Rest is an integral part of any fitness regime, whether you enjoy light exercise a few times a week or train at a higher intensity. The number of rest days you need is individual to each person, for a few reasons. Evan Farrell, Vhi Integrative Health Specialist and Physiotherapist, shares why rest days are important, what an ‘active’ rest day is, plus his top rest day dos and don'ts.

Are rest days essential?

Absolutely. Our bodies need to rest to recover from the exertion of training ─ our muscles and cardiovascular system are being tested when we exercise. Rest and recovery are essential to what happens next. They can help you build muscle, avoid injury, prevent burnout, train harder and build longer lasting habits around exercise. 

If you challenge your body too soon ─ without giving it time to rest and adapt ─ it can cause a decrease in function, and you might not be able to perform as well as you have the potential to. Challenging your body after the right amount of rest means it can adapt to the training you're doing. 

What is an ‘active rest day’? 

Taking a rest day doesn’t always mean you sit on the couch all day and have little to zero movement. Although there’s nothing wrong with doing that from time to time! When we talk about rest days, it doesn’t mean you can’t do other activities. But you should be giving your body a rest from that primary exercise and doing easier activities instead. An active rest day is anything other than sitting around and avoiding movement. Let’s say you’re training to run the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. An active rest day will involve movement that isn’t your primary activity of running. Going for a swim or a low impact walk the day after a run for example. This will be great for your body, help with recovery, help you avoid injury and prevent burnout from running. It’s also likely that you’ll build good habits with other exercises that you’ll want to stick to! Wondering if you should have an active rest day or a zero-activity rest day? Listen to your body and what it needs. Would some yoga feel great for your muscles? Or maybe your muscles just need a warm bath and lots of rest. 

How many rest days a week should someone have?

This will depend on a few factors:

• ‘Should’ and ‘need’ are two different things when it comes to rest. Get into the habit of listening to your body. Maybe you’re training for a race and have upped your distance when training. You know you should have at least one day of rest before your next run, but maybe your legs will tell you that you need two days for recovery.
• Consider your fitness baseline. If you’re new to running and just starting to train, you will need to have more rest days than training days. Over time, this can change as your body adapts and slightly less time is needed to recover in between. 
• Once you establish what your baseline is, you can use trial and error as you progress to figure out how much rest your body needs. Maybe you try to run or do aerobic training four days a week, and during the other three days you struggle with energy for everyday tasks or work. For a time, you could switch to three days training and four rest days, so you feel better day-to-day and during exercise. Then, when you adapt to this comfortably, increase your training days and monitor how you feel that week. 
• The Intensity of your training plays a big role. As does the variety of exercises you’re doing. If your training consists solely of running, creating some variation with a break from running would be beneficial. There are lots of ways you can increase your aerobic fitness outside of running, like swimming, cycling, hiking, and classes in the gym. 
• Finally, each person will have their own considerations to be mindful of. Factors like gender, fitness level, training routine, training goals, menstrual cycle, age and genetics. Again, listening to what feels good for your body is key. What works for one person won’t always work for you. 

What are your top three ‘dos’ of a rest day? 

1. Relish in the achievement of getting to this point! Rest days can be seen as a reward. Keep your rest days enjoyable and useful for your goals.
2. Refuel, replenish and rest. A rest day should be an easier day than a training day. Eat well, drink water and have some down time.
3. Remember to stretch! Gentle body movements are important for recovery. 

What are your top three ‘don’ts’ of a rest day? 

1. Don’t ignore your body. If you’re very sore (to a point where the pain is impacting your day-to-day or your training) and were thinking about upping your training, now may not be the time. Doing so might not help your overall goal. If you experience bad pain, or pain that feels different to standard muscle ache after a workout, be sure to visit your healthcare provider or physiotherapist for a checkup. 
2. Don’t add other stressors to your body, outside of exercise. Things like late nights and excessive alcohol consumption will often set you back and make training days feel more difficult
3. Don’t be tempted to let a rest day become three or four rest days! Think ahead and plan your days as best you can around your life and schedule. Adherence to your plan can be really helpful in bringing about a change to your activity levels beyond your initial goal.

This content is for information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek advice from your GP or an appropriate medical professional if you have concerns about your health, or before commencing a new healthcare regime. If you believe that you are experiencing a medical emergency call 999 / 112 or seek emergency assistance immediately.