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Question asked by Debbie Russell 3455 days ago

Should you ever take more rest and recovery than one day off a week?

Workout RoutineRecovery

Rest and recovery IS important. But should you ever take more rest and recovery than one day off a week? Or can longer rest periods totally derail you?

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Answered by Marlan Eller 3455 days ago
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Absolutely! I explain overtraining to my clients like this: Imagine a bucket with a hole in the bottom. Think of exercise like water, and think of the water draining out of the bottom as the recovery period. It only makes sense that your body takes longer to recover from exercise than it takes TO exercise (same concept with an injury); otherwise we'd have a lot more olympic athletes! If you put water into the bucket so fast that it doesn't have time to drain out, you're just kidding yourself. You have to give yourself and your clients proper rest or else the benefits are diminished, and you never get anywhere. Rest intervals depend largely on the amount/intensity of training and the overall level of fitness.
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Answered by Kelly Vance 3455 days ago
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Definitely! It's so important to listen to your body and watch for signs of overtraining.
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Answered by Joanne Duncan-Carnesciali 3454 days ago
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Self care is so important in our industry. As my body feels the need to rest, I generally take it. It's the same thing I encourage my clients to do.

I let them know that if I don't take care of myself, I am not in a good position to assist them and they understand.
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Answered by Stephen Landrum 3452 days ago
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All the time. Recovery can be the most important aspect of enhancing the effectiveness of your training. You take what your body needs.
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Answered by LaRue Cook 3455 days ago
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Absolutely there is a time and place for taking more than one day of recovery/rest. For instance if I have a client (or myself for that matter) who has prepared and participated in an athletic event that required maximum effort, it is probably wise for them to take more than a one-day rest during that following week. Your body needs time to heal/repair/recover, and if the "event" that it is recovering from was one of maximum or high-intensity effort, the "extra" rest is not only smart but probably necessary.

LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
lecfitness@yahoo.com
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Answered by Jason Martuscello 3454 days ago
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There are many variables to consider when answering this question. There is not ONE answer without understanding other components of the training program you are referring to. Rest/Recovery are highly dependent on the intensity at which one is training. Also, if your a integrating split muscle training groups there are ways to avoid overtraining certain muscle groups while still being able to train more frequently.

Fuel the Movement,

JM
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Answered by Jason Martuscello 3454 days ago
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I almost forget - Nutrition plays a VERY VERY VERY large component in recovery of muscle tissue. In order for the muscle to recovery properly and grow - adequate nutrition is required!

Fuel the Movement,
JM
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Answered by Shawn Fears 3452 days ago
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What do you consider rest and recovery? My rest and recovery month (this month) is harder than what most consider their workouts to be. I prefer to take active rest time off, it is better to stay moving even if the intensity is too low for any gains.
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Answered by Karin Singleton 3452 days ago
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Having just returned from IDEA World, I better take more than one day off after having tried all that fun stuff and feeling thoroughly beaten up :-)

But I hear your concern: for some people it becomes a 'slippery slope'. When we look at health club statistics, once people begin to grop off in attendance, it may only be a small step toward reverting back to a lifestyle that does not include exercise.

A concept of 'active rest' may help. Of course the client should listen to her body, but taking a walk or doing something of a restorative nature may well be part of such a rest and recovery period. It keeps the idea of exercise as part of everyday life current.

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Answered by Daniel Kosich 3449 days ago
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Recovery, phyiologically, describes the biochemical and structural processes that occur following exercise. Of course the extent is directly related to the intensity, type, and duration of the effort. Following glycogen depletion effort, for example, cycling 50 miles to exhaustion, it may take 2-3 days for the targeted muscles to fully repack their glycogen stores, that's assuming adequate carbohydrate and water intake. Following maximal power effort to temporary muscle fatigue (like with a maximal effort, major muscle, free weight workout, (8-12 RM), it may take at least 2-3 days for the streaming of the contractile protein actin/myosin/tropomyosin/troponin complex in skeletal muscle cells to return to normal structure.

The point is that rest and recovery (including hydration and sensible eating) are a critical part of the conditioning process, for both fitness and performance. Taking "at least" a day off can be the best advice.

Take care.
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Answered by Wendy Stewart 3446 days ago
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There are definitely times when more than one day is needed. That is going to depend on how you were training. Another is if you have been over training and then you should definitely take a few days off. Another common reason for taking more than one rest day is following the completion of a competition or middle to long distance race (half marathons and longer). By the way, it took me almost 2 weeks to recover from one half marathon!
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Answered by Gabori Partee 3369 days ago
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It's always a positive thing when a client wants to know about rest and how much he or she needs. I will tell a client that its ok to take the week off depending on how many weeks we have been going strong. It feels great to let the body heal properly, so we can go for it hard, when we start back up.
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Answered by Martin Petrofes 1932 days ago
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Rest/Recovery is why you workout. Longer recovery is absolutely necessary in many situations and if more than normal soreness is the result of a workout. Working out sore muscle groups wastes the previous workout and may result in injury. And for most highly trained exercisers, 5 to 10 days of rest in a row are often very beneficial once or twice a year.

There is much more to recovery than the average fitness instructor understands. I teach a series of CECs on recovery. Many of the students that have taken the class report to me that they experience previously unattained results once they properly apply recovery in their programs.

Anyone interested can check out my website, www.hawaiifitnessacademy.com .
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