Rest Is Just As Important As Exercise
When you work out, you cause microscopic damage to your muscle cells. Because of the stress and fatigue your body is under during exercise, hormone and enzyme levels fluctuate, and inflammation increases.
Those things might sound bad, but they’re not. In fact, they can lead to fat loss, increased metabolism, increased strength, and muscle growth, but only if you properly recover.
I have said many times that rest is just as important as exercising if you want to live a happy and healthy life.
My weekly routine is as follows:
I do my workout Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday I rest. Now everyone is different so you should develop your own routine that works best for your body.
As we age it is important to keep our strength up, which means keeping as much muscle as we can for as long as we can. When you workout, and especially when you resistance train, tiny tears are made in your muscle fibers. In order for those tiny tears to keep muscle strength, they need to repair themselves—growing even larger. And when does this occur? During rest.
But it’s not only your muscles that benefit from rest but your whole body.
Your Heart Rate Slows
Your Blood Pressure Goes Down
Your Digestion Gets Better
Your Breathing Slows Down
Your Muscles Relax
Your Immune System Works Better
You Sleep Better
Not only is rest good for your body, but it is also good for your mind. Research has found that resting can improve your mood, boost your performance, and increase your ability to concentrate and pay attention. When you don’t give your mind a chance to pause and refresh, it doesn’t work as efficiently.
So it comes down to this, if you want to live a long, happy, and healthy life you need to eat right, exercise, and make sure you get your rest.
