Why It’s Important to Listen to Your Body and Have Rest Days When You’re Working Out

Rest days are important.

Let me repeat that for the people in the back. Rest days are important. Just as important of listening to our bodies when you need to take a rest day.

In working out, sometimes it’s easy to forget the importance of those things because it’s easy to get wrapped up in progress and not wanting to take a rest day. I am not a trainer, but I am someone who loves working out and maintaining an active lifestyle. In the few apps I’ve used — Ruf, Jillian Micheals, and Sydney Cummings, all them allow the user a rest day or days.

And, there is some scientific evidence that backs this up. According to an article in the Conversation entitled Rest Days are Important for Fitness, the reason for rest days are to ” allow the body’s muscles to recover from any damage they’ve sustained during workouts, and to allow them to grow.” By taking a break, the article states that it will replace carbohydrates stored in the body as well as replace lost fluids.

Furthermore, by not taking a rest day, you open yourself to a higher chance of injury. If your muscles are really sore, then it’s easier to be injured than if you’re not. And, when you’re injured, chances are you’ll be out for a lot longer than a day.

So, if your body is sore, it’s a sign that maybe you should go easier that day. For example, when I have my rest days, I basically go on a stair stepper so I can still remain active but it’s like going for a walk. I also try to make sure that I do some yoga as well, because those really help with resting my muscles.

I propose something for everyone reading this, myself included. I propose that one fitness goal to have is to listen to your body when it’s telling you something, and instead of pushing it to the ultimate edge, let’s just be kind to it.

After all, it’s the only body that you’ll ever get. So, it’s best to treat it right.