In fact, you likely need to incorporate more rest than you realise into your workout routine. Here’s why.

1. Rest improves your results and performance.

Surprisingly enough, rest is just as important as exercising if you’re looking to build strength or improve your general fitness.

When you exercise at a high intensity, you create microscopic tears in your muscle fibres. Then, when you rest, these tiny tears repair and rebuild even stronger than they were before, increasing your strength and lean muscle mass. If you’re not setting aside periods to rest, your muscles and body don’t have enough time or energy to complete this repair process, so instead of growing your lean muscle mass and improving your strength and performance, your muscles will continue to gradually break down over time.

Another important repair process that occurs when you rest is the replenishment of your energy stores, especially your glycogen (the stored form of glucose from carbohydrates) stores. A significant amount of your glycogen stores are found in your muscles, and exercise depletes these stores leading to muscle fatigue and exhaustion. When you rest your body is able to replenish these glycogen stores, relieving muscle fatigue and preparing your body for your next session, and giving you the fuel you need in future workouts. If you’re not allowing your body enough rest, it doesn’t have the chance to restore your glycogen stores, meaning your performance in future sessions will suffer, and your progress and results will stall. 

If your glycogen stores are seriously depleted, this can also mean your body has to look elsewhere for a supply of energy during subsequent training sessions, meaning you may begin to break down your muscles to use protein as fuel. Not only is this detrimental for your muscle health and strength, it also compromises your muscle repair as you have less protein available for muscle synthesis and building when you do rest.

As you can see, resting between sessions is essential for allowing your muscles to get stronger, your performance to improve, and to facilitate continued results and growth from your workout routine.

2. Rest allows for repair and recovery.

As we’ve touched on, rest periods are crucial for your body to repair itself from the gruelling intensity of your workouts. Even if you feel you’re mostly doing low impact, low intensity sessions, you’re still placing stress on your body and muscles, and they need time to repair in order to perform again in your next workout. 

During rest periods, your body is also able to remove any excess lactate building up in your muscles. While lactate plays an important role in fuelling the growth and repair of your muscles, if it accumulates too much this can result in excessive muscle pain and soreness. You need to allow your body the chance to undergo the natural process of removing any excess lactate to prevent this from happening - which happens when you rest.

Giving your body the chance to recover throughout your exercise regime helps to prevent injuries that often arise due to overuse - such as chronic tendon injuries or bone stress and fractures. The building fatigue and deconditioning of your muscles over time can lead to overtraining syndrome, where you’re placing too much stress or demand on your body in your workouts without giving it proper rest, leaving it unable to keep up or recover between sessions.

Whereas, if you’re programming regular rest into your workout split, you significantly reduce the risk of these injuries, and overtraining syndrome. You support your body’s repair processes, and allow your muscles and joints to heal from and adapt to the stress you’ve placed on them.

3. It’s important for your body and mind.

It’s not just your body that benefits from rest days, it’s your mind too. Exercise puts a strain on your mind, and while it builds resilience and determination, it can also cause mental exhaustion and fatigue if you’re not giving yourself enough time to rest.

Over exercising and inadequate rest leaves your mind tired, which can also increase your risk of injury during training. You might find yourself pushing too hard in your sessions, unable to connect and listen to your body and mind, resulting in overuse injuries or injury due to poor form and technique.

If you’re exercising daily without regular rest programmed in, you can expect to experience both physical and mental exhaustion and burnout before too long.

4. It makes your sessions more enjoyable!

Think about it… if you’re forcing yourself to workout every day without fail, you’re likely to feel bored and uninspired by your sessions pretty quickly. Exercise becomes a chore, something to tick off your to-do list rather than something to look forward to.

On the other hand, when you take even a day or so away from exercise, you have the chance to look forward to your next session, and you appreciate the opportunity to move your body more when you’re next working out.

Exercise should never feel like an obligation or a punishment. It should be a chance to connect with your body, and to move in a way that feels good and enjoyable for you. By incorporating regular rest into your routine, you’re working towards achieving a healthy and positive relationship with exercise, and you can begin to better enjoy and appreciate the time you do spend moving.

5. You deserve it!

The simplest reason of all to include rest in your workout split regularly: you deserve to rest. Not so that you’re more productive or your performance improves in your next session. Not so that you recover enough to push your body further in future workouts. But simply because you are worthy of rest. You don’t have to push yourself - your mind or body - every day. In fact, you shouldn’t! Rest is simply a way of showing yourself kindness, compassion and care, and giving yourself the space and time to just “be” without any expectations to achieve anything.

As a human, you are worthy of some downtime. Some time for you. Lean into the opportunity, don’t fear it!

When you need to rest…

Unsure when you need to incorporate more rest into your routine? If you’re experiencing any of the following, consider giving your body and mind a break from your workout routine and programming more regular rest days.

• Your results and performance are plateauing.

• You’re experiencing low energy during or after your sessions.

• Your sleep is disrupted, you’re waking up feeling unrested, or you’re really tired.

• You notice changes to your appetite.

• You’re consistently lacking motivation and enthusiasm for your sessions.

• You feel “off” - emotionally, mentally, physically or all of the above. Don’t force yourself to push through these feelings - listen to what your body needs.

• You’re experiencing cramping muscles or excessive ongoing soreness.

• You’re dreading your session.

• You find yourself saying no to plans or revolving your life and activities around your workout routine.

• You’re sick or injured.

• You feel like you have to exercise.

How often should you take a rest day?

The answer to this question is highly individual, but you should aim for at least one rest day every week - ideally more. Depending on what you’re training for, your personal goals, your fitness level, and your genetics and biology, the amount of rest your mind and body need will differ accordingly. Generally, the higher the intensity of your training sessions, the more recovery time you need between them. So if you’re doing heaps of HIIT training, you’ll probably need to take more regular rest days than your friend who practises yoga or sticks to gentle walks.

As a general guide, it’s important to check in with your body and mind before each session, and ask why you’re working out, and what you really need at that time. If you notice any of the above symptoms, consider swapping your planned workout for a rest day instead.

It’s also helpful to note that a rest day doesn’t mean you have to lie horizontal on your couch for the entire day. You can include more consistent active rest days if it helps you feel more comfortable adjusting to the idea of rest. This can involve doing some dynamic stretching, enjoying a yin yoga flow, taking a walk in nature, foam rolling, taking a sauna. Gentle movement can help the blood flow around your body, supporting your natural healing processes. Your rest days are yours to do with what you like, just make sure you’re giving your body and mind the break and relief they need from your regular exercise routine.

Tips for getting comfortable with resting

If you’re really struggling with the idea of incorporating more rest into your workout routine, try these tips:

• Make your rest days something to look forward to. Consider what would make these days exciting or appealing - can you use the time you’d usually spend in the gym to schedule some uninterrupted time with friends and family, cook a meal you love, read a good book or watch your favourite TV show to help you relax?

• Book yourself a weekly massage or schedule in some recovery protocols like an ice bath and sauna so you feel like you’re still taking steps towards your health and fitness goals, even while taking it easy.

• Schedule your rest days in your diary just as you would any other workout or meeting, making them non-negotiables in your routine.

• Remind yourself you’re investing in your long-term health and the longevity of your fitness regime by giving your body the time it needs to recover and repair.

Rest days aren’t an optional or an add-on. They’re as essential as any other element of your workout routine, and should always be a non-negotiable part of your fitness regime. Don’t wait until you’re injured, tired or your performance and results begin to decline to introduce regular rest. Instead, think of rest as your insurance policy, allowing you longevity and continued improvement, and helping you maintain your workout routine and health over the long-term.