Resting after exercise is very important for your performance. The reason why is straightforward as well. If you don’t relax your muscles after putting them through the motions, they will not perform as well because they have had time to rest.
One of the biggest issues people have with recovery days is they feel guilty that they are not training. There is no issue with having a rest day, and your body will thank you for it. Let’s take a look at the different benefits of rest days.
Promotes Muscle Recovery
When you use your muscles, the energy stores deplete. It is also known as muscle glycogen. Muscle tissue will also break down after a workout. That is why you must have a rest day because it gives your body a chance to rest and repair those damaged muscle tissues. Including replenishing glycogen stores for your muscles.
Helps Your Body Adapt
Recovery days give you the chance to adapt after a workout. Therefore, it will be more efficient in your next workout as it has learned a new skill. Think about it, when you start a new exercise and lift a new weight, it is difficult. However, after you have done it a few times, your body gets used to lifting this weight. It is your body adapting to the weight and becoming stronger.
It is important to state that you must rest to give yourself a chance to adapt. If you don’t then there is a chance that you will overwork those muscles. If those muscles are overworked, they become tired which means you can lose your form. Losing your form when lifting heavy weights can lead to injury. If you suffer from an injury, you will need to take time out to recover and therefore, your muscles will become weak again. To stop this setback from happening, ensure you get plenty of rest to let those muscle tissues repair.
Prevents Overtraining
If you don’t rest your muscles, there is only one thing that will happen and that is overtraining. This affects a lot of professional and non-professional athletes.
You might think that overtraining results in just tired muscles and potentially causes an injury, however, there is more to it. It can cause your body fat percentage to increase, increase dehydration, affect your mood negatively and in some cases, lower your libido.
What To Do On Rest Days
There are many things you can do to make sure you are resting your muscles. Some people still like to do something such as a light jog or a long walk in their gym set so they feel like they are doing something.
There is nothing wrong with completely resting and putting your feet up on the couch whilst wearing your loungewear set. Just make sure you are stretching your muscles during the day to keep them relatively active. Plus, it will help relieve the pain in your muscles temporarily, giving you a chance to feel relaxed even more. Another thing to remember is to get plenty of sleep. This is a great recovery method and will improve the quality of your sleep on rest days.