Do You Give Your Body Enough Rest?

Rest Up

Resting is just as important as working out! It is an equal part of the process required to build strength, endurance, and muscle.

 

Your body needs these days, especially during intense training. Rest allow’s your muscles to recover in order to avoid injury, to avoid overworking yourself, to avoid burnout.

 

It can be difficult for us to want to take these days because we may fear that we will fall out of our routine, it might just make it that much easier to skip the next day… and the next day after that.

 

Go into your rest day with the understanding that this is part of the training process; that it’s mind over matter, and you can put this fear at ease. We may be starting to see great results, so we find ourselves super motivated to hit our workouts hard, and maybe even multiple times in a day.

 

 

 

Six reasons why getting your rest is so important

REST PREVENTS INJURY

It’s common sense that resting is beneficial for injury reduction, but why? Well for starters, rest days prevent overuse. That extends from running to lifting and even walking. If you’re a regular runner, you know how much your legs and feet can take until you just need a day off. If you push it too hard without a break, your muscles and joints suffer from overuse and that’s where injuries can happen.

 

YOUR MUSCLES NEED REST

This is likely the first thing you learned about strength training. When you lift weights, you’re essentially tearing muscle fibers. But without a proper period of rest for your immune system to repair and grow the muscle, you’re not going to get the benefit of your training. That’s why you need to vary the muscle groups you engage on staggered days.

 

YOUR PERFORMANCE WON’T DIP

In general, it takes your body almost two weeks of non-activity before you start losing a noticeable amount of your progress or performance level. So don’t think that taking a day or two off from training will set you back all that hard work you’ve put in.

 

Behold the power of the rest day!

 

OVER-TRAINING AFFECTS SLEEP

Is your sleep all over the place? Over-training could be the culprit. Too much exercise can put your body in a constant state of restlessness or on high alert making a good night’s sleep tough to achieve. A telltale sign is an increase in your resting heart rate. Taking those rest days can help bring down your alertness and heart rate, which can help get you a night of sound sleep.

Of course, sleep is so important to your general rest and well-being. A solid pattern of sleep will help you be your best on your most active days.

 

YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM CAN OVERHEAT

During periods of heavy activity, our immune systems are constantly activating to repair muscles and joints. Without proper rest, your immune system can’t catch up to all the repairs your body needs. And then? You guessed it: injuries.

 

MENTAL EDGE

From a psychological standpoint, taking a rest period can rekindle your hunger for exercise and help prevent burnout. Mental fatigue can be every bit as detrimental as physical fatigue and taking a rest day helps to recharge the psyche.

 

 

What Can Be Done?

So what can you do to get your mind set on rest? For starters, you’re going to have to make the mental adjustment to understanding and believing that you can take days off. It’s good for you, for all the reasons listed above.

Just like setting your daily goals, set your rest goals. Plot out a schedule and pick your weekly rest days; one or two days where you limit your activity to allow your body/muscles to recover. Don’t forget that active recovery is also hugely beneficial, and a standard routine of stretching or light yoga to improve flexibility and circulation can be especially valuable.

 

Here at Comfort Health

If you feel that you could be in need of some TLC get in contact with us at Comfort Health. We can advise you in the best way of taking care of your body, as well as offering that all important recovery massage. Click Here to get booked in today!