Rest Days??

unknown

I've lost around 91 pounds with logging my nutritional intake and making better choices. 50-some since joining MFP.

Generally exercise has been my downfall and I could give you 100000 excuses why, but none of them matter. Recently I've started and exercise routine (TurboFire) with strength training every other day.

My question is this: do you NEED to take rest days?

My rest days turn into rest weeks and I seem to do better if I stick with it on a daily basis. I'm fairly active with my job, I'm a nurse so I spend 12 hrs a day walking, running, and lifting, but my at work activity is not enough to offset the need to workout.

I was hoping that there was someone else who could point me in the right direction with this.

Thanks so much!
Alyx

unknown

"Rest days" in the sense of sit on your butt on the couch and mainline Netflix all day? Ehhh...probably not necessary unless you are pushing yourself really, REALLY hard on your other days. "Rest days" in the sense of recovery, still moving around, but maybe doing something a little different? Yeah, they are a good idea for mental as well as physical reasons.

For one thing, switching up what you do--so, one day a week go out for a walk, take a yoga class, hit up the pool--helps prevent overuse injuries. It can also help keep you from burning out mentally on always doing the same thing.

Physiologically, it depends on your goals. Bodies don't actually get stronger or faster *during* a workout; they do in the rebuilding that comes from recovery. So if you're trying to get in better cardio or strength shape (like how you don't lift every day), then "down days" are a really good idea. If you just want to burn calories, and you're not pushing yourself to the brink--in which case your body will eventually throw a tantrum and MAKE you rest--you're probably okay doing as you want.