Sure, pushing yourself in your workouts is a good thing. It is how you get results. But if you think pushing yourself every single day will get you those results more quickly, you couldn't be more wrong. In fact, overdoing it in your workouts can cause more harm than good. Rest days are every bit as essential as your sweat sessions. Here's why:
1. You need rest for your muscles to recover and grow.
When you workout, you create small tears in your muscle and the only way to repair those tears is through rest. When these muscles repair, they end up stronger than they were before. The only way to get stronger and leaner is to work hard during your workouts and take time to rest and recover in between.
2. You can mess up your menstrual cycle.
It is possible to train so much that you stop your period. While you may think this 'time off' sounds great, it is not healthy. Missing your period in this way means your hormones are out of whack and your body isn't functioning as optimally as you may think.
3. You can plateau your results.
Many people think that the more they exercise, the more weight they will lose. Overdoing it in the workout department can put your body into fight or flight mode. This means your body will start enacting ways to protect itself, possibly bringing your fat burning to a screeching halt. Your body will believe it needs to store its energy resources to use at a later time.
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4. You can get overtired.
Exercise, when done properly, provides an incredible energy boost. But, if you are over training, you will deplete yourself. If you are sore all the time or fighting to stay awake in the middle of the day, it may be time to take some rest.
5. It impacts your sleep.
As mentioned above, too much exercise can make you overtired but it can also create a mess with your sleep patterns. If you find you need excessive amounts of sleep to get through your workouts or you are having a difficult time sleeping in general, you are likely pushing yourself too hard. Sleep is an essential part of your healthy functioning. If you can't sleep, your muscles can't repair properly!
6. It ruins your social life.
In order for you achieve lasting results, you need a health and fitness routine that fits your life. This means you need to make time for the things and people you enjoy. If all of your spare time is spent at the gym, you will be miserable. If you are routinely skipping out on time with friends or family because you have work to do at the gym, it may be time to reorganize your priorities. The results you want do require dedication and effort but don't sacrifice all your fun to get them.
7. It impacts your immune system.
A functioning immune system is the key to staying healthy. If you over train, you impact its ability to do its job. When you are training, your body's energy goes into that training. When you get sick, you need that energy to fight off the illness. If you feel a cold coming on, take some time off. Rest up. You won't lose all your progress by taking time to get well.
At BodyRock, we know the importance of rest days and have built them into our workout programs. The
Beginner Bootcamp Challenge is designed for those who are new to fitness or are just getting back into it. While giving your all during the 10-12 minute workouts is extremely important, so it taking those rest days! Why not give the challenge a try? If you feel like you need something a little more advanced, check out Jacqui and the real time Daily HIIT Show. Jacqui will sweat right along with you but you shouldn't just follow her example in the exercises, you should also take the time off when she does. To make sure you never miss an episode,
sign up here by clicking the "workouts" box.
Do you sometimes skip your rest days?
