While it is important to exercise regularly, it's also vital to rest properly after a good workout. Irrespective of whether one is self-motivated to stay fit, or is training for a fitness competition or a challenge, doing extra without proper R&R isn’t good for your body.
As per an article by the portal ‘Healthline’, taking regular breaks allows your body to recover and repair itself. It’s a critical part of progress, regardless of your fitness level or sport. Otherwise, skipping rest days can lead to overtraining or burnout.
As the adage goes, ‘Excess of anything is bad’. The same applies very accurately. Although our bodies are designed to endure and fight back, everything has its limits. When we cross those limits, it injures the body and can have long-term adverse effects.
Let’s take a look at why rest is so important:
Allows our body to recover:
If you opt to take a day’s break after every 2 or 3 days of workout, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy. In fact, the real impact of the workout emerges during your rest period. This period is essential for muscle growth. A workout usually tears your muscle tissue, which is absolutely normal. On the other hand, during rest, cells called fibroblasts repair those muscles back again. This eventually helps the tissue heal and grow and you’ll end up with stronger muscles.
Removes muscle fatigue:
Exercise depletes the muscle glycogen levels. If you don’t rest sufficiently, you may experience muscle soreness or fatigue. Glycogen is necessary for your muscles to function even if you don’t workout. Hence, adequate rest helps restore the glycogen levels in your muscles.
Reduced risk of distraction or injury:
When people don’t rest properly they tend to focus less on other important things. For example, if you haven’t slept well or rested up after your rigorous workout sessions, it's likely you’ll fall neglect correct form or posture, drop weights, or feel an imbalance during other activities.
Better performance and training:
Overtraining without breaks for days certainly starts impacting your performance during workouts. Things like poor agility, reduced endurance and low energy levels become quite apparent. There comes a point when the body screams ‘Stop’, and you must hear this and take action to avoid any further mishaps.
Quality sleep:
Energy boosting hormones like cortisol and adrenaline increase due to physical workouts. The more one pushes oneself to train harder without letting the body rest, they may end up seeing a huge rise in these hormones. This will hinder quality sleep. It could worsen your fatigue, making your condition even worse than before.