Aiming to get in shape this year? You’re not alone. Exercise and weight loss remain among the biggest goals for Americans each new yearly cycle. Setting fitness goals and living up to them can be both rewarding and challenging, but did you know that rest is just as important as the work itself?
Getting enough rest after exercise is actually essential to high performance and growth. You shouldn’t feel guilty about taking a day off – in fact, you should take the time to understand why a day off is all-important.
What is the value of rest and recovery when it comes to physical fitness? Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
Promotes Muscle Recovery
When you exercise, you’re really putting your muscles through a real regiment. Every time you work your muscle, you decrease the natural energy stores in your body and break down muscle tissue.
If you were to continue to workout, non-stop, with no rest? You could actually damage your muscle tissue. Time needs to be taken between exercise sessions to allow your body to recover.
This recovery will allow muscle tissue to regrow. This regrowth is part of the strengthening process you’re looking to achieve by hitting the gym, so you don’t want to cut the process short. It will also help to decrease overall muscle soreness.
Prevents Injury
The more adept your body gets at your current exercise routine, the more you’ll have to push it to make new progress.
This is just how the process works. Weight amounts must be raised, mile marks pushed. You’re always pushing past your most recent point of endurance.
However, it should be stated that the more you need to push, the more stress you’re putting on your body. You are definitively increasing your risk of incident or accident. You don’t want to overwhelm your body, and as such, you should take frequent rest days in order to destress the body.
A proper rest day is the best form of preventive care that you can take. You don’t want to have to look into a muscle injury treatment, and rest can help prevent this need.
Frees Up Your Schedule
Exercising regularly is just as much of a mental game as it is a physical one. Doing everything you can to keep yourself motivated, focused, and driven will be essential if you want to maintain your new routine.
Working some rest days into your routine can do wonders in this area as well. We all live busy lives, and thus it can be tricky to determine how best to work in time to exercise.
Allowing a few days off can help bring about a little relief and flexibility. It’ll allow for some days that don’t feel like you’re cramming everything in, and this will be important when it comes to maintaining your new exercise routine.
Rest And Recovery Tips
When it comes to getting fit, a day of rest can be just as important as a day of work. The above information can help you to understand the benefits of rest and recovery as part of your exercise routine.
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