How many days of rest between workouts?
When you’re fully focused on your fitness goals, it’s not uncommon for “rest days” to take a backseat on your priority list. But recovery is just as critical to physical health as the workouts themselves: they help build strength, hone performance, and reduce injury risk.
So how many days of rest between workouts does it take to experience these benefits?
Ideally, you should 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 rebuild) even better.
Why rest days help boost future workouts
Whether you’re new to fitness or a five-star athlete, rest days and recovery periods can make or break your immediate performance. and Long-term physical health. While you take it easy, your body is working hard (at the molecular level) to make the necessary repairs to adapt to your next workout.
Specifically, rest days promote:
- Muscle repair and growth – During periods of exertion, muscle fibers suffer “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 replacement – Glycogen is the main substance the body uses to fuel itself during training. Intense training sessions deplete the reserves, which are located in the muscles and liver. Rest days, with the help of a carbohydrate-rich meal after training, allow the body to replenish its reserves. This facilitates muscle repair and growth and helps prevent muscle fatigue.
- Hormonal balance – Physically speaking, the body perceives exercise as a type of stress. As a result, cortisol (the stress hormone) tends to increase during training sessions. If you do intense or frequent workouts, rest days help you avoid getting into a rut. catabolic state:when your body may begin to break down muscle, rather than repair it. Rest also allows your endocrine system to balance itself, potentially reducing your risk of developing hormonal imbalances.
On a macro level, rest days help you avoid overtraining, which can leave you feeling physically and mentally exhausted after hitting the gym. If you view rest days as a critical component (rather than an enemy) of your routine, you’re likely to see stronger, more sustainable results from the effort you put in while you’re active.
Understanding active and passive recovery
Different types of training may require different types of recovery periods. For example, you may not need a full rest day if your preferred exercise is gentle yoga.
Rest days are more important for those who perform high-intensity or endurance training, where muscle hypertrophy is more likely to occur. For this reason, it is important to distinguish between “active” and “passive” recovery time:
- Active recovery It may include low-stress exercises to maintain circulation and tone muscles. Active recovery days may include exercises such as:
- Walking at a brisk pace
- Swim
- Yoga
- Extension
- Passive recovery includes No Exercise: A state of complete physical rest. It is ideal if you engage in high-intensity workouts, especially on a regular basis. On these days, feel free to indulge in reading, practicing your favorite hobby, or just relaxing on the couch as part of your daily exercise routine. Enjoy!
Don’t forget post-workout recovery
Rest days are important, but you can further support your recovery by taking a few simple steps right after your training sessions.
Here’s what you can do to support your body as it transitions into that recovery period:
- Cool down – Before leaving the gym, make sure you do at least 10 minutes of exercise to relax. Low-intensity exercises help your heart rate and blood pressure return to normal levels.
- Stretch – Stretching helps limit muscle soreness and promote flexibility. It is believed that stretching combined with cool-down periods can help prevent muscles from becoming stiff and sore in the future.
- Hydrate – If you do it right, you are likely to lose a lot of moisture while exercising. Some people can lose up to 2 liters of fluid (and salt) per hour of high-intensity training. Ideally, adults should drink 16 to 24 ounces of water or sports drinks after exercise.
- Fill the fuel tank – 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 did, as well as your individual needs. To keep things simple, carbohydrates are great for recovery, while protein helps with muscle repair and growth.
Develop comprehensive health at Chuze Fitness
Once you’ve taken some time off, get back to your workouts at Chuze Fitness. With one of the best value memberships you’ll find, you can enjoy access to clean, premium gym equipment, countless group classes, and even a movie theater where you can work out while being entertained. 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’s 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
National Institute of Biological Information. Effects of different inter-trial rest intervals 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 well adjusted. Why you need to rest and recover 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 dietician.
Reviewed by:
Ani is the Vice President of Fitness at Chuze Fitness and oversees the group fitness and team training departments. She has over 25 years of experience 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.
