Doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you are engaging with, you should always put up some resting days. While some may claim that rest will include doing absolutely nothing, stay along with me as I would like to bring up another resting method that might suit you better.
Let’s begin with the “Doing Nothing” method. If you are at the beginning of your journey, indeed, a rest day would include mostly nothing, you are not to engage with your training program for at least a day or three during the week. Rest days may differ between workout plans, as each plan has a different set of requirements.
For instance, a basic gym plan would involve a full body workout, in such a program, the body needs to receive rest in between each session, meaning that the maximum amount of engagement should be every other day. If you are doing a full body workout and you are doing it daily, you do not supply your body with sufficient rest, and instead of increasing your performance you will start noticing a decrease in performance and an early fatigue. People are always afraid of not training enough, but they should be more afraid of not resting enough, because that’s where injuries occur.
Another common gym program (don’t worry, I will give some non gym related example during the end) is the A B program, in which you engage with half of the body through A and the other half through B. I would strongly advise to use this program with a rest day between B to A. Meaning you perform A, B and you rest before going A again, if you are just starting your way with such a program. The more you progress with this type of program and gain more experience you can, if you’d like, ‘lose’ a rest day and rest after 2 A B rounds in a row.
Moving on to the other resting method, using the A B Program module. A very experienced trainee, with a carefully built schedule might have the ability to train daily, no rests included. I’m all for it, but the body does needs a rest, so how are we to get such rest with no day off?
Well, every few weeks, you should engage with a de-load period. How do we do that? There are a few de-load methods out there, I found that the one that works best for me, gym-wise, is taking the weight out of the equation. I do not change the reps I perform or the sets I do, I just decrease the weight I train with. The body still performs the motion, we still have muscle activation, but we do not reach our limit, which allows the body to recover even though it’s not actually resting.
For those of you who have read about me, among other things, I’m also a Long Distance Running Trainer. In my programs for long distance running I use a de-load method (see? Told you not only gym examples) that reduces the volume of the run. Some may claim that reducing speed from the run is a great method as well. Personally, I disagree, in order for you to maintain the same distance on a slower pace, you would actually find yourself working harder in order to maintain that pace. However if you reduce the pace and the distance, it’s mainly a matter of distance changing, meaning a volume change.
This de-load period can last one week, but can be extended for a longer period if there is a need for such an extension to improve recovery. If you are not sure about the de-load planning time, I strongly advise you to consult a professional to help you with that. The idea of de-loading is simple, keep doing, but engage with less, and so it can be applied on every activity from lifting weights to doing stretches through dancing and performing aerobic exercises.
To sum it all up, rest is a crucial part of any workout plan, and should be taken into consideration. There are different types of resting methods, and you should find that which suits your lifestyle most. Do not over look it, find the method that you feel best about.
If you have any questions for me, or found an error in the text, don’t hesitate to let me know. You can subscribe to the blog if you want to stay updated with new articles I upload every once in a while. Always consult with a professional if you feel unsure of a method you’ve learned. Stay Safe!