To rest or not rest...that is the question.

Post Reply New Topic

I feel like I've gotten weaker if I haven't exercised or 2+ days.

But i've heard I need a rest day.

I want to know if I can shock myself into growing if I don't take days off, but get good sleep and eat a lot of healthy stuff.

Also, what if I just skip a day or two but still take some protein that day?

Take a day off. It may seem like a waste, but your body needs it. And don't worry about taking extra protein or any such stuff. You actually need the down day (no exercise or anything else) for you body, regardless of what your mind may tell you. It may feel like a waste, but it's needed.

I would say aerobic or light exercise, do daily if possible. A little something. Lifting, I'd say take rest days. But always try to go for a run, ride a bike, etc, everyday I think, just to keep seratonin levels high. You can do cycles where you don't rest and, say, squat daily, but don't keep it up for a long long period of time or your immune system will go to hell.

You need to take rest days. Sometimes even up to two to three days, four if you way over did it.

You aren't going to get weaker if you're eating, sleeping, taking days off, and working out correctly. It's either you're not doing something right, or it's all in your mind.

If you don't take the appropriate time to give your body rest you are going to have health problems. A few problems you could run into can be tendinitis, a weakened immune system, and a burnt central nervous system. There are tons more problems but those things are really common for people who do not rest enough.

You need to consume enough protein and calories to maintain your muscle mass. If you're not working out, you may not need as much as you do on working out days, but maybe you do. People do both things, it's what works for you that matters. Experiment for yourself and see how it goes. Wish I could give advice about how much protein to consume per lbs, but I forget. I don't lift for big lifts anymore, I lift for endurance and don't pay attention to my protein intake much anymore since it's easy to maintain.

Many people who workout take a month off out of the year as well. Research it. It's really good to take a nice long break after working your body hard for such a long time. A month off for someone really dedicated isn't really going to change a whole,, and once that months ends they can get right back to lifting, getting back what athleticism they lost quickly, and they may even experience gains soon because they gave their body a much needed long break.

I've been having to take days off between my two mile run days.On the days off from running,I walk with ankle weights and holding 3 pound weights,along with doing gentle yoga.Listen to your body! We are pushed so much to "go go go" burn fat lose weight do as much as we can...which isn't natural! my body sure is thanking me for taking days off.

When lifting weights, recovery is just as important as your actual training.

Correct. However, you should not overdo your "resting". Too much resting on your non-workout days (i.e. just lying on the couch watching television) may actually prevent muscle gains.

Just remember that the benefit of exercise isn't the exercise itself it's the recovery afterward where your body rebuilds itself stronger.

Lol I used to squat everyday almost. Except I'm not training for hypertrophy. It worked certainly, squatting and deadlifting everyday, but then your body tells you to stop by getting sick. Then your recovery time consists of a month or so almost off from lifting. Oddly I came out stronger after the recovery phase, didn't lose strength. A stitch in time saves nine I guess. Then again, I wasn't using really any supps, not getting adequate sleep, protein intake, all that fun stuff.

I'm coming to the conclusion cardio is important to do with lifting, and my theory is lifting heavy basically depletes your seratonin, and cardio makes more seratonin. Thus you'll be happier. Also, cardio is good for healing injuries and aches and whatnot, simply because it gets blood flowing everywhere.