Why You Should Take an Active Rest Day & How to Do It
We just wrapped up our October Challenge where we challenged you to take as many different classes as you could in one month. We’ve got A LOT of fitness classes on the schedule, so it was definitely a tough challenge.
Since we are finished with our challenge, we thought now would be a great time to talk about the importance of taking an active rest day.
If you are struggling to find the balance between working out too much and not working out at all, keep reading for why you should take an active rest day and how to do it.
Why You Should Take an Active Rest Day & How To Do It
Why You Should Take an Active Rest Day
So, first, why should you take an active rest day? Active rest days are important.
They allow your muscles to heal, repair and recover. Whenever you work out, you are making tiny tears in your muscles. After they repair themselves then they’ll build up and come back even stronger.
They prevent injury from overuse. Like we mentioned above, when you exercise you are making those tiny tears, so you want to be careful not to overdo it. It’s also why we mix it up, so you aren’t working the same muscles and moving in the same exact ways over and over again.
They can help alleviate muscle soreness by giving your muscles enough time to recover.
How to Take an Active Rest Day
When you think of “rest day” many of us immediately envision us laying around on the couch binging our favorite show on netflix. Remember, ditch that all-or-nothing mindset. The key is the “active” part of the active rest day. Instead of going from 60 to zero, continue to maintain movement on your active rest days.
On the other side, we get that sometimes it’s tough to take an active rest day. You want to be consistent and don’t want to fall off on your fitness routines. Here are some ways you can take an active rest day while maintaining your routine and consistency.
Go for a walk
Mix up your workout so you aren’t working the same muscles and moving in the same ways day in and day out
Jump into a spin class, but take it easy while in there! Stick to less resistance and lower speeds for an active recovery day.
Jump into a fitness class, but stick to level 1 just to get some movement in.
Mix up your workout by focusing on flexibility and stretches in a yoga or pilates class.
How do you like to take an active rest day? Is it challenging for you? Want to get to the point where an active rest day is harder than motivating yourself to workout? Join us for 1 free week of unlimited classes!
