Your Body Benefits From Rest

The reason why many recommend rest days is to allow the body’s tissues and muscles to recover from the mechanical stresses of exercise.While adequate rest is important for everyone, it is even more crucial for athletes who want to maintain physical health and reach new performance goals. Traditionally, many athletes rely on proper diet and exercise, and rest is often overlooked. A frequent and generalized recommendation is that athletes need about 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Although, this range can vary slightly, focus on finding the right amount of sleep time you need to feel awake and alert throughout your day. However, sleep is essential every night, incorporating a day off from training is still needed. Many still feel guilty when they take a day off from training but understanding why the body needs a rest day can help relieve this guilt.

So, how does rest affect performance? When your body is at rest your muscles recover, adapt, and become stronger. Your nervous system has time to regenerate. Rest is restorative, your body replenishes its energy to be used again. Adequate rest has been associated with increased speed, accuracy and reaction time, endurance, and reduces the risk of injury. Rest days have an impact on your body for both physiological and psychological health. Below are some important benefits of what happens to your body when you allow it to rest.

Promotes Muscle Recovery

Your body stores glycogen as a source of energy. When exercising, glycogen is utilized for muscle contraction and is a key regulator of metabolic responses to exercise. The increased duration of exercise or the longer you go without taking a rest day, the more energy source from your muscles declines. This can cause soreness, pain, and reduced performance. When you allow sufficient time for your body to take a break, you promote your body time to refuel, your tissues and muscles to repair, and reduce inflammation from stress.

Helps Overcome Adaption

Adaption Refers to the body's ability to adjust to increased or decreased physical demands. When you start training your body in a new routine, you will notice that your muscles are often more sore than you would be if you had been doing the same exercise day after day. This is because, after time your muscles adapt and exert less energy. Incorporating a rest day to properly refuel your energy can allow your body to overcome more strength and have a breakthrough in a plateau.

Prevents Burnout

Finding a balance between work and recovery decreases the result of physical and emotional stress. Overtraining Syndrome is a condition in which an athlete experiences fatigue and declining performance in sport despite continuing or increased training. This happens when an athlete fails to recover adequately from training and competition. Risk factors include mood changes, decreased motivation, frequent injuries, and even infections. The only way to prevent burnout/overtraining is to rest.

Signs of Needing a Rest Day:

·        Having a hard time sleeping

·        Aches and pains

·        Loss of appetite

·        A decrease in performance

·        Feeling agitated, moody, or stressed

What to Do on a Rest Day

Take advantage of your rest day! Fill your time in other ways you don’t usually get to do when you are exercising/training.

·        Sleep in or take a nap

·        Stretch or use a foam roller

·        Sign up for a yoga class

·        Finish those errands you keep putting off

·        Take a walk (and bring your pup with you!)

·        Make that new recipe you have been wanting to try! Check out our free performance plates, but make it fall guide for some inspo!

Remember to not push yourself too hard! It’s important to listen to your body when it tells you it needs a break. Everyone’s body is different so don’t compare your needs and tolerances to someone else’s. Make your rest day something that you look forward to and if still feeling guilty, resort back to the benefits of rest.