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How many days of rest between training sessions?
When you’re focused on your fitness goals, it’s not unusual to let “rest days” fall to the bottom of your priority list. But recovery is 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 between workouts do you need to experience these benefits?
The ideal is to rest between 48 and 72 hours between training days. If you love high-intensity workouts, the American Council on Exercise recommends at least 1 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 recover (and bounce back) even better.
Why Rest Days Help Fuel Future Workouts
Whether you’re new to fitness or a five-star athlete, rest days and recovery periods can make or break your immediate success. and long-term physical health. While you take it easy, your body works hard, at a molecular level, making the necessary repairs to adapt to your next workout.
Specifically, rest days promote:
- Muscle repair and growth. – During periods of effort, muscle fibers suffer “microtears” 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 training sessions deplete your reserves, which are found in your muscles and liver. Rest days, with the help of a carbohydrate-rich post-workout meal, allow the body to replenish its reserves. This facilitates muscle repair and growth and helps you avoid muscle fatigue.
- hormonal balance – Physically speaking, your body considers exercise as a form of stress. As a result, cortisol (the stress hormone) tends to increase during training sessions. If you do intense or frequent workouts, rest days will help prevent you from going into a slump. catabolic state: When your body may begin to break down muscles, instead of repairing them. Rest also allows your endocrine system to balance, potentially reducing the 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 time in the gym. By treating rest days as a critical component, rather than an enemy, of your regimen, you’re likely to see stronger, more sustainable results from the effort you put in while active.
Understanding Active vs. 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 preferred exercise is gentle yoga.
Rest days are more crucial for those doing high-intensity or resistance training, where muscle hypertrophy is more likely to occur. For this reason, it is important to make a distinction between “active” and “passive” recovery time:
- active recovery You can include low-stress exercises to maintain circulation and tone muscles. Active recovery days could incorporate exercises such as:
- walk fast
- Swim
- Yoga
- Extension
- passive recovery includes No exercise: a state of complete physical rest. This is ideal if you do high-intensity training, especially regularly. These days, feel free to consider reading, pursuing your favorite hobby, or simply lounging on the couch as your exercise for the day. Enjoy it!
Don’t forget post-workout recovery
Rest days are important, but you can further support your recovery by taking some simple steps right after your training sessions.
Here’s what you can do to help your body transition into that recovery period:
- Cool down – Before leaving the gym, be sure to do at least 10 minutes of relaxing movement. Low-intensity exercises help your heart rate and blood pressure return to baseline values.
- Stretch – Stretching helps limit muscle soreness and promote flexibility. It is believed that stretching along with cool-down periods can help prevent muscles from becoming stiff and sore in the future.
- Hydrate – If you do it right, you will likely lose a lot of moisture while you exercise. Some people can lose up to 2 liters of fluid (and salt) per hour of high-intensity training. Adults should ideally drink 16 to 24 oz. of water or sports drinks after exercising.
- Load fuel – Post-workout snacks help replenish glycogen reserves and promote muscle repair and growth. Your ideal post-workout meal may depend on the type of training you’ve done, as well as your individual needs. To keep things simple, carbs are great for recovery, while protein helps with muscle repair and growth.
Build Whole Health at Chuze Fitness
Once you’ve taken some time to rest, rededicate yourself to your workouts at Chuze Fitness. With one of the highest value memberships you’ll find, you can enjoy access to clean, top-quality gym equipment, countless group classes, and even a movie theater where you can workout while you’re entertained. Do you need childcare? Chuze Fitness has that too. Please note that this service is not available at all Chuze Fitness; Be sure to check the location page for your local Chuze.
Break the routine and take your next best step with a free 7 day pass today.
Sources:
Health line. Are rest days important for exercising?
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 maximal 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-hypertropic#definition
The world of the runner. Cortisol and exercise: what you need to know.
https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/mental-health/a60125903/cortisol-and-exercise/
Very good fit. 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-Depth/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. He has had over 25 years of career in club management, personal training, group exercise and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, CA and loves hot yoga, snowboarding, and all things wellness.
