Optimising recovery: Why Rest Days Matter
When it comes to fitness, what you do outside the gym is just as important as the time you spend in it. Recovery is a massive part of the process that helps your body repair, rebuild, and get stronger.
Why Recovery is Essential:
Muscle Repair: After a workout, your muscles need time to recover and grow. Proper recovery helps reduce soreness and prevents overuse injuries.
Prevents Burnout: Pushing yourself without rest can lead to mental and physical fatigue, making it harder to stay consistent over time, which is not good for anyone.
Improves Performance: Giving your body time to recover ensures that you return to your workouts feeling refreshed and stronger, which improves your overall performance and allows you to progressively increase the stimulus.
Recovery Strategies:
Active Recovery: Incorporate low-intensity activities like walking, yoga, or swimming on rest days to keep your body moving without overworking it.
Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep, as it plays a major role in muscle repair and overall recovery.
Hydration & Nutrition: Fuel your body with the right nutrients, consume adequate protein and get plenty of water alongside a solid whole food diet.
Rest Days vs. Recovery Days
Rest days involve complete rest, allowing your body and mind to fully recharge. Recovery days, on the other hand, involve light activity that promotes blood flow and muscle repair without added stress.
Individual Variation
As with most things we discuss, individual variation is important. Someone who has been training for 10 years will be more adapted than someone just starting. When looking at recovery, it’s important to look at your overall circumstances.
Where are you on your fitness journey?
Do you have other large stressors in your life currently?
What type of exercise are you doing regularly
Working at 90% will require a different recovery approach than working at 60%.
Listen to your body.
Let it guide you.
If your consistency begins to drop, have a look at your recovery and make adjustments.
P.S. Want help getting your sleep dialled in? Head of to our Instagram and DM the word ‘SLEEP’ to grab the guide.
