recovery = results
Recovery. Not a very sexy topic, but one that’s essential if you want to see results from your training. It’s easy to overlook rest and recovery when you’re super motivated, feeling great, and eager to reach your goals . . . but it’s necessary for long-term success and sustainable results.
What actually happens when you rest?
Every time you engage in intense exercise, you create tiny tears in your muscle fibers. This may sound alarming, but it’s not! It’s part of the natural growth process. When you rest, your body repairs these tears, making your muscles stronger and more resilient. While it may sound counterintuitive, you don’t build muscle in the gym - you build it when you rest.
What happens if you don’t rest?
This happens a lot when people begin their fitness journey. They get so excited and addicted to how great they feel from working out (which is FANTASTIC!) that they don’t want to stop. They worry that if they take one day off they’ll fall off the wagon completely and will have to start all over.
But if you don’t rest, it can lead to:
Decreased Performance: fatigued muscles can’t perform at their best, limiting your ability to push harder in your next workout. You won’t see many gains if you can never push it.
Injury: repetitive stress on muscles and joints without adequate recovery can lead to strains, pulls, tears, and all the other injuries that can leave you hobbling around and miserable.
Burnout: if you keep at anything that hard for that long, you’ll eventually burnout. Motivation does not last forever unfortunately.
How often should you rest? This can vary, but most people do well with 1-2 rest days per week. I personally feel my best with two rest days each week.
This doesn’t mean you need to sit on the couch and eat cheetos a couple days a week - although I could get down with that too 😛 You can still move on your rest days, you just want to take it easy. Walking, mobility work, and gentle yoga are great rest day activities if you can’t hold still.
Recovery isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. You’re not lazy for taking a day off, and you’re not going to lose everything you’ve built. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Need some help with rest? Grab our New Member Special and come workout with us! We’ll help you with your weekly workout schedule so you’ll be looking and feeling your best in no time.
