Working out is rarely easy. You invest your time and effort and you often push your boundaries. It takes a lot to get to your destination when it comes to working out. However, it is possible and it is very rewarding. You may be exercising for health issues, boredom, or to get that perfect summer body. Whatever your reason is, you should remember that rest is an essential part of each workout regime. This is why you should never neglect the rest days.
Rest prevents injury
One of the main reasons why rest days are essential is because they help you prevent any potential injury. If you’ve ever experienced delayed onset muscle soreness, you know the struggle caused by lack of rest. Besides unpleasant feelings, DOMS also makes you unable to perform some of the most basic movements when you exercise. Your main issue here isn’t the inconvenience caused by the DOMS; the danger of it is what should concern you. Namely, you expose your body to repetitive strain injuries or dropping a piece of equipment on yourself.
Another thing you should think about is how your form during workouts can be compromised if you struggle with sore muscles. If you notice that you can’t uphold the correct form, make sure to avoid exercise. This way, you’ll surely avoid any potential injuries. When you exercise excessively, you can even end up with the Overtraining Syndrome. The symptoms of this syndrome show up as a result of many underlying disturbances that are triggered when you exercise too much with no rest.
Rest promotes muscle growth
If the goal of your training is to develop your muscles and live a healthier life, you should know that rest helps and promotes muscle growth. People often believe that muscle mass is creating during exercise. However, this is nothing more than a misconception. Muscles actually grow in the rest periods between sessions. When you perform strength training exercises, you actually damage your muscles. The muscles then need rest in order to repair themselves. That is also why protein is important. Namely, protein helps you build muscles.
Even you don’t think this is true, you can simply test it. The next time you’re in the gym, you could see that the guy next to your working out 2 or 3 times a week has a better muscle growth than you if you exercise every day of the week. This is the easiest way to resolve all your doubts and get to grow the muscles effectively. Of course, even if you do train every day, you’ll still notice significant progress, but it is much safer to introduce some rest days and let your muscles grow.
Rest aids recovery
Injuries are pretty normal when you work out. However, sometimes you may experience some more serious and obvious injuries. When you get these, it’s essential to rest. A physical injury, such as a sprain or a break, is a good reason enough for you to take some time off. Only if you’ve consulted the doctor and he has given you permission to keep training, you can do it. In all of the other cases, you should rest. Taking a break can get you back to your feet quickly while working out in such a condition can only further worsen the injury.
You can also do your best and prevent injuries. Since leg injuries are common, you should do something extra for your legs. Relaxing your muscles is the best way to go and you can do that easily with a home leg massager. Your legs won’t hurt anymore and stiff muscles won’t be a treat of injuries once you get to work out. If you want to find out in detail the benefits of such a tool, make sure to contact professionals at Relax For Life and ask everything you’d like to know. Massagers are beneficial because they relax your muscles and help them perform anything you want. Rest also helps with the negative effects on your CNS and immune system and makes you more prepared than ever.
Rest encourages better sleep
If you think that going to the gym means that you’ll have to say goodbye to good sleep for a while, you are very wrong. Sleep is very important for your health. Besides all of its regular benefits, sleep is also very important for people who exercise because with no sleep they simply cannot give their peak performance at the gym. One of the consequences of no sleep is a lack of concentration. If you’re not focused, you’re more prone to getting injured than ever. Especially if you’re trying to burn as many calories, you may notice that you’re zoning out at the gym.
If you feel like you haven’t slept enough, you should think twice before actually heading to the gym. The last thing your body needs in such a situation is more stress on the muscles. Instead, what your body needs is rest. Besides rest, it also needs rehydration. For these reasons, it’s best to take a day off, relax your whole body, and let your muscles grow overnight. You won’t just get back to the gym more focused, you’ll also feel better, be in a better mood, and look better than ever.
Rest prevents mental burnout
Working out is tough for your body, but it is also pretty tough for the mind. Mental fatigue can even get worse than the physical one. This can have a lot of negative consequences for you and you should do your best to prevent this. Feelings of exhaustion can lead to you feeling burnt out and, as a result, you may feel like you’re putting in more effort than you actually are.
If you can achieve the same with less effort why not do it? The way to do so is by dealing with mental fatigue. Physical injuries aren’t the only issues caused by overtraining. If you also have a busy schedule and you work out, you can expect the negative consequences of mental fatigue. For that reason, don’t forget to rest. Overworking yourself is never good and it cannot lead to good results.
Rest makes working out more sustainable
Finally, rest makes working out easier and more sustainable. If you stagger your time at the gym, you should know that it can get better. If you like to keep everything organized and neat, you’ll like the idea of a regular routine that is easy to fit into your schedule.
By having fewer hours in a week devoted to training, you can develop a regular workout routine that won’t be hard for you to commit to. Exercising 2 or 3 times a week is much better than doing it every day. If exercising becomes an obligation rather than something you like doing, it’ll soon tire you completely. It’s much better keeping yourself motivated and the best way to do so is by introducing some rest days.
Conclusion
Working out is fun. It gets you to move your boundaries, do things you never did, and makes you proud of yourself. To keep your workout routine at the top, you need to rest. When you do everything properly, you can enjoy the results of your hard work.
