How many days off between workouts?
When you’re focused on your fitness goals, it’s not uncommon to let “rest days” fall to the bottom of your priority list. But recovery is just as integral to physical health as the workouts themselves: they help build strength, hone performance and reduce the risk of injury.
So, how many days of rest are needed between workouts to benefit from these benefits?
Ideally, you will get 48 to 72 hours of rest between training days. If you like high-intensity workouts, the American Council on Exercise recommends at least one day of complete, passive rest every 7 to 10 days.
Below, we explain how rest days work to fuel future workouts and what you can do to help your body bounce back (and rebuild) even better.
Why Rest Days Help Fuel Future Workouts
Whether you’re a fitness newcomer or a five-star athlete, rest days and recovery periods can make or break your And long-term physical health. While you relax, your body is working hard, on a molecular level, to make the necessary repairs to adapt to your next workout.
Concretely, rest days promote:
- Muscle repair and growth – During periods of effort, your muscle fibers undergo “micro-tears” due to physical stress. When you take the time to rest after training, these tears have time to heal and grow, creating even stronger muscle tissue. In sports science, this process is known as muscle hypertrophy.
- Glycogen replenishment – Glycogen is the main substance your body uses to fuel workouts. Intense workouts deplete your reserves, located in your muscles and liver. Rest days, aided by a carbohydrate-rich post-workout meal, allow your body to replenish its reserves. This facilitates muscle repair and growth and helps you avoid muscle fatigue.
- Hormonal balance – Physically speaking, your body views exercise as a form of stress. As a result, cortisol (the stress hormone) tends to increase during training sessions. If you practice intense or frequent training, rest days prevent you from entering into a catabolic state: when your body may start to break down muscles, rather than repair them. Rest also allows your endocrine system to balance, potentially reducing your risk of developing hormonal imbalances.
On a macro level, rest days help you avoid overtraining, which can leave you feeling mentally and physically exhausted after a gym session. By treating rest days as an essential part, rather than an enemy, of your regimen, you’ll likely see stronger, longer-lasting results from the efforts you put in when you’re active.
Understanding active and passive recovery
Different types of workouts may require different types of recovery periods. For example, you may not need a full day of rest if your favorite exercise is gentle yoga.
Rest days are especially crucial for those engaging in high-intensity or endurance training, where muscle hypertrophy is most likely to occur. For this reason, it is important to distinguish between “active” and “passive” recovery time:
- Active recovery may include low-stress exercises to maintain circulation and tone your muscles. Active recovery days could include exercises such as:
- Fast walking
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Drawing
- Passive recovery understand No exercise – a complete state of physical rest. This is ideal if you engage in high-intensity training, especially regularly. On these days, feel free to consider reading, your favorite hobby, or simply lounging on the couch as your workout for the day. Savor it!
Don’t forget post-workout recovery
Rest days are important, but you can further aid your recovery by taking a few simple steps right after your workouts.
Here’s what you can do to support your body as it transitions into this recovery period:
- Cool – Before leaving the gym, make sure you do at least 10 minutes of relaxing movements. Low-intensity exercises help bring your heart rate and blood pressure back to baseline.
- Stretchable – Stretching helps limit aches and promote flexibility. It is thought that stretching combined with cool down periods can help prevent your muscles from becoming stiff and sore down the line.
- Hydrate – If you do it correctly, you may lose a lot of moisture while you exercise. Some people can give up up to 2 liters of fluid (and salt) per hour of high-intensity training. Ideally, adults will drink between 16 and 24 oz. water or sports drinks after training.
- Fill up – Post-workout snacks help replenish glycogen stores and promote muscle repair and growth. Your ideal post-workout meal may depend on the type of workout you’ve done as well as your individual needs. To simplify things, carbohydrates are ideal for recovery, while protein helps with muscle repair and growth.
Develop Holistic Health at Chuze Fitness
Once you’ve had some rest, get back to your workouts at Chuze Fitness. With one of the best value memberships you can find, you can access clean, high-end gym equipment, countless group classes, and even a movie theater where you can work out while you’re at it. while entertaining you. Need childcare? Chuze Fitness has that too. Please note that this service is not available at all Chuze Fitness locations, be sure to check your local Chuze location page.
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Sources:
Health Line. Are rest days important for exercise?
https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/rest-day#benefits
NCBI. Effects of different rest intervals between tests on the reproducibility of the 10 repetition maximum load test: a pilot study with recreationally resistance trained men. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6719818/
Health Line. Muscle hypertrophy and your training.
https://www.healthline.com/health/muscular-hypertrophy#definition
The runner’s world. Cortisol and exercise: what you need to know.
https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/mental-health/a60125903/cortisol-and-exercise/
Very well fitted. Why you need rest and recovery after exercise. https://www.verywellfit.com/the-benefits-of-rest-and-recovery-after-exercise-3120575
Mayo Clinic. Aerobic exercise: how to warm up and cool down. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-owned/exercise/art-20045517
Johns Hopkins Medicine. Sports and hydration for athletes: questions and answers with a dietitian.
Reviewed by:
Ani is the Vice President of Fitness at Chuze Fitness and oversees the group fitness and team training departments. She has had a career spanning over 25 years in club management, personal training, group exercise and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, California and loves hot yoga, snowboarding, and all things wellness.
