Jamie Pappanastos, Contributor
Rest Days. The other R word. To bodybuilders, it’s a terrible day, but it’s necessary. Here are the What, how, when, where and why of rest days.
What: A rest day is literally a day in which you don’t weight train or do cardio. It’s a day in which you let your body recover.
How: Sit down. Don’t think about the gym. One day of rest won’t make you small just like one day of working out won’t make you Arnold Schwarzenegger.
When: Once a week typically is good enough.
Where: Your couch, your bed, your friends couch – you get the point.
Why:
1. Rest prevents injury- Yes, you push yourself as hard as you can when you’re at the gym. Sometimes you may hurt yourself and not even realize it. It’s vital to take rest days to make sure you aren’t worsening an injury.
2. Your muscles need to rest- When you workout, you are ripping muscle fibers. If you don’t adequately rest, you won’t give your body enough time to repair the torn fibers and make you jacked.
3. It won’t hurt your body- It literally takes 2 weeks of being a lard-a** and not doing anything to see a loss in strength. So don’t think you will lose everything in a 24 hour rest period.
4. Sleep is necessary. Too much exercise can make you not sleep well if you put your body in a constant state of restlessness. So take a day off and sleep.
5. Mental stability- taking a day off will re-light the fire that burns deep within your loins to lift heavy a** weight and set it back down.
So, take a day off and let your muscles repair themselves. Take a mental break. Sit on the couch. Yes, you will think about the gym all day long but remember that your muscles need the break.
Why does rest play such an important role in muscle recovery? While you sleep, your Growth Hormones (GH) levels are at their highest. Physiological improvement in building muscle can only occur during the rest period following hard training. This is also why consuming the proper foods immediately following training is key.
Some advice: plan your rest days like a training day. The biggest problem most people have with rest days is that they turn into cheat days. Just because you are not training doesn’t mean you should stop thinking about being healthy and fit. If you’re not thinking about being healthy and fit, it is much easier to slack off and lose momentum. Remember, exercise is probably 10-20% of the equation and how we eat and rest is the other 80-90%.
So plan your rest days deliberately! They’re not off days, they’re rest days, and they serve a vital role in building a kicka** body.
Last tip: Rest is just as important as Reps.
Whether it is playing a video game, getting caught up on a movie or TV show or reading a book, it is important for us to do the nerdy or fun things that make us who we are. Remember, fitness can become part of what we do, but not at the expense of who we are.
Last tip: Rest is just as important as Reps