WHY REST DAYS ARE SO IMPORTANT

The more. The better…

This is the mentality that many people have when it comes to training.

(Including myself in the past)

Maybe you feel like you need to be doing more volume, more intensity, heavier weights, more cardio, spending more hours in the gym and I’m sure some of you have a hard time taking rest days on top of that.

Although on paper this seems like it would make sense; more training = more muscle, less fat and better performance, it can actually lead you in the very opposite direction you’re trying to go.

You want to push hard, work hard and challenge yourself with your training but you can’t do this on a daily basis without proper rest.

Your body won’t be able to keep up and things will eventually start to break down. Mix this with under-eating & poor sleep and you’re asking for dysfunction. (Not uncommon)

You will reap the benefits of your training only if you are able to recover from it.

If you are burying yourself day-in and day-out or training 7 days a week, when are you expecting your body to recover?

Your body depends on rest to adapt, replenish, restore and rebuild.

That’s why it’s so important to attack your rest days with the same discipline that you do your training.

If you feel like you’re hitting a wall, motivation is low, constantly dealing with injuries, or you’re not progressing in training, instead of trying to push through it challenge yourself to take an extra rest day a week or implement a deload week.

More is not always the answer and sometimes taking a step back is the key to continue pushing forward.

Make rest a priority!