When people think of the gym they often think of intense workouts, healthy eating and lots of exercise, they technically are not wrong. Being fit requires for many to do those things (remember, balance is key to a sustainable life, you do not have to train like an athlete for better health) but another common thing that is overlooked when discussing fitness is the importance of rest.
That's right, rest. Being able to kick back and relax and not have to exercise. Why is rest so important in the gym you ask? Well getting good rest ensures that your body can recover and be energized again for the next day! It is MANDATORY for your body to have good rest in order to grow and train harder in the gym, as well as reach your goals faster.
Today we will be going through the various reasons why rest is CRUCIAL in the gym.
Muscle Recovery and Repair
Getting good rest is the BASIS on muscle recovery and repair. The body can NOT repair itself very well during stages of fatigue and tire. This is where good rest comes in, after your muscles are exercised your body needs good rest to prime the body for it's next workout.
Think of it like running, if you are constantly running then you will feel very tired and will be running quite slow after a while. If you take some rest in between, you will be able to run much better. Intense workouts cause microscopic "damage" to the muscle fibers (don't worry, this is only so they grow back stronger when you repair them).
Good rest ensures that the body can repair this microscopic damage in order to promote muscle growth.
Better Performance
As mentioned earlier, rest allows your body to regenerate energy as well as rebuild itself better and stronger. A common misconception is that constantly training gives better results, this is only half true as rest is needed in between training sessions in order for you to grow back stronger. Muscles need time to recover after them being activated during workouts, rest days will contribute to overall performance and strength.
Injury Prevention
When working out, your joints and overworked muscles are the most prone to injuries. This is why it is important for you to get good rest as it allows these overworked muscles and joints to recover so they do not lead to strains, sprains and pulled body parts (ex: pulled shoulder). By getting adequate rest you allow yourself to be less prone to injury.
Preventing Overtraining Syndrome
When some people enter the gym, they try to do as much exercise humanely possible in attempts to reach their goals faster. This is NOT a good idea is this will lead to overtraining syndrome. Overtraining syndrome is where an individual builds the habit of training too hard and too much every single workout, this arises from excessive exercise without any good rest.
This will lead to lots of fatigue, muscle soreness, an increased risk of injury and a decline in performance due to lack of regenerative time for the body. Get some rest, and stop overtraining!
STEPS ON HOW TO GET GOOD REST
Incorporate 1-3 rest days every single week in your training regime
Get 7-9 hours of GOOD sleep in order for your body to be able to rest and repair properly
Invest in supplements that give better sleep (Zinc and Magnesium)
Eat LOTS of protein in order to aid muscle repair and growth
Overall, rest is one of the most important factors of growing in the gym. It is SUPER important to be getting adequate rest to promote muscle growth, reduce injury, and for better performance. If you are in the gym every day and you find yourself growing at a slow rate, or not at all. Then I HIGHLY recommend that you take 1-3 rest days during the week. Make sure to rest up after those big exercises, because you'll need it, trust me.
Thank you for reading and until next time!
Just a young man trying to bring fitness to the world!
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