectly fine. However, when too much is produced, your sleep is interrupted. Taking a rest day helps restore those hormone levels to normal, allowing for more consistent, restful sleep.

7 Signs You Might Need a Rest Day

While you may or may not schedule your rest days to be the same every week, it is important you listen to your body and learn how to spot the signs of burnout. As mentioned earlier, rest days allow you to rest physically and mentally. If you are skipping them, you are more likely to overlook signs from your body that you should take a break. We have compiled a list of warning signs to watch for below.

You are really sore.

Some muscle soreness is expected after a workout, but soreness that is disruptive to your day or persists is not normal. Muscle soreness after an especially intense workout usually lasts 48-72 hours, peaking at 48 hours before resolving. If you experience soreness that persists longer than a few days and rates over a 7 on the pain scale- you should rest immediately and seek medical attention if the pain increases or does not resolve.

You start to dread working out.

One of the benefits of a rest day is giving your mind a chance to rest. If you have been avoiding rest days, your mind and body will be overworked and can build up exhaustion and resistance to working out. We all have days we just feel ‘off,’ maybe physically or emotionally. If you find that these feelings persist while working out, it may be time to reevaluate and take a rest day.

One of the biggest signs of needing a rest day is having to push and shove yourself to exercise. This is especially true if you are usually really excited about working out. Emotional changes like dread or feeling run down are major indicators you need to rest.

You are dehydrated.

Signs of dehydration include extreme thirst, dark urine, and low blood pressure. Dehydration can indicate you are losing moisture too quickly. If you are dehydrated, do not work out as this can lead to injury or even a stroke. When you resume exercising, make sure to maintain adequate hydration!

You are injured, sick, or in pain.

If you are injured or in pain, you should absolutely be resting. Rest is key in healing sprains, fractures, and other exercise-related injuries. If you exercise an injured part of your body too soon or without supervision, you risk re-injuring yourself or delaying healing. Even if you have a mild cold, it is better if you do not exercise while sick. Exercising can cause your symptoms to worsen and tire more quickly. If you do have an injury and want to ease back into exercise, please contact AICA at Lithia Springs for an evaluation! Our team of orthopedic specialists, chiropractors, and physical therapists is ready to help you build a comprehensive treatment plan.

You are experiencing muscle cramps or spasms.

These spasms or cramps can be caused by dehydration but can also be a sign that your muscles are excessively fatigued. You might wake up at night with leg cramps or experience a charley horse while climbing the stairs in your house.

Your resting heart rate is elevated.

Your heart rate should be relatively stable throughout the day unless you are exercising. If you notice your normal resting heart rate is running higher (5 beats or more) than normal over a week, it’s an indication you need to be taking a rest day. If it continues for longer than a week, check in with your doctor.

You struggle with routines you regularly do with ease.

If you find yourself struggling to complete a workout you normally don’t have a problem completing, something could be going on. Stop, and evaluate yourself. Are you injured and didn’t realize it? Or was your 10-minute mile a 13-minute mile due to overworking your body? Either way, it’s time to take a rest day.

When to Speak to a Doctor

The body is capable of achieving a high level of fitness, but if proper precautions, like resting, are not taken, injury can occur. To avoid injury or if an injury has occurred to the body, seeking care from one of the Atlanta chiropractors at AICA Lithia Springs is a step that can help you reach your fitness goals. AICA offers expert evaluation by orthopedic doctors, sports medicine specialists, chiropractors, and physical therapists. Our goal is to make sure you have a comprehensive plan to address any injury or potential injury concerns. Contact our practice today for an appointment!

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