Day 8: Rest Day
Rest days are an essential part of a cardio routine. We are going to practice them often, starting with today.
What does a rest day mean? It’s actually a recovery day. Many people think of rest days as a lazy day. But the reality is these rest days are essential to the entire process, and they are very productive.
You see, during exercise, your body breaks down. This is not a bad thing, it’s actually a good thing- it’s how exercise works! Your muscle fibers get these teeny tiny micro-tears through the pressures of the exercise. And as you recover, not only do these muscle fiber tears knit themselves back together, but they actually knit them together more firmly than before. This is the process of building strength- and this is exactly what we want to happen.
However, if we always are breaking down the muscle fibers and never giving them time for repair, our body will become stressed- and we know what that means! Stress can contribute to flare, and we do not want that.
Rest days are the days in which your body recovers and rebuilds. This is why they are essential.
I typically like to do 2 or 3 days of exercise followed by a day of rest. Since we did a core day and then we practiced our warm-up routine, it’s now time for rest.
You may find that your body needs more rest than this. You may find that you might need a day of exercise followed by a day of rest, or a day of exercise followed by two days of rest. And that’s ok! If you are sore, make sure you add in an extra day of rest and recovery.
On the day of rest, you may find that your body craves a little movement, like stretching or ab bracing. If you have been in the program for awhile that’s totally fine! But if you are new, I encourage you to take a rest day as an actual rest day.
Your check-ins will guide you about how to listen to your body and determine if you need an extra rest day or two. You may be needing more rest days than I even include here- so take them! They will be beneficial for you down the road. But make sure that on rest days, you actually take some time for rest and relaxation- and some deep breathing too.
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Post on Facebook or share with me! How will you be spending your rest day? Do you feel ready for a rest day? Or are rest days difficult for you?