5 Reasons Why Rest Days Are Critical

 All week we have been focusing on Calories Burned, Meal Panning, Training........ all of which are important to a successful weight loss program.  However, we cannot forget the importance of incorporating rest days.

Here are 5 reasons why rest days are critical:- 

• Prevents injuries - Rest prevents overuse if you push it too hard and without a break, your muscles and joints suffer from overuse and that’s where injuries can occur.  

• Muscles need a rest -  When lifting weights muscle fibres are being torn and 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.  Additionally, this is why most trainers vary the muscle trained on various days.

•  Over-training affects sleep - 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. Rest days can help decrease your alertness and heart rate, which can help get you a night of sound sleep.

• Immune system can over heat -  During periods of heavy activity, the immune systems is constantly activating to repair muscles and joints. Without proper rest, the immune system can’t catch up to all the repairs the body needs which can result in injuries.

• Mental Edge -  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.

RELAX

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.  It is important to plot out a schedule and pick your weekly rest days (one or two days).

 Additionally,  sleep is so important to your general rest and well-being.  Fit-bit is an excellent device for tracking sleep/rest.  An improvement in the quality and amount of sleep and ensuring that you have a good pattern of sleep will help you be your best on your most active days.

RELAX

Hope I was able to convince you of the importance of rest days while training.