Take a Break

Why rest and recovery are important training tools

By Erica K. Perkins

Taking a day off from exercise should not invoke feelings of guilt. Rest and recovery is a necessity of any training program – whether you’re an Olympic athlete or just beginning to make exercise a regular part of your life. 

Getting fit means progressively challenging your body with activity, but what is often misunderstood is that the actual physiological benefits of exercise (like losing weight) occur during rest and recovery.

Beware of overtraining

Exercise or any physical work such as gardening or shoveling snow causes changes in the body such as muscle tissue breakdown and the depletion of energy stores (muscle glycogen) as well as fluid loss. Recovery time allows these stores to be replenished and tissues to be repaired. Without it, the body will continue to break down and experience overtraining. What are signs of overtraining? Increased likelihood of injury, fatigue, chronic soreness, depression and poor activity performance.

Rest to lose weight

Another problem that can occur with too little rest factored into an exercise program is elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that increases fat levels in the body and destroys muscle tissue. Cortisol particularly increases abdominal fat, which means you can actually gain fat and lose muscle—the exact opposite of your goals!

There are two types of recovery: short-term and long-term. Short-term is often called active recovery when you do slower movements immediately following a more intense workout. This removes chemicals that build up as a result of cell activity during exercise. Another component of short-term recovery is replenishing energy stores and fluids.

Long-term recovery is when you schedule at least 1 to 2 days of rest or minimal activity each week to allow your body sufficient restoration time from the challenges of regular exercise sessions.

The right amount of rest

The amount of rest and recovery you require will depend partly on your fitness level, training program and goals, as well as how much you have going on in your life that is stressful besides your workouts. For example, Olympic athletes train many sessions per week, but many of them don't have full-time jobs or families to take care of, and they are also genetically gifted to be able to handle that amount of work without breaking down (and some of them do break down, as you see in stories about injured athletes during the Olympics.) 

Generally, you should do 1 to 2 “hard” workouts and 2 to 3 “moderate” workouts with 1 to 2 days of rest each week. Other factors that aid in recovery include stretching, eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated and getting adequate sleep. To ensure your exercise program is helping you meet your goals and not hindering them, consider consulting with a certified personal trainer.